Are these pearls real?

[opals61054]

My dad gave my mother some pearls in the mid 1940's. I thought he brought them back to her from the Philipines when he was in the service, but he doesn't remember and my mom is longer here with us on this earth. Wish I had talked to her about them, among many other things, before she dies. I took them to a jeweler the other day to see if they were worth restringing. After looking at them closely, he showed to me where there was flaking and peeling off the pearls and of course, we determined they were not valuable, but I would just like to know, if you can tell me, what causes them to peel, are they real pearls, and if so, why do they peel. I'm guessing they are not really pearls of any kind. Would that be a correct assumption? I did not ask the jeweler, nor did he offer any suggestion as I was only inquiring as to the worthiness of having them restrung.

I am attaching a photo.

Thanks for any suggestion as to their validity.

Pam

 

[GemGeek]

They are most likely peeling because they are artificial. You can see areas where the coating has worn off the glass beads. Clearly, your mother enjoyed wearing them and they must have been stunning when they were new.

 

[pattye]

Pam, Welcome!

If you like crafting and do it yourself projects, you might want to sort out the pearls that haven't peeled and restring them. Looks like it was a multi strand necklace? I agree that they are imitation pearls. Another way to display them would be to find an inexpensive glass apothecary jar and put them all in there loose. Perhaps you have earrings or other jewelry treasures from your Mother that you want to keep, but not necessarily wear, those could be added, too.

 

[opals61054]

They are most likely peeling because they are artificial. You can see areas where the coating has worn off the glass beads. Clearly, your mother enjoyed wearing them and they must have been stunning when they were new.

Thank you so much for the information. I never saw mom wearing them but we do have a photograph of her when she was 16 and they were beautiful against a light blue sweater.

 

[GemGeek]

That's wonderful. I like Pattye's idea of keeping them in a pretty jar.