Bettmann / Contributor / Getty ImagesThe 1950s were known as a golden age in fashion and glamour — and the jewelry was no ...

Even though World War II interrupted the flow of Lake Biwa pearls, by the 1950s strands sold in Japan as less expensive, colorful alternatives to the mainstay material, cultured saltwater pearls.

The reality of life in the 1950s was shockingly different. Sure, the porcelain veneer of the traditional American family with a white picket fence, a string of pearls, and a multi-course meal on ...