mystery necklace

I have wondered for the longest time what this necklace was made of; here is what glass bead artist and antiques appraisor, Sara Chonklin has to say: Turtle shell is organic so maybe it would react like other organic substances, e.g., ivory.  If you take a plug-in-the-wall burning tool to ivory and it smells like you set your hair on fire, it is ivory. If it has a cloyingly sweet smell, plastic.  Maybe the turtle beads will either not melt at all and so no smell = glass or you get the hair on fire scent.  Yes, it would be easy to make fake turtle beads with several colors of brown and orange/yellow.

You can use this info in your blog, as an appraiser of scrimshaw, I have told this trick to lots of people.  If it is potentially valuable ivory, put the hot tip somewhere where it won’t mar an important surface.  It is really the smell you are going for, the whole idea of the “hot needle test” really doesn’t work.  Get your nose right down to where the burning is going to happen. 

I haven't tried the smell test yet. But after seeing Sara at work on her beads, I guess I can see how these might very well be glass beads, maybe made with a mold to get the consistant size. Anyway I love this necklace, and I love glass beads. The mystery now is why I can't seem to find anything like this on the internet. I don't have any idea of their history except that they are trade beads!