Eighteenth century gold clasps held either beads or chains. A similar necklace is described in a newspaper advertisement of 1741: "Stolen on Friday Night the 14th Instant, from me the subscriber in Sussex County, one gold chain of four strings with a locket marked E.G.... Shepard Kollock, New York Journal, Aug. 31, 1741" (as quoted in Rita Gottesman, The Arts and Crafts in New York, p. 39).