All comments welcome....

[barbaradilek]

These pearls came from an antique shop in Milan about 5 years ago.They were sold as natural pearls with their original clasp.The clasp is 18ct gold marked with the French eagles head used between 1838 and 1919 as is the safety chain.The pearls are between7.40 and 7.55mm in size and the strand is 21” long.There is a lab report in Italian from a large testing laboratory who’s work is not confined to gemstone testing,and the X-ray report just says “ no presence of nucleus inside the pearls”I have the accompanying X-ray,but it has deteriorated and I can’t get any useful photos from it.I remember looking at it when I bought them and thinking that it looked right,but I didn’t really know what I was looking for then.
I love them,wear them regularly,and have no interest in selling them.However I am interested to know,with the sketchy description from the lab,if they are saltwater,or later well matched freshwater.? I had them restrung as the original silk was stretched and dirty,the pearls are slightly off spherical there are some that look a different shade,but it’s only noticeable to me in natural light ,they are lighter than the photos show. Whatever they are they are gorgeous,but some expert input would be much appreciated.5View attachment 77438

 

[parfaitelumiere]

Hi,
The french eagle is still used, so it's not specific from 1838-1919 period.
However that clasp looks early XX time, maybe even XIX,.
Hexagonal shape like this seemed to be fashionned in Nap III period and a bit later.
But that was used for different kind of pearls (small ones) or even a "slave necklace" without pearls
You can also see the strand has a recent restrung, the gimp is clean.
The certificate is mentionning a natural pearl on a ring, and japanese pearl necklace (old)
"anello di perle fine giapponese", meaning ring with natural pearl (in french, and italian, described as "fine"), as the japanese pearl is made from pinctada radiata maculata, has many other names, this shell is living all over the world, so the natural pearl can be from about anywhere in the world.
"controle radiografica per valutazione eventuale presenza di nuclei all"interno della perla" means "there may be a nucleus inside"
My guess is the strand is made from good akoyas from 70's to 90's or later.
So, cultured saltwater, from pinctada radiata or maculata or other names for that small pearl oyster specie.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

"Prove richesete" means "Requested tests"-- in other words, the purpose was to establish whether there is a nucleus.

"Risultati" means results.
For the "collana" (necklace) the result is "Nessuna presenza di nuclei all'interno della perla" which means "No presence of nuclei inside the pearl."

So-- according to their test, there is no nucleus.

The luster is lovely!

The GIA can test to tell you if they are natural.

 

[Lagoon Island Pearls]

My guess is the strand is made from good akoyas from 70's to 90's or later.

Agreed.

A natural pearl strand created from near perfect matches on four points (size, color, shape, surface) is a statistical improbability.

So astronomical in fact, it would have to be graded from a pool of millions of natural pearls.

I'd suggest saving $$ and have these candled for uniformity. Uniform = cultured. Radically not uniform = natural.

 

[CortezPearls]

It's a beautiful necklace. To me it screams "cultured Akoya pearls"...but it could be natural pearls too, so...your best bet is to send it off to a Gem Lab and have it analyzed.
Now...if you have a good dentist with good equipment, he can use his Xray machine to inspect some (at least some 6 pearls) for a bead inside. A friend of mine routinely does this when in need.
Look at the results:

This is a natural pearl, no bead...yet with a protein void in it.
Could not find one with a bead, sorry about that...in his case they were ALL natural pearls. But it would be very, very noticeable to find a bead.

 

[CortezPearls]

Agreed.

A natural pearl strand created from near perfect matches on four points (size, color, shape, surface) is a statistical improbability.

So astronomical in fact, it would have to be graded from a pool of millions of natural pearls.

I'd suggest saving $$ and have these candled for uniformity. Uniform = cultured. Radically not uniform = natural.

I agree too. Great way to explain it Dave.

 

[parfaitelumiere]

"Nessuna presenza di nuclei all'interno della perla" which means "No presence of nuclei inside the pearl."

My mistake! if so, very good pearls!
What is strange is there is noecklace description, how many pearls, weight, lenght, diameter, doesn't look like a GIA or LFG certificate.
LFG, you have photo of item, specifications, lenght, weight, diameter (from-to when size variation), and cultured pearls have a hand drawn dot,to pint them, when there are cultured pearls of course.
Candling can already be a good quick starting point, agreed, some lines from nucleus would be easy to see.

