Hair or black thread used instead of gimp?

[CharmedOne]

Hi all,

I bought a strand of pearls that are suppose to be from the 30s or 40s but it doesn't have the metal gimp. It's has what looks like hair or black thread instead. Is this normal? I was about to restring them when I noticed it. I appreciate any help you can give me. Thanks so much. ~d

 

[BeadersSecret]

Hello CharmedOne,

It could very well be hair, back in Victorian times Horsehair was often used as a form of gimp (particularly when threading with seedpearls), and I believe this practice continued to some degree until around the 1930's.
Regards
Bernadette

 

[CharmedOne]

Hi Bernadette,

Thank you so much for your reply. I gotta say initially, it disturbed me a bit. I was worried about it being human hair, which seemed so macabre to me. If it is horse hair, then I'm totally ok with that. I would like to find a nice book on the history of pearls. I have read a lot online, but a book with photos and in depth knowledge would really be a great thing to have. Thanks again ~d