Recreating an Iconic Necklace - A new Commission

 I have always wanted to have a commission that taxed my creativity and skills, but still stay within my known space.

My niece reached out to me two weeks ago, and asked if I would take on a commission for a necklace for her Halloween costume.

When she explained that she was going to do the iconic black dress from the opening scene from "Breakfast at Tiffany's" and wanted me to do the necklace - knowing her sewing skills and her love of authentic looking pieces, this was a challenge I grabbed onto.

And it's not just a costume.  She wants to wear this as a semi-formal/formal outfit.

So, off to research to create a materials list.

First thing I noticed in the research - there wasn't a crisp high resolution image of the necklace - that you can see all the details.

Second thing I noticed was the Etsy was filled with designs that well made me wonder if most of these other designers actually noticed that there were other components between each pearl on the iconic 5 strand necklace.  (Check out the search I did) 

There were a few that sorta did add a crystal round to separate the pearls, but there appears to be more than one item.  That's when it became clear that I needed to google for better quality image of the necklace.  It was almost impossible to find any real close up that wasn't grainy or distorted.  Even Pinterest didn't result in anything I hadn't already gotten.

Seems such a shame that such an iconic necklace would not have a high quality image just about it, especially the pendant/brooch.

Now, picking pearl size.  Based on the size of the pendant, the pearls are at least 8mm if not 10mm in size.  So I decided to get 8/10 white glass pearls. I already have 6mm and I think based on the spacing and width they might be used for the top row.

Rhinestone round balls are rather expensive, at almost $6.00 for 1 8mm wholesale.  I could only identify one or two in the front of the design.  So we're dropping those.  And there are no diamonds.  Hahahaha

I plan on using a 5 strand tube clasp to sit under the pendant brooch, which I am still looking to find one that can be use -that doesn't break the piggy bank.  There are some really beautiful brooches.

Tomorrow I am going to lay out the front of the 5th row to see what it looks like.