Have you thought of stringing them the traditional way then adding a few inches of gold chain to the back near the clasp? My mom had something similar to that once. It still looks like a standard pearl necklace, but the part up around the neck is chain.

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"No one believes more firmly than Comrade Napoleon that all animals are equal. He would be only too happy to let you make your decisions for yourselves. But sometimes you might make the wrong decisions, comrades, and then where should we be?"
- George Orwell Animal Farm