My Mother's Stolen Necklace (medici child portrait)

I found a good match for one of the necklaces that was stolen from me which had been my mother's first. I found it while looking at art for my son. The necklace that is painted on the child is the same one my mother had, or looks the same. It was the same kind of length and type of chain and the same color, and the ball at the end of it is the same. In the painting, there is one ball attached to the necklace but my mother's necklace had two and they were clip-ons.  They clipped on sort of like charms on a charm bracelet clip on.  So the chain was gold, and then there were two balls that you could clip on or off of the chain.  They were pearls with a gold filigree around them just like this painting shows, and they had a little loop at the top of each ball with a clip you had to pull back with your finger to open.  You opened the clip fastener and then put the chain through it and released the trigger finger (so to speak) and it was then attached to the chain and slid up and down the chain freely.  I wore this necklace all the time and then it was stolen from me in my early 20s.  It was one of several necklaces stolen.  You can't see the detail on the ball in this photo so I'll find a link to a larger photo. Or look it up if you want--it's the one by Agnolo Bronzino.   I even wore it to court actually.  I think I had it up until a court case and then it was stolen.  So that was up until around 2000-2002 or so.  Anyway, pretty much everything I have ever owned or wore has been stolen.  From clothing I wore that was Granny's, to things I had of my mother's, to items I bought myself.

I just looked up the names or descriptions for jewelry fasteners and clips.  The ones for the gold filigree balls I have mentioned, clipped on with "spring ring" fasteners.  I just read it says that the circle clasp with the trigger, is called a "spring ring".  There were 3.  3 spring rings.  One for the back of the necklace (the chain, and the length could be altered), and then the balls each clipped on separately with a spring ring.  My mother had had it ever since I could remember, since the 1970s.

I had "push in" (V-fasteners) for some of the antique pearl necklaces I wore.