IDing these pearls

[Harley219]

I'm hoping to get help with identifying these. They were given to my mother by my paternal grandmother in the 1960s. She passed a few weeks ago and I found them tucked into one of her drawers. The silk they were strung on was rotting, I removed it. Clearly there is damage. I gave them a gentle warm-water bath and am now pondering what to do. I'd like to make sure they can be passed to my granddaughter, but with the staining and damage I see - would it be better to dye them? Is dyeing them even possible? If so, what dye would work best?

 

[Pearl Dreams]

They look like imitation pearls. The clasp appears to be rhinestones.

 

[CortezPearls]

I agree with @Pearl Dreams : the drill holes are typical of imitation pearls

 

[pattye]

Perhaps you could pick out the best pearls, like 5, that hopefully don't show damage and have them strung on a simple gold-filled or silver chain. Dying the beads probably will make the finish peel off even more.

 

[StarryPearl]

I don't think dying is good for them. Even if the coating doesn't peel off, the dye will not coat the beads evenly. There will be blotches on wherever the coating is no longer perfect, which won't look good. Imagine every scratch gets a highlight.

That said, I guess dying imitation pearls isn't as easy as it sounds. Real pearls can be dyed because of their natural microstructure, while imitation pearl doesn't seem to have so much space on the surface to allow the dye in. Just a guess, I might be very wrong on this.