All good fashionable Catholic women had pearl rosaries in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Women had put away the black beads of mourning that they took up during and after WWI, as they were ready to feel joyful again. The pearly white color and radiance all spoke to the purity and ethereal quality of heaven, where many beloved fallen soldiers waited for them. Pearl rosaries were a sign of moving on from the past.
These particular old rosaries have a bronze center and posted Latin crucifix. The 3mm beads are handmade "fishscale pearls," glass beads coated in ground scales and lacquer to give them the iridescent sheen of natural pearls, an early form of the Majorica pearl process. The finish has aged to a lovely warm light cream color, just like real pearls.