Fake, Imitation, Laguna, Faux, Majorica, Majorcan, Swarovski Pearl Photos, Stories

[pattye]

What a lovely triple strand you scored, the bracelet and goldens also! At one time I worked in Fine Jewelry at Nordstrom, we only carried Mikimoto round white Akoya pearls. No SS, no GSS or Tahitians, which I had never seen. BUT Majoricas offered 11-12 mm strands of cream, silver-gray or deep charcoal whose size and beauty enthralled me. Cost was somewhere in the hundreds, still out of my budget; I was so undecided about which color I preferred, I never bought any!

 

[BWeaves]

That's a great triple strand at a great price. They nest perfectly. Nothing makes my eyes twitch as much as a matched triple that doesn't nest right.

 

[multichrome]

PD, the stringing is in perfect condition—as you say, no stretching, and no discoloration. The only indication that it might have been worn at all is that the guarantee label once affixed to the strand has been detached—but it was included in the box.

Thank you to everyone for your kind and useful comments. I looked at the Majorica USA website, and the price of a modern triple strand, shorter than this one, is $425. If I currently had that to spend I’d go over to PP and get more Freshadamas!

 

[multichrome]

Also the modern ones look very white to me. I prefer the creaminess of these.

 

[BWeaves]

When I first started looking at buying myself new pearls a few years back, I was amazed at how expensive the Majorica's were compared to real pearls. I could have real, round, freshwater pearls for much less than fakes. I quit looking at the Majorica's after that, and just dove into real pearls.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

It certainly doesn't make sense to buy Majoricas new/ at full retail, I have to agree. Especially if one wants smallish white pearls. Today's white FWP fill that niche nicely.

 

[multichrome]

I acquired a vintage Majorica bracelet right at the end of December. I believe it must originally have been a company retirement gift to a lady employee—I have a couple of other vintage jewelry pieces with firm names and date engravings. The tag is not engraved on the blank side, though. The company is Siemens.

It’s pristine—the findings are sterling, and the gold charm is 10k. I do love the bead caps at the ends. The mabe pearl on the clasp is glued firmly—I checked, PD!

It’s such fun to wear. A very creamy strand, and no marks or nicks whatsoever. Very substantial and lustrous. I guess the pearls are about 7mm.

I finally got a sterling orbit clasp and 925 oval jump rings for my three-strand necklace (above) so I can wear a single strand if I wish. It’s a very Majorica new year!

Thank you for reading!

Cece

 

[multichrome]

P.S. Here is the eBay photo of the bracelet above, with a clear image of the gold charm:

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Nice bracelet!

I find those corrugated bead caps are very easy to use when restringing. On their narrow end there is a wide slit, rather than a hole, through which the clasp ring fits neatly. They are a good substitute for gimp-- they protect the thread near the clasp.

I only wish I could buy these kinds of caps by themselves, in quantity. I searched without success; small bead caps have a hole rather than a slit; end cones with a slit style opening are too large for this purpose.

 

[Incik Boncuk]

More Majoricas!

I love, love, love Majorica and have a pretty large collection that I've accumulated mostly over the last 5 or so years. There are so many reasons I love them.

I think a lot of their designs are fantastic, and are something I don't really see in real pearl jewelry. I mostly go for the modern designs, but also have a couple pieces that would be considered more classic.

I love the quality and that they look as if they could be real, but I don't have to worry about getting mugged when I'm wearing them. I live in Chicago so yes, that's a real concern! Not just in pearls, but even in other jewelry I have a lot of "fakes" that are just like my "real" pieces, that I use if I'm out by myself riding the subway, etc.

I also really love the way they are made. In another phase of my life, I was a glass bead maker. While I doubt that all Majorica beads are made on a torch the way they show on their YouTube channel, the fact that it's a possibility resonates with me as a former glass worker.

My Majorica habit is entirely the fault of my husband. In 2000 he went on an overseas business trip. We'd only been married a couple years at that time, and he still felt he needed to bring me a present every time he went somewhere without me. On that particular trip his work kept him busy the entire time so he didn't have a chance to shop and ended up buying me a set of Majorica bracelets from in-flight shopping. I already liked pearls - had some and used FWPs a lot in my jewelry-making - but had never seen or even heard of Majorica. I fell in love.

I wore those bracelets a lot for a few years. So much so that the elastic has gotten stretched, especially on the white one. I haven't worn them in years, only because I tend not to wear bracelets much any more. I got them out again shortly after I joined this forum and was really impressed with the colors on the darker pearls. Most of my Majorica pieces are white beads, so I don't know if the current darker pieces show this amount of color variation.

 

[Incik Boncuk]

And just because I happened to have a photo that included it, here is a more modern piece of Majorica. This is called the Polaris Necklace. I also have it in the gold/white colorway.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Ooh, I like that necklace and the huge pendant!

Lately I've taken to wearing my 20mm white Majorica baroque pendant on a 28" silver wheat chain, rather than the leather cords it came with-- I'm not likely to buy a genuine SSP in that size any time soon!

 

[Incik Boncuk]

Thank you, Pearl Dreams! I love it too, which is why I bought it in both colors . . . as well as the matching bracelet and earrings for both.

Wow, 20mm! Would love to see a photo of that and how you wear it!

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Incik Boncuk, this is the large white baroque pendant with the multi-cord leather necklace it came with. See also post 128 for another photo of it.

But lately I've worn it on a 28" silver wheat chain, as a very simple pendant. I haven't taken any photos of that, sorry. [Edit: see post 180 below for photo for the pendant on silver chain].

 

[Incik Boncuk]

Pearl Dreams, if you do ever snap a picture of you wearing it on the long chain, do post! I remembered your post from earlier once you directed me there, but I'm really interested to see how it wears on the long chain.

 

[multichrome]

Incik Boncuk, I love all your Majoricas. The dark ones are very glowy and rainbow-y!

It might not be hard for you to restring your stretchy bracelets so you could wear them again safely. That is if you would like to do that.

I am replacing the oval sterling jump rings on my triple strand (posted above), as they are brittle. The rest of the necklace is pristine. I also arranged things it so I can wear the middle strand alone—replaced the jump rings and put it on a sterling silver orbit clasp. I can re-attach it to the triple strand anytime, but now I have a wearable single strand I can wear in less formal situations. Will post a neck shot soon. I put them on last night, and they were far too grand to wear while cooking dinner, haha! Though not genuine pearls they are very beautiful in their own particular way!

(Full-size photos are in my post on the previous page of the thread.)

 

[Incik Boncuk]

Multichrome, I love your Majorica triple! A triple is on my wish list, although I will likely go for FWP rather than Majorica.

I have thought of restringing the bracelets with fresh elastic. It wouldn't be difficult, but I would have to sacrifice the bead ends that are hanging on the strands of elastic that stick out with this style (or find new ones somewhere). I'm also debating whether I should restring them with a clasp instead. They aren't unwearable yet, but if I start to wear them a lot, I will certainly have to do something about the elastic at some point. I'm also toying with the idea of stringing them into a necklace instead, which might get more wear.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

If the bead ends are glued on, perhaps you could remove them with solvent in order to re-use them?

 

[multichrome]

I got my vintage Majorica triple for a great price on eBay after some hunting and waiting. A triple of new freshwaters would be divine!

Restringing your bracelets as a necklace is a great idea, especially as you said you aren’t currently much into bracelets. Lots of helpful info here in the Beaders’ section.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Pearl Dreams, if you do ever snap a picture of you wearing it on the long chain, do post! I remembered your post from earlier once you directed me there, but I'm really interested to see how it wears on the long chain.

Here ya go! A very simple look.