Antique double strand PEARL TYPE ID PLEASE

Diamondsareforever · Sunday at 8:41 PM

I got this strand from the looks it is to be antique and is gritty otherwise I would have thought them to be not pearls however they are like completely see through but there are one or more that have been cracked and the insides are revealed (see photos) it is like a yellow color. I looked under a microscope and seems to be organic tissue.
Pic of clasp too
Looking forward to your responses

Pearl Dreams · Sunday at 9:03 PM

Is it possible they are imitation pearls in terrible condition?

Try wiping one the broken pearl (the obvious choice since it's already damaged) with a cloth or paper towel wet with nail polish remover or acetone. Fake pearl coating will dissolve when rubbed with these solvents, but it won't harm real nacre.

KarinK · Monday at 6:23 AM

The really large hole in the first picture with the apparent build-up of material makes me think they are imitation, also the way some are peeling and cracked.

StarryPearl · Monday at 7:38 AM

I believe these are imitation pearls with incredibly thick coating. My reasoning is as follows:

1. Pics 4 and 7 show pearls with straight line shaped blemishes, Pic 3’s lower right corner also shows one similar blemish, which look like machine-made uneven coating instead of mollusk-made.

2. The yellow transparent insides revealed like you have noticed.

3. The barrel-like shape: both ends of the “pearls” are suddenly flat, which is common in imitation pearls.

4. Antique pearls were cultivated at least 100 years ago. In my understanding, usually they are some of the oldest akoya pearl strands, and oftentimes the pearls are baroque and in cream color. I’ve seen some real antique akoya strands, and they look nothing like this one.

Since you have got a microscope to check the inside, why don’t you check the surface and see if you could find the “layered” structure of nacre at the cracked or peeling places? That can’t go wrong.

BWeaves · Monday at 3:53 PM

These look like worn out imitation pearls to me. There doesn't seem to be pearl overtones. And the drill holes are huge and flat.

My grandmother's Richelieu imitation pearls have a sterling silver clasp. Back in their day (possibly 1930's or 40's), they looked like a nice strand of pearls. Now they've yellowed and cracked. I keep them for sentimental reasons.

Diamondsareforever · Monday at 5:23 PM

Pearl Dreams said:
Is it possible they are imitation pearls in terrible condition?

Try wiping one the broken pearl (the obvious choice since it's already damaged) with a cloth or paper towel wet with nail polish remover or acetone. Fake pearl coating will dissolve when rubbed with these solvents, but it won't harm real nacre.

I ended up doucing them in acetone to no avail. Nothing happened….

Pearl Dreams · Monday at 5:25 PM

If you rubbed them after applying acetone and the coating wasn't dissolved, then they are not imitation.

Diamondsareforever · Monday at 7:24 PM

Pearl Dreams said:
If you rubbed them after applying acetone and the coating wasn't dissolved, then they are not imitation.

I rubbed with a cotton swab, is this what you mean by rubbing, or does it need to be more vigorous

Pearl Dreams · Monday at 7:50 PM

If the swab was saturated it would have at least begun dissolving imitation pearl coating. If you are in doubt, be a bit more generous with the acetone and try again-- it won't hurt real pearls, just fake ones.

pattye · Monday at 7:54 PM

To me, these definitely look like imitation pearls, because of all the places that are peeling and the transparent parts one can see when the photos are enlarged. Nacre on cultured and natural pearls doesn't crack that way. High end imitation pearls can have many layers of fish scale coating over glass beads to give a true pearly look. If enough of the pearls are undamaged, you could possibly clean them up and make something fun with them.

Diamondsareforever · Monday at 11:29 PM

Thank you! I cleaned them up and was also pretty sure they are fakes. Very good ones. lol
I would probably just toss them unless someone else wants them

Antique double strand PEARL TYPE ID PLEASE

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