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Beautiful! I love the spacings - so much more dynamic than when pearls are evenly spaced ....

Thanks Caitlin - Neyzio, it's important to remember that the Mikimoto price is the "highest-end" boutique price. In real-life in the second hand market pearls just don't fetch that sort of price, partly because there's always a risk of fraud (that affects the honest seller) and also because...

Beautiful pearls! I had a similar (but double, and AAA appraisal) strand realistically valued at $3,800 recently (albeit with only a silver & pearl clasp), so I'm afraid a single strand would probably sell for much less than that appraisal. A gold clasp would make some difference, but not that...

Aung Sung Suu Kyi's gorgeous pearls ... any opinion or clue as to what kind they are?

Sadly, ethically there is probably no difference between buying cheap pearls, Nike shoes and Chinese lightbulbs in terms of exploitation and poor working conditions. Unfortunately, boycotting purchases of Chinese goods rather than resulting in better working conditions would simply make poor...

Hi Valleypeach, From what I've read about the Chinese "reproduction" industry, it seems that Mikimoto clasps have started to be forged. It might be worth getting the gold tested. That said, I've been told that the slight lack of symmetry in the clamshell brand on your piece actually a good...

Ah! I thought that might be the case, but at the time I thought I wouldn't want the OP to lose out too badly if he really didn't know their value. Thanks for letting me know!

... and I posted a reply to the effect that a double row of Mikis is quite valuable and not to sell them for anything below $2,000, but the thread has disappeared altogether. Are new members not allowed to post items they indicate they'd like to sell? I checked the FAQs can't find guidance on...

I love your user name! It could have been "Margaritepath" too ... in the Ancient Greek ... : )

I'm afraid the clasp doesn't look promising - and 13mm would be pretty large & valuable if these were real saltwater cultured pearls (I don't know anything about freshwater ones). If you're confident of a refund, I guess you'll have to wait till they arrive & take better photos to post!

Tania you're just looking to revalue them, aren't you, rather than sell them? I agree with caitlin - for insurance purposes, a thousand dollars would be reasonable.

pearlescence I'd love to agree with you, but $40,000 in today's money is simply too much of a stretch for an 18 inch string graduated pearls up to a maximum 7mm! And I'm not using the standard inflation model - I'm comparing consumer goods, which is valid. In 1969 in Australia a family station...

Hi Tanya, I think the memory of a $1200 valuation back in 1969 simply has to be a false memory, and the valuation would have been closer to $200. In 1969 the average house in Australia cost about $14,000 - so if accurate that $1200 would make the pearls worth $40,000 in today's money! Having...

I agree with Bacca - and fashion trends affect pricing, so I also think design-wise the clasp is a big heavy for the pearls. The bracelets Bacca posted have a large clasp but its finer nonetheless. You need if possible to actually be able to try bracelets on, they can sit strangely on the wrist...

In Australia the replacement value for a double strand of small pearls like those would, if they are AAA, be maximum $1400 from a high-end dealer (retail); minimum probably $500 if lesser than AAA quality, assuming they are akoyas and have a silver clasp.

Paypal are fantastic about refunding regarding misrepresented goods. Raise an issue formally very quickly - and don't worry if you've already left good feedback, that won't be taken into account. Ebay know that trust is vital for online transactions. If you don't get any joy from the seller...

The fact that your grandmother was born in Eastern Europe is surely a clue - I think the inclusion of gold "pearls" looks much more European than Chinese - surely these were manufactured in Europe from imported pearls? I don't think the clasp looks in the least bit Chinese - I thought as soon as...

The clasp could just be tarnished, rather than cheap. The "S" is likely to denote silver (I believe Japanese silver pearl clasps from the early days often just say S). These pearls look to be the real deal and they are just beautiful! Lucky you!

Inherited Pearl - whatever you do, don't sell them for the $2,000 that has been bandied around. They are likely to be worth more like $6,000 - $8.000 if they have good lustre & nacre and are indeed the age you think. Do get two valuations and sit on them for a while and ponder. Do you have...

Whoah - a quick google check finds baroque Mikimoto pearls for $44,000, through a signature jeweller. Perhaps you had better insure them!