These lovelies were softly gleaming at me from a small glass case at an estate sale this past Saturday (my first one!) & before I knew what had happened, I had purchased them for $250. I felt drawn to them & just couldn't leave them behind. The gentleman running the estate sale told me they were saltwater pearls when I asked and said the strand appraised at $1500. He did not have any appraisal paperwork so this may have just been his informed opinion (or shenanigans!)...but the company hosting the estate sale is a well respected local business with a long history, so I decided to take a leap of faith. I'm hoping the knowledgeable folks here can tell me if these pearls are authentic akoyas.
The necklace is an 18 inch graduated strand with 83 pearls ranging from 4.3 to 8.5 mm in size. Each pearl on the strand is knotted. The clasp is sterling with a tiny pearl accent and appears to be quite old (the hallmark on the back of the clasp is quite worn down). The pearls are slightly gritty when rubbed together, appear pretty uniformly round, yet do not look "too perfect" like an obviously fake strand. They were a soft beige color when I bought them, but after a gentle cleaning they are now a luminous off white. I've attached four photos including a neck shot - these photos are not the greatest quality, but they are the best I could do on the fly with a cell phone camera.
I am so hoping these pearls are genuine older Akoyas and if they are, plan to restring them post haste & wear them proudly every day! I've spent a few hours reading all of the helpful info on this site and want to thank everyone for sharing their extensive pearl knowledge with novices like me.
The necklace is an 18 inch graduated strand with 83 pearls ranging from 4.3 to 8.5 mm in size. Each pearl on the strand is knotted. The clasp is sterling with a tiny pearl accent and appears to be quite old (the hallmark on the back of the clasp is quite worn down). The pearls are slightly gritty when rubbed together, appear pretty uniformly round, yet do not look "too perfect" like an obviously fake strand. They were a soft beige color when I bought them, but after a gentle cleaning they are now a luminous off white. I've attached four photos including a neck shot - these photos are not the greatest quality, but they are the best I could do on the fly with a cell phone camera.
I am so hoping these pearls are genuine older Akoyas and if they are, plan to restring them post haste & wear them proudly every day! I've spent a few hours reading all of the helpful info on this site and want to thank everyone for sharing their extensive pearl knowledge with novices like me.
