Identification help

[Kade]

I have a pearl necklace my grandma gave me years ago before she passed. I'm trying to identify what kind of pearls these are. I did the tooth these and it feels gritty. All pearls seem to be the same size and there are 127 of them. Only marking is 14k on the clasp. My grandpa gave them to her as a gift on their wedding day and they were married in the early 50's. Does anyone have any advice on what they could be? Also, how should I be maintaining something like this? I am not a big jewelry person, and I know nothing about pearls to be honest,but I definitely want to take care of them. How do I go about this? My final question is what is the price range for something like this? I don't plan on selling it but I'm wondering if I should be more careful about storing it, and where I keep it, how often I clean it (if that is needed?) and so on... Any help is greatly appreciated!

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Welcome, Kade! What a nice gift for your grandmother to pass along. Many people inherit pearls, but I particularly like it when the gift is given while the giver is still alive and can share their personal history.

So I'm guessing with the history, appearance and tooth test, that you have a nice strand of cultured akoya pearls. Akoya pearls are saltwater pearls cultured in Japan that have a shell bead nucleus (which is why they are so round.)

Akoyas from the 1950s have thicker nacre than many of the strands exported from Japan in the 1970s and 1980s. This is a good thing: thick nacre means better luster and greater durability. If you take care of them, you should be able to enjoy them the rest of your life and pass them down to the next generation.

• Pearls have a soft surface that is easily scratched, and is damaged by common products like hair spray, perfume, lotions. Store them away from other jewelry that could scratch them-- that case is fine, or a soft pouch, or a separate drawer in a jewelry box. Don't keep them in a safe deposit box-- the environment is too dry.

• Apply cosmetic products first, and put your pearls on last.

• When you take them off, wipe them with a soft, dry (or very slightly damp, if it was a hot sweaty day or if you were wearing lotion) cloth before putting them away. I like microfiber for this as it is good at removing skin oils from the pearls.

• Restring them once per year if you wear them often. Many of us restring our own pearls. Tutorials are available here on P-G, on the Lowly Beaders Club forum. If the knots look dirty, or if there are gaps between the pearls, it's time for restringing. Silk becomes weaker when wet or dirty and it absorbs oils. (This is why many of us restring with a synthetic thread.)

You mentioned how many pearls there are but not how long the strand is, so we can estimate pearl size.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Also, you say you are not a big jewelry person and that you have had them for years. Have you not been wearing them all this time? Pearls are always in fashion, but they can be styled differently, to be more appealing to you if the classic necklace is not your style.

Cultured pearls do not tend to retain their value on resale the way precious metals do unless they are historic pearls or a famous brand, like Mikimoto. To get an idea of possible resale value, look on eBay (etc.) at sold items like your own.

 

[Kade]

Thank you SOO much for the very helpful information. I want to say that it is about 26" long. I'll measure it as soon as I get home though. When I say I am not much of a jewelery person it is only because my daily life doesn't allow for me to wear jewelry very often. I do like it, though I haven't worn it once since I've had it (probably about 7-8 years). I have a job that is a bit more labor intensive and I have three dogs at home that love to run in the mud, etc. So I only really wear jewelry on rare special occasions because I'd hate to accidentally ruin it and there's not much point in wearing it under a jacket where nobody will see it. Thank you for the advice about restringing it too. I will definitely look into that.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

So it sounds like they may be about 5-5.5mm, petite pearls. I love 26" long strands personally, but that is too short to double and I can see why dogs and job can get in the way of wearing them.

One option, if the current style doesn't suit you, is restringing with gemstone beads at intervals. This would create a more casual and up to date look and would lengthen the strand to allow for doubling it and wearing it as a choker. If you do this you could restring on very thin beading wire (gemstone beads often have very small holes and wire is finer/stronger than thread-- the stones' drill hole edges can cut through thread) with crimps to finish it, and avoid knotting altogether.

Or they could be redone in a tin cup style (but that is more work.)

The strand could also be shortened to be a single short strand, with a matching bracelet. Or a few pearls held back to be made into dangle earrings-- 2-3 pearls each ear. Lots of options.

 

[Kade]

Thank you again for all of your great advice! It is very much appreciated. It looks like I was pretty far off on my length estimate. I just got home to measure it and it is actually 32" long, not 26" like I had guessed before.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Okay, so larger pearls, about 6mm. The knots account for about 2" of length.

Long enough to be doubled, just-- choker length.