Name/Title
Triple-strand faceted glass bead necklace, amethyst/pink, with rhinestone claspEntry/Object ID
2025.1.73Description
A multi-strand (three-strand) beaded necklace of faceted glass beads in a translucent amethyst/mauve-pink. The round beads are machine-faceted to catch the light and graduate slightly in size, the larger beads toward the front-center and smaller beads toward the clasp; the three strands run parallel and are gathered at each end into a single clasp. The closure is a rectangular box clasp (push-in tongue type) set on its face with six colorless rhinestones in two rows of three, with multi-loop end-plates (three loops per side) anchoring the three strands. The clasp metal is a bright silver tone. The beads are bright and largely intact; the clasp shows light wear.Item Type
NecklaceContext
Purchased in Le Trianon store in Havana.Collection
The Cabrera Arús family collection, Gertrudis Caraballo Gálvez collecitionMade/Created
Notes
MAKER: Unknown; unmarked. No maker’s mark or metal/quality stamp is visible. It is costume jewelry; the manufacturer is not identified.
DATE / PERIOD: Not marked; undetermined. Multi-strand faceted-glass bead necklaces with rhinestone box clasps were especially popular in the mid-twentieth century (roughly 1940s–1960s), and the form here is consistent with that, but nothing on the object fixes a date.
ORIGIN: Such faceted-glass bead necklaces were widely produced (notably in Czechoslovakia, a major glass-bead center).Materials
Material Notes
MATERIALS: Faceted glass beads (amethyst/pink, translucent); base-metal box clasp with silver-tone finish set with colorless glass/paste rhinestones; strung on thread or fine cord.
TECHNIQUES: Machine-cut/faceted and polished glass beads, strung in three graduated strands and gathered to a multi-loop commercial box clasp with paste-set ornament; standard costume-jewelry assembly.Relationships
Related Person or Organization
Person or Organization
Gertrudis Caraballo GálvezNotes
OwnerRelated Places
Place
City
HavanaCountry
CubaRegion
Caribbean, Central AmericaNotes
PurchasePlace
Country
CzechoslovakiaRegion
Eastern EuropeContinent
EuropeNotes
Probable productionResearch Notes
Notes
This is a piece of mid-century-style costume jewelry: a three-strand necklace of faceted amethyst/pink glass beads finished with a rhinestone-set box clasp. Faceted pressed-and-cut glass beads of this kind were a staple of twentieth-century costume jewelry, produced in large quantities by several glassmaking industries (the Czech/Bohemian bead industry being the best known), but absent a mark this cannot be assigned to a country or maker, and no such attribution should be implied. However, considering Cuba’s strong commercial links to Czechoslovakia after 1959, this is the most probable source.Created By
María A. Cabrera ArúsCreate Date
October 16, 2025Updated By
María A. Cabrera ArúsUpdate Date
June 14, 2026
