Great find, but what do I have?

[Carolg903]

Good evening from Texas! My mother-in-law was an antique dealer and had a terrific eye for jewelry. She passed away in 2000 and my husband and I have inherited the antique jewelry she had for sale. I came across these pearls in their original Mikimoto box, no paperwork included. They are cream-colored and graduated, the smallest is 2mm (I believe) with the largest center pearl being 6mm. There are 92 pearls on the necklace plus the one on the silver clasp. The box is green colored felt with Mikimoto Pearls on the upper lid.
My questions: What type pearls are these? Are they valuable? Is there any way to determine their age? I have had great success selling some of her jewelry on Ebay and want to represent these pearls accurately.

Thank you so much in advance!
Carolg903

 

[CeciliaW]

I just wanted to comment that the ends near the clasp seem to be bead caps as opposed to gimp or bullion. Was this common?

 

[GemGeek]

Please take some close ups on a white paper towel. Also, if you could coil the necklace into a disk and take as close a shot as possible, it would help to get a better idea of the whole. The nacre appears to be worn off the beads near the clasp. Thanks, and welcome to Pearl-Guide!

 

[GemGeek]

It would have been restrung. Those kind of end caps used to be very common in pearl-stringing and are still used today.

 

[KarinK]

Is there an M in a shell on the clasp?

- Karin

 

[Carolg903]

Thank you GemGeek, I feel very fortunate to have found this site! Pardon the pic quality, I only have my phone. I will say, the pearls either need to be cleaned or are very old. There seems to be some discoloration between some of the beads and 2 of the pearls are discolored.

 

[Carolg903]

no KarinK, one side of the clasp has a flower with 3 leaves on either side. The other side has the small pearl.

 

[GemGeek]

Thanks for all the photos! It appears that they have been worn so much that most of the nacre is gone. Someone really loved that necklace. The clasp is not a Mikimoto clasp, as that would have a Mikimoto mark. You can still try to sell it, but it might not sell well due to its condition. Still, it's very interesting to see an artifact like this. It makes me think of how it must have made the wearer happy.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

May I suggest you give them a good bath to remove the old makeup and grime that is between and on them, and then take a few more pictures?

Use warm water with a bit of mild soap (not detergent) and let them soak for 10 minutes. Wipe them gently with a soft cloth (I use microfiber). Rinse and let the strand dry in a rolled-up towel. then photograph again.

I had a really grimy strand that looked terrible until after it was washed. The grime in the silk will not come out entirely; it will need to be restrung to be worn.

 

[GemGeek]

I meant to say that the nacre is almost gone. It's common for it to wear off near the clasp first and you can see a mother of pearl bead in your photos. Pearl Dreams is right, a good cleaning may help a lot.

 

[pattye]

I just wanted to comment that the ends near the clasp seem to be bead caps as opposed to gimp or bullion. Was this common?

I'd say it is an acceptable option for that vintage. My strand of akoyas from the 70's, a gift, has a sterling clasp and these same type of bead tips. It has never been restrung.