Any info about these "pearls"?

[tikker]

Disclaimer: I am not a jewelry person. I feel stupid asking, but I have no clue if these are actually pearls or not.

They were given to me to wear in a wedding, so I'm not expecting to them to be real, but I'm curious. The shape seems odd to me, and the lines in the "beads" don't seem natural to me. But, again, I have no clue. I will probably eventually end up selling them and would like to know what I'm dealing with.

This is a 3-piece set with earrings and a necklace, in addition to the bracelet pictured below.








They do feel gritty when doing the tooth test. The clasp on the necklace says CP925, if that helps.


Any info you could provide would be very appreciated. Thanks!

 

[lisa c]

Hello Tikker, welcome! Sorry for the delay answering, and don't worry about sounding stupid here, you sound interested, not stupid! We welcome questions and everyone starts somewhere.

Thank you for the very good pictures - well done!

You didn't indicate a millimeter size for the pearls, which does affect valuation in this type of circled pearl, but they appear to be genuine cultured freshwater pearls, albeit of beading quality, with the dark pearls being dyed. These are predominantly grown in and sourced from mainland China, and are generally solid nacre (as opposed to pearls which have a bead inside and a layer of nacre on the outside).

The circling occurs as the pearl is being formed - the critter is rolling it around as the nacre is adding up, and this is just one of the patterns it can form.

This type of pearl doesn't generally hold much value on the resale market, unfortunately. They're primarily for personal enjoyment (because they can glow and twinkle very attractively when worn) and often have sentimental value. It's a lovely gesture, that the bride got you the genuine article.
The 925 indicates sterling silver.

 

[CathyKeshi]

I wonder if the black beads might not be black onyx rather than pearls ... just a guess ?

 

[BWeaves]

I thought the black beads looked like onyx, too.

Definitely freshwater circle pearls.

 

[lisa c]

Excellent! Even better for OP! Good eyes, ladies, so glad you saw this! I can see they even look different on my iPhone than my computer screen (which apparently doesn't have as nice resolution as my itty-bitty phone, sheesh).

So so what do you think that does for the valuation? Does it make a significant difference? I don't know much about stones.

 

[Sea Urchin]

As the original poster guessed, I don't think circle rice pearls and onyx beads would cost more than a few bucks. But it's fun, cute casual jewelry anyway (and goes with anything)!

 

[tikker]

Thank you for all your help!