 

[CortezPearls]

Great suggestion parfaitluminiere! Candling
Try using a strong LED light to see through the pearls @barbaradilek.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Some people candle by placing a pearl over the light of their smartphone (I still have a flip phone so don't have experience with this!)

 

[parfaitelumiere]

Here is my display, I made custom silicone shapes, to avoid the strong light in the eyes, so light goes inside the pearl only.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Wow, great idea using the silicone.

I suppose one could use Sculpey or another brand of polymer clay for the same purpose.

 

[Lady_Disdain]

I did a quick google search on Istituto Masini and I am more confused than I was before. While their web domain is available for sale, I found their profile on EuropeanBusiness.com. According to that, they are specialized in product functionality and safety. They mention food, toys, healthcare and other sectors but not jewelry. Without a jewelry expert, I am not confident in their ability to tell natural from cultured pearls.

https://www.european-business.com/istituto-di-ricerche-e-collaudi-m-masini-srl

 

[pattye]

Gorgeous pearls; so interesting and mysterious! If the necklace needed restringing, which I can see it doesn't, I'd recommend removing a few pearls and looking down their drill holes with a loupe to see if a line between nacre and bead is visible.

 

[Lagoon Island Pearls]

Without a jewelry expert, I am not confident in their ability to tell natural from cultured pearls.

Though the format is okay, the method is inadequate. 90kv 3ma, seems a little intense and might explain over-exposed views.

I gather they wanted to see the core, only to find no discernible nuclei. That strongly suggests uniformity from shell beads.

Had they varied intensity, structural transitions and growth fronts would likely be more apparent at the outer margins.

Setting this strand aside for a moment, let's ask ourselves an important question. When is the last time anyone saw a perfectly matched natural akoya strand in the last century? They don't exist and if they do, they'd almost certainly have overwhelming provenance and substantial scientific overview. Hatchery and reared oysters produce keshi and/or incidental or otherwise inadvertent pearls. These are cultural events. So again, the chances of matching a strand to this presentation are infinitesimal.

For those reasons and others stated earlier, I'm certain these are not natural pearls.

The ring. Albeit within a lot of attractive pearls, by virtue if this certificate it's origin is questionable.

 

[barbaradilek]

Thankyou so much for all the intelligent input.The saying” if it’s to good to be true,it probably is!” comes to mind.I bought them for what I would have paid for a top quality cultured akoya strand,and am sure that the seller sold in good faith.I will try candling and see if I can post some images.

 

[parfaitelumiere]

Wow, great idea using the silicone.

I can get a mold made to my need and cast some myself deom black silicone and offer for sale to cover the mold cost.
If someone is interested, please PM, if several are interested I can definitely make some for members here.

 

[CortezPearls]

Though the format is okay, the method is inadequate. 90kv 3ma, seems a little intense and might explain over-exposed views.

I gather they wanted to see the core, only to find no discernible nuclei. That strongly suggests uniformity from shell beads.

Had they varied intensity, structural transitions and growth fronts would likely be more apparent at the outer margins.

Setting this strand aside for a moment, let's ask ourselves an important question. When is the last time anyone saw a perfectly matched natural akoya strand in the last century? They don't exist and if they do, they'd almost certainly have overwhelming provenance and substantial scientific overview. Hatchery and reared oysters produce keshi and/or incidental or otherwise inadvertent pearls. These are cultural events. So again, the chances of matching a strand to this presentation are infinitesimal.

For those reasons and others stated earlier, I'm certain these are not natural pearls.

The ring. Albeit within a lot of attractive pearls, by virtue if this certificate it's origin is questionable.

You got that right Dave & Lady Disdain.
Great tips from Pairfaitluminiere and Pattye.

When we all come together to solve an Enigma...we become a Force to be reckoned with

 

[barbaradilek]

three cheers for the experts,yes there is a basic uniformity to the pearls,though some look darker than others.My computer skills are rubbish,I think Iv down loaded a couple of images that prove your comments.I still love the pearls though!

 

[Lady_Disdain]

And indeed you should love them! They are gorgeous and will give you a lifetime of joy.