Grandmother Present - Pearl Necklace

[pamelajane]

Hi All,

I was hoping if you could help me out here, I have received a beautiful gift from my grandmother handed down to me. they are old but I am unsure of origin.
I was hoping if someone could help me out. they are cold to touch and are gritty feeling, they have a beautiful luster finish and and quite dense in weight. they are not knotted individuel only at the back twice.
They are beautiful. I just like to get to know more about them and I am scared to clean them in case I do something wrong.
I hope you can all help me find out what origin they are.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Hi pamelajane, and welcome to Pearl-Guide.

First, it's lovely that you have pearls that used to belong to your grandmother!

You don't have to be afraid of cleaning them. I suggest bottled or filtered water (to avoid chlorine and hard minerals) and mild soap-- not detergent. I have used baby wash and Dr. Bronner's (unscented) and both work fine. Let the pearls soak for 10 minutes or so to soften any buildup of grime, skin oils etc., then wipe them with a soft cloth-- I like to use a microfiber cloth. Rinse them with bottled or filtered water and dry them by laying them on a clean towel, or rolling them in a towel. Don't wear them until the thread has dried, as silk is weakened when it is wet.

Do you know any history of the pearls at all? How long your grandmother had them, when/where she got them?
Is there a mark on the clasp to indicate if the clasp is gold? 10k, 14k, 585 etc.

I am leaning toward saying these are cultured freshwater pearls from China, because of the shapes (which were common several decades ago) and because of the fact that they are more or less the same size rather than graduating in size. They are not round, because there is no bead inside.
I think if they were naturals (wild-harvested pearls, not cultured/farm raised) they would be more likely to be knotted between each of the pearls (to prevent loss of many pearls if the thread breaks.)

And speaking of size, how large are they and how long is the strand?

If you would like to wear them, we have resources to help you restring them yourself if you would like to . Many of us restring our own pearls.

 

[pamelajane]

Hi PearlDream,

Thank you for the fast response, Thank you so much for the guideline on the cleaning, I was very worried I would upset the pearls. I unfortunately dont have much of a background. I was given them over ten years ago and from my grandmother who had them a long time. I am 33 years old now and I was told they where a good pearl.

The clasp looks like 585, it has three digits. it is gold. the strand is little over 40cm. I hope this is helpful.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

I was given a necklace of freshwater pearls in 1980 that had a gold clasp...gold was less expensive then. The necklace cost my mother about $100 at the time. It would not be as valuable today, though, because the Chinese have improved their techniques for culturing freshwater pearls over the years. Non-round pearls that used to be costly years ago are less desirable today because there are rounder ones available.

If they are, as I think, FWP, their principal value is that they belonged to your grandmother and are a sentimental item. I think you can wear them without worrying about them. But I would restring them.

 

[pamelajane]

Thank you so much , I will get the size of the pearl tomorrow. I cannot manage to add my images here in my phone . But I can add more for a better view and get them under natural lighting as the image is not capturing its true shine.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Freshwater pearls can have amazing luster! I'm not trying to say they aren't good pearls-- just that fwp of this shape are not considered highly desirable in the current market. That has nothing to do with their beauty or their value to you. It has to do with the fact that people seem to value roundness very highly and will pay more for round pearls than for non-round.

I can try to estimate the size based on the length of the necklace and the number of pearls. A 40 cm strand, 58 pearls plus clasp, I estimate they are about 7mm by about 9mm (because not round.) Given the size and shapes and how similar they are, again, I think they are cultured FWP.

All of which means that you can wear them and enjoy them! And not worry about having them tested by a gemological lab (costly) or insured. FWP like these will never wear out even if you wear them every day (no bead inside!) But I would restring just to be sure you don't lose them from the string breaking.

 

[pamelajane]

I totally understand, I am new to all this I just wanted to see as it worth going to a valuation because o had a few people saying I should get them valued . I am unsure if there worth getting insured .

Thank you for all your help also .

 

[Pearl Dreams]

I edited my previous post; we cross posted.

If you had some reason to think you had a strand of natural pearls then I would say go ahead, send them to be evaluated by the GIA or another gemological lab. I'm just not seeing or reading anything to make me think they are naturals, and if they are cultured FWP as I think, the cost of evaluating and insuring would far exceed their monetary value. As they are sentimental to you, they have great value anyway.

 

[pamelajane]

Thank you so much . I will clean them and wear them with out any worries thanks again . I thought I would get them checked out .

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Do you see how the threads are loose? That makes it riskier to wear them before restringing. That is why I urge you to restring.

See this forum for information on restringing:
https://www.pearl-guide.com/forum/s...-Stringing-Pearls-on-Power-Pro-Beaders-Secret

If you knot between each pearl it will add length-- 1 to 2 inches. Or you could restring the way they are now-- only knotting between the last few pearls.

If you don't wish to do it yourself, pay someone else to do it. But don't wear them a lot without restringing. It would be a shame to lose them.

 

[Katbran]

Agree with everything PD said !

 

[pamelajane]

Agree with everything PD said !

thank you to you both.

I will get them restrung, thanks for the advice, I am unsure if they were before? They are 5mm the pearl and I think the clasp says 999 on it . not sure. I have better photos of them in the daylight.

 

[pamelajane]

in the photos, they look round but they are all different shapes.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Yes, you would expect different shapes since they have no bead nucleus. Most freshwater pearls are baroque, not round.

They may have been restrung before. but the gap concerns me, especially since they are not all individually knotted. It could be the knots are getting loose.

They are pretty!