Are these Natural Pearls?

[Nellie]

Hello everyone,
I'm hoping someone can tell me if these are natural pearls, or what? They were bought at an estate sale and no one could tell me anything about them at the sale.
I have no way of sizing them so just took a picture of them with a penny in hopes that you could see they are a pretty good size. I just don't know what mm they may be.
Should I have them checked out by a professional, and where would i find that professional??

 

[jshepherd]

They could be North American natural freshwater pearls (or even Scottish). They could be cultured freshwater pearls too. You should have them checked out by a lab.

 

[Nellie]

Thank you,
I have seen a ladies name on the forum as a pearl expert Sharon Wakefield, do you think I should contact her?

 

[jshepherd]

What you are looking to determine is whether or not the pearls are natural. You would want this determination before an appraisal (Sharon Wakefield). If the pearls aren't natural, they won't be very valuable (not worth an appraisal).

You should consider sending the pearls to GIA. New York is a bit quicker than Carlsbad.