Help to identify

[mperlas]

Hi everyone!
I've contacted by a client with a request to appreciate a necklace she inherited and which she wants to sell. I have some doubts so I need help. The client assures me that the necklace is from the 1930's. I still need to see them personally but maybe you have some thoughts.
Thank you!

 

[Pearl Dreams]

I don't know the age, but are these glass? (imitation) They sound a bit like glass beads as they move around.
Imitation is my first impression of how they look, as well. They are too uniform looking.

It's a bit hard to judge them this way, moving rapidly around, and against a red background. It is easier to evaluate pearls lying still against a white background. Could the client take some still photos, with some close ups of any blemishes, especially near drill holes. Ask them to observe if there are any areas of excess pearl-like material near the drill holes, which would be indicative of imitation pearls.

Also, ask them to try rubbing one of the pearls gently against another and describe what they feel. Do they glide smoothly on each other, or are they a bit gritty feeling? If they glide smoothly, that is indicative of imitation pearls.

 

[mperlas]

I don't know the age, but are these glass? (imitation) They sound a bit like glass beads as they move around.
Imitation is my first impression of how they look, as well. They are too uniform looking.

It's a bit hard to judge them this way, moving rapidly around, and against a red background. It is easier to evaluate pearls lying still against a white background. Could the client take some still photos, with some close ups of any blemishes, especially near drill holes. Ask them to observe if there are any areas of excess pearl-like material near the drill holes, which would be indicative of imitation pearls.

Also, ask them to try rubbing one of the pearls gently against another and describe what they feel. Do they glide smoothly on each other, or are they a bit gritty feeling? If they glide smoothly, that is indicative of imitation pearls.

Thank you very much. I will try to meet her to evaluate it. To me they also look like artificial pearls. My doubt is around the setting, the bright luster (I haven't seen yet in Spain a well conserved necklace of cultured pearls that is over 50 years old), the sound and the shape since they do look like too perfect on the video

 

[Pearl Dreams]

When you meet with her, take along a loupe and some pearls that you know are real or fake for comparison. Under 10x magnification, real pearls look smooth while imitation pearl surface looks a bit coarse.

 

[jshepherd]

It's difficult to make anything out when the pearls are moving around like that, but they do look and sound like faux pearls to me. The wire setting is indicative of faux as well.

 

[mperlas]

That's my thought too. I am seeing her next week, so I will let you know. It always breaks my heart when I have to announce to a client that the pearls that had for a treasure are not worth anything on the market

 

[Pearl Dreams]

At times like those I like to point out that even imitation pearls may have sentimental value.

I still have my late mother's strand of Majorica pearls. In her later years with Alzheimer's she wore them day and night, spilled soup on them, showered with them and her caregivers sprayed cologne on them. They don't look good any more, but I can't bring myself to throw them away, either.

 

[mperlas]

Sentimental value plays a big role also but many people want to sell

 

[KarinK]

People generally think pearls are valuable and generally they are not - something you don't realize until you start learning about them. Even if they were real pearls they probably wouldn't be worth a fraction of what she thinks.

 

[MotherOfPearlTrumpet]

They also appear to be strung on "fishing" wire or something clear? They would have had to be restrung at some point since their original creation as I don't think they were stringing necklaces on clear string 70+ years ago. However, they were using gold for clasps then, as gold was much less valuable then. This clasp was most likely updated when the beads/pearls were restrung as the clasp appears to be fairly "modern" looking, especially based on what was being produced in the 1930's. So, is the clasp 14K or some mix of "real" gold? If so, then the real value would be in the clasp. If she's looking to sell them they must not have much sentimental value...or she really needs some cash.

 

[mperlas]

People generally think pearls are valuable and generally they are not - something you don't realize until you start learning about them. Even if they were real pearls they probably wouldn't be worth a fraction of what she thinks.

I would say the value depends on many factors, so I wouldn't generalise

 

[mperlas]

They also appear to be strung on "fishing" wire or something clear? They would have had to be restrung at some point since their original creation as I don't think they were stringing necklaces on clear string 70+ years ago. However, they were using gold for clasps then, as gold was much less valuable then. This clasp was most likely updated when the beads/pearls were restrung as the clasp appears to be fairly "modern" looking, especially based on what was being produced in the 1930's. So, is the clasp 14K or some mix of "real" gold? If so, then the real value would be in the clasp. If she's looking to sell them they must not have much sentimental value...or she really needs some cash.

I thought the same thing. She definitely wants to sell them. Those clients who have "feelings" for their pearls, come to me mostly to determine the kind of the pearl. They mostly want to know if they are "wild", cultured, freshwater, etc. It is rare that someone wants to know the selling price.

 

[BWeaves]

They look a lot like the imitation pearls my grandmother gave when I was 11 years old (1970 cough cough). They were her first pearls that she bought herself somewhere between the 1930's to 1950s.

I'm curious what the other side of the clasp looks like. I feel like we're looking at the backside of the clasp. And the clasp looks like it isn't closed properly, but on the other hand, it didn't come undone when she moved the pearls around. Weird.

I can't imagine that cultured pearls from the 1930s would be strung like that on fishing line.

 

[mperlas]

,Once I meet with the client, I will definitely post the result