Elizabethan style necklace with cultured pearls

This Elizabethan style necklace has been created using seed beads, Swarovski crystals and cultured pearls. In place of the gold, rubies and saphires which would have been used to create the originals, this version offers the look without the cost! Pearls were another favourite for jewellery at this time but the natural pearls that would have been used were extraordinarily expensive even at that time.The pearls used here are cultured meaning that they are created by pearl farmers under controlled conditions working with pearl oysters or freshwater mussels.  They are still considered  to be genuine pearls despite the fact that there is human intervention in their creation. The necklace is 19" long and is  finished with a gold plated sterling silver magnetic clasp