Are these Biwa pearls?

[pinkjewel]

Sometime in the 1970s or early 1980s I got these pearls. I remember at the time I was told they were Biwa pearls as if it was supposed to be a big deal. The strand broke after a few years (yes, my bad for not re stringing) and I put it away. Ball clasp is 14kt gold. I ran across it a few months ago and was wondering if it's worth having it re strung. Here are a couple of photos. The paper towel is white- so you can see that the photos are a bit dark. thanks!!

 

[whicker]

They sure look like mine. What are their colors? Do you have the original box or remember where they came from? Lake Biwa became so polluted that they couldn't continue pearling. So, the pearls were rare then and even more so, now. I hope you have them re-strung with knots between the pearls so you don't lose more pearls. There is a thread on pearl care, that will help you, too.

 

[pinkjewel]

They sure look like mine. What are their colors? Do you have the original box or remember where they came from? Lake Biwa became so polluted that they couldn't continue pearling. So, the pearls were rare then and even more so, now. I hope you have them re-strung with knots between the pearls so you don't lose more pearls. There is a thread on pearl care, that will help you, too.

I don't have the original box and for the life of me I can't remember where I got them. At the time I owned a little high end ladies boutique and we did go to the JCK show in New York to bring in some jewelry,too I always bought a few things for myself at the show( big smile) and I'm pretty sure that's where I bought these. I will try to take a better picture showing the colors. They are soft peachy, pinky, cream and do have wonderful luster. They were strung with knots between them- so I actually did not lose any pearls when they broke- I still have the two that broke off and I'd have them professionally restrung.

 

[pattye]

Pink jewel,

The time frame is right, the coloration fits, and so does the shape! I feel that is exactly what you have, the true Lake Biwa pearls! We have so few photos of the actual Biwa pearls, it is a thrill to see yours! Thank you for the photos! Your necklace is absolutely beautiful, full of character and luster! I hope you have it restrung and post another photo.

Whicker, we'd love to see a photo of your necklace also!

 

[pinkjewel]

Pink jewel,

The time frame is right, the coloration fits, and so does the shape! I feel that is exactly what you have, the true Lake Biwa pearls! We have so few photos of the actual Biwa pearls, it is a thrill to see yours! Thank you for the photos! Your necklace is absolutely beautiful, full of character and luster! I hope you have it restrung and post another photo.

Whicker, we'd love to see a photo of your necklace also!

thanks, Pattye!! That would be great if they're actually the "real deal"!! I used to wear them a lot way back when and was very fond of them. I'll have them restrung and post pictures after. Hopefully, I'll get the color and luster to show up a bit better. I was in a rush when I took the photos and did not have good lighting at all.

 

[KarinK]

You could try to send an email to Sarah, Kojima Pearls, and ask her to take a look at the forum. She had Biwa pearls in stock. She might kniw.

-'Karin

 

[pinkjewel]

You could try to send an email to Sarah, Kojima Pearls, and ask her to take a look at the forum. She had Biwa pearls in stock. She might kniw.

-'Karin

thanks, Karin- that's a great idea!

 

[pattye]

Absolutely contact Sarah, also if you have the Strack book, page 412 shows 2 photos taken by Strack herself of "flat baroque pearls from Lake Biwa in natural orange and pink hues." They look very much like your strand.

Years ago I had a large genuine Biwa pearl in a 14k ring, so I've had a special interest in Biwa pearls since then. (It disappeared when it was sent for resizing.)

 

[BAS]

Pattye -- I am really angry to read that your Biwa pearl "dissappeared" when you sent it for resizing! Terrible.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Here is a daylight close-up of my Biwa pearls bought in 1980-- they're highly lustrous and display orient.

 

[pattye]

Pearl Dreams,

Those are just GORGEOUS! I don't recall seeing pics of them before.

I did get 2 strands of tiny Lake Biwa pearls when The Pearl Outlet offered them some years ago; mine are a medium silver-lavender color, very pretty!

BAS, thank you, I know, At the time I was working at Nordstrom fine jewelry dept here in Oregon; we had much of our work done at the main Seattle store. The jewelry was checked in there at the store and disappeared. I was foolish in not filing a police report right away, but I was told the pieces would turn up soon. Of course, they never turned up. I was eventually reimbursed for the appraised amount. I'm certain all jewelry stores are more security conscious than they were 20 years ago.



There are some links below to forum topics on Biwa pearls. I'm checking them out right now!

 

[pattye]

There is a good discussion from over 5 years ago!

 

[GemGeek]

There were a lot of Chinese pearls exported from Japan as Biwas, so it really comes down to a lab test if you want to be 100 percent certain. There is a difference in the mineral content of the water that can be detected.

From Pearls, by Elisabeth Strack:
"After 1974, production started to slow down, although imports from China kept the figures stable. Indeed, there was an increase in Chinese imports of 2,006 percent between 1974 and 1979! In 1980, Chinese freshwater cultured pearls accounted for over 60 percent of all Japanese freshwater exports. At the time, there were only slight price differences between Japanese and Chinese pearls. This was mainly due to different qualities and not to place of origin. Prices more or less overlapped and only experienced dealers were able to really distinguish between the two sources, while most pearl dealers simply relied on what the exporters said."

 

[GemGeek]

I'm not saying that any of your pearls are not real Biwas, I'm just in cautious-voice-of-doom mode today. Pearl Dreams, those are stunning pearls - do you wear them a lot?

 

[pinkjewel]

Are the genuine Lake Biwa pearls worth a lot? If not, I'm not sure it would be worth the expense to destroy one and have it analyzed. I'm actually not sure I'd do it anyway as I'm not interested in selling the pearls- it would be more for interest than anything else.

 

[pinkjewel]

Here is a daylight close-up of my Biwa pearls bought in 1980-- they're highly lustrous and display orient.

they are very pretty!!! Yours look to be smoother and less wrinkled than my strand.

 

[pinkjewel]

There is a good discussion from over 5 years ago!

Pattye, that is just terrible about your pearl ring! I would certainly hope that Nordstrom's is more careful now. I did see that thread,too. I thought the pearls looked lovely and very similar in style to mine- although mine are larger. I took a picture next to a mm ruler which I'll upload.

 

[pinkjewel]

There were a lot of Chinese pearls exported from Japan as Biwas, so it really comes down to a lab test if you want to be 100 percent certain. There is a difference in the mineral content of the water that can be detected.

From Pearls, by Elisabeth Strack:
"After 1974, production started to slow down, although imports from China kept the figures stable. Indeed, there was an increase in Chinese imports of 2,006 percent between 1974 and 1979! In 1980, Chinese freshwater cultured pearls accounted for over 60 percent of all Japanese freshwater exports. At the time, there were only slight price differences between Japanese and Chinese pearls. This was mainly due to different qualities and not to place of origin. Prices more or less overlapped and only experienced dealers were able to really distinguish between the two sources, while most pearl dealers simply relied on what the exporters said."

thanks, GemGeek. I'm also a very skeptical person, so I have to decide if my curiosity is enough to sacrifice a pearl and pay for an analysis. Is this something GIA can do now? Or would the pearl need to be sent somewhere else?

 

[pinkjewel]

mm ruler picture of my pearls

eta- wrong photo. This manage attachments on this forum confuses me-lol

 

[pinkjewel]

ok- let me try again