A Stage Prop Necklace

A local community theater group will be performing a play in which one character's necklace is stolen on stage. This has been problematic. How can they pull off the trick easily? I had an idea that could help them. Let's work backwards through the process, starting with the finished product.

That is a double-clasp necklace. I have a standard lobster claw to fit the necklace to the actress, and just behind it, a magnetic clasp so it can easily break away when stolen on stage. The design itself isn't as polished as I usually prefer, but the goal is stage appearance first and foremost. The supplies are all sourced from Joann Fabrics except the fishing line (Walmart?) and the chain (unknown leftovers).

The first magnetic clasp I tried is utter garbage. It is bulky and weak, with a huge air gap between the magnets due to the depth at which they sit inside the housings. Fortunately, I found some smaller magnetic clasps in my supply stash.

The beads are cheap plastic pearls, and I chose them for their light weight. It places less burden on the clasp, and it means stage shenanigans won't result in kids getting accidentally clocked with a mass of glass or other heavy beads. I used some spacers to create a sort of collar or choker style necklace because the play is a period piece, and I wanted some thing that would look vaguely Victorian.

I stacked the beads and spacers carefully so everything would come out evenly. I used fishing line instead of beading wire because it has some give, and is easily replaced/repaired if there is a mishap. I should have used lighter line, because this stuff is beastly for fine work and tight knots. In the end, I used a dot of super glue gel on the knots, and I dusted the glue with baking soda to make it cure faster. The 5-hole spacers made tying off the line easier, and left the perfect amount of room for the three strands of 8mm "pearls."

And here we are at the beginning with my gathered supplies and tools I thought I might need. The whole thing was a huge experiment. What do you think of the results or the reverse walkthrough of my process? Comment below!