Mrs. Kirk was proud of the beautiful pearl necklace her daughter had given her, but she hardly ever wore it. She had arthritis, and that made it hard for her to fasten and undo the clasp. Since she lived by herself, nobody was around to help her put on the necklace, so it was easier to leave it in her jewelry box.Mrs. Kirk is not alone.

Complicated or hard-to-fasten clasps keep a lot of people from wearing some of their jewelry pieces. This could be prevented with a bit of forethought. When choosing a clasp, consider:

• How secure is it?
• How easy is it to open?
• How versatile is it?
• How much does it cost?

Determine what is most important to you about the clasp because normally, some compromises will have to be made. For example, to get a clasp that is easy to open, you may have to accept less security. Listed below are four basic pearl clasps along with their advantages and disadvantages.

• Fish-hook clasp: This is a popular clasp because it's inexpensive and secure. It may be silver, gold or gold-plated. The main drawback of the fish-hook clasp is that it can be hard to fasten and undo, especially for someone with arthritis or other hand problems.

• Push clasp: The main advantage of this clasp, is that it is fairly easy to open, even with one hand when it's used on a bracelet. It's also relatively inexpensive. Unfortunately, it is not as secure as some of the other clasps.

• Lobster clasp or lobster claw: Secure, easy to open and relatively inexpensive, this is an ideal clasp both for pearls and gold chains. It's not used as frequently for pearls, however, as the fish clasp and push clasp. If you're having pearls strung, you may wish to request this clasp.

• The screw clasp: This clasp can add versatility when it's inserted in pearls to form a hidden or mystery clasp. For example, a long strand of pearls with three mystery clasps can be unscrewed and turned into a bracelet and two smaller necklaces.

Mystery clasps are fairly easy to open and close and are secure, if they're screwed in all the way and aren't stripped out. They tend to cost a little more than the fish-hook, lobster and push clasps. Sometimes the string breaks on necklaces with mystery clasps. This can happen when people unscrew the clasp incorrectly or when they can't find the clasp and try to unscrew the necklace in a spot where there is no clasp. This problem can be avoided by having the jeweler show you how to find and open the clasp. When undoing it, be sure to grasp at least two pearls on either side of the clasp. Turn them together as a unit. Don't twist the string.

There are a wide variety of clasps besides these four basic ones. The Applaudere by A & Z Pearls. Each end of the strand is attached to a clasp. The pair of clasps can be fastened over any of the pearls on the necklace allowing a variety of styles from a single strand of pearls.

Sometimes accessories are used to accent pearls with plain clasps. One of the most popular pearl accessories is the pearl enhancer. It is a pendant which can be attached to a