Hey guys, what are my chances????

[massrog]

Much to the "CFO's" chagrin I did it again and took a chance on an interesting strand. They look like oldies to me and have 24k findings. They range from 3.7-4.3mm. Do they look to you like they're worth a trip to NY? Please excuse the vendor pic quality! When they arrive, I'll hopefully be able to do better.

 

[jshepherd]

It looks like it could be an old strand of naturals. It's quite small, but looks like the real deal to me.

 

[massrog]

Thanks for weighing in Jeremy! Do you think we should have them knotted when re-strung or are the too small?

 

[jshepherd]

I think they are too small to have knots. It would wear best as it is strung.

This looks similar to an old "oriental" natural strand I have in my personal collection - an eBay purchase years ago!

 

[massrog]

Well they finally arrived so I gave them a bath and.....



On re-stringing we'll probably delete the really blemished one.

 

[jshepherd]

Looks like a strand of naturals!

 

[CortezPearls]

it does look like naturals. Congrats!

 

[BWeaves]

OOOO, I'm jealous. One day I'll have a strand of naturals.

 

[Lagoon Island Pearls]

It's a pretty strand, but my skeptical nature has me at a 50/50 score at a cursory glance.

That's good actually, because color, shape, size and surfaces gained the benefit of doubt.

Candled views could swing my opinion either way. It would also save me time writing observations of concerns which may change after examining views.

It's important to note, my skepticism is for your protection and knowledge. Elaborate fakes exist and I have no love for what they've done to well meaning folks. Sometimes discussing demerit points can be misconstrued as negativity, but it's never the intent.

Sometimes the mystery is worth keeping as it is.

 

[massrog]

It's a pretty strand, but my skeptical nature has me at a 50/50 score at a cursory glance.

That's good actually, because color, shape, size and surfaces gained the benefit of doubt.

Candled views could swing my opinion either way. It would also save me time writing observations of concerns which may change after examining views.

It's important to note, my skepticism is for your protection and knowledge. Elaborate fakes exist and I have no love for what they've done to well meaning folks. Sometimes discussing demerit points can be misconstrued as negativity, but it's never the intent.

Sometimes the mystery is worth keeping as it is.

They weren't represented as natural or cultured so I wouldn't be too upset if they weren't naturals. I'll pull out my projector and try some images (these are pretty small) later this evening...

 

[massrog]

Images are more fully posted in Candled thread but here are a few.