In search of info on pearl necklace plz

[CortezPearls]

BTW .. Happy Valentine's Day!

 

[Faith]

Being the brilliant person that I am, I just realized there was a 2nd page to this thread, haha! Going to try some pictures with back lighting, and try to post drill holes too, thank you everyone for your help!

 

[BeadersSecret]

Hello Faith, why not put the pearls on fishing line temporarily, that way you can see the holes as you remove them. Do this over paper, and if they are flaking it will fall onto the paper and be easily visible.

Some simulated pearls do not flake as they are literally made from shell, the ones that usually flake are those with a coating ( often made from fish scales) that is overlayed on a bead, be it glass or plastic.

The previous stringer was over zealous in finishing off by using too much glue, I see this quite a lot in my stringing business and it can cause
all sorts of problems when this is done, I have even had pearls solidly glued together.

The wire that you mentioned at the back of the clasp is called French Wire, this is put over the thread when finishing off to protect
the thread next to the clasp. Your strand is in very poor condition and in need of a restring.

 

[Faith]

Thank you for sharing your knowledge and expertise, I just finished taking more photographs some with a UV flashlight, and some backlit as best as I could on a led flashlight. The UV one is actually for setting gel nail polish, and may not have the proper spectrum, I don't know. I also have a small UV wand,for sanitizing, but need batteries for it, I'll compare another day when I can get to the store, I'm currently snowed in in Washington state!

 

[Faith]

Under a UV of dubious origins!

Under a UV of dubious origins!

 

[Faith]

That's the best I've got with using a small UV gel polish hardener flashlight, haven't a clue if spectrum is the one needed. I am still confused about these, but after all feedback and research I am leaning towards cultured? They've been very poorly taken care of, so I am going to try to restring them and wear them, for whatever life they have left. The glue was excessive and I actually popped one of the knots that was stuck which is why there is a small gap in the thread, after that I have tried to be more careful, and will probably get advise or help in removing the glue. Thank you again Douglas, I watched a couple of great videos of yours!

 

[CortezPearls]

Great photos Faith! Good job!
Now...I got to see a couple of things:
1) the Drill holes. A few look perfect, like real pearl drill holes. Just straight and all. But one I saw looks as if it has a "slur" (is that the word?) or like a "fish-scale" that seems very "plasticky".
2) the Mother of pearl nucleus...they are showing up perfectly (those "bands" or stripes you see).
3) The pearls don't seem to fluoresce...they seem inert. Now, this could be because they are not placed against a black cloth/background or the light is not good enough (sometimes, when the batteries are low, they won't work as well OR it is not a long-wave UV light, but a short-wave UV lamp).
So, unless the lamp is not working well, I would think these are imitation pearls made using mother of pearl beads.

This "Pearl Detective" work is interesting, always...learn so much but sometimes you still don't get the answer you need

 

[Faith]

Wow, that's a lot to have to figure out, for one 15 inch pearl necklace, lol! Thank goodness for you all here at PG, the Pearl's were with a crappy 2 dollar UV flashlight that is supposedly to harden gel nail polish, but it's very dim, and Pearl's whereon a white background, so I'll do pics on black background and drill holes, thx!

 

[CortezPearls]

Will await your photos!

 

[Faith]

Here's some better UV pics, have a Monet faux pearl necklace with it to highlight the difference between them, since my flashlight is so small, I just did one section of the necklace at a time, with the exception of the coiled one. Next is unstringing them, and taking pictures of any drill holes that look suspect, and anything else that I can see, flaws, peeling etc, will be back hopefully later today with those!

 

[Faith]

 

[Faith]

, these are same 2 w/o uv, but with camera flash, so excuse the glare

 

[CortezPearls]

Good morning Faith, I see you've done your sleuthing work
I don't see any fluorescence on the pearls in the photos...none at all, but it could be the flash! What DO YOU SEE?
You might see something that the photos don't reveal.

 

[Faith]

They glow greenish-beigy white? Kind of like glow in the dark Halloween decoration? That's why the fake pearls are next to them, to highlight the difference between the two, because it just reflected the purplish light back, while the other strand glowed greenish

 

[Faith]

Had to do small sections of the necklace at a time, due to the small diameter of my UV flashlight, that's why so many pictures, so I could show the whole strands reactivity. Off to unstring them all, drill holes are next

 

[Faith]

Also the flash is turned off on the UV light pictures, the only illumination is from the uv light specifically! Thx again!

 

[CortezPearls]

They glow greenish-beigy white? Kind of like glow in the dark Halloween decoration? That's why the fake pearls are next to them, to highlight the difference between the two, because it just reflected the purplish light back, while the other strand glowed greenish

Excellent! The photos just don't show this difference but your eyes can see it well...you have your answer right there: they are real cultured pearls then, those seemingly plasticky parts are surely glue deposits.

 

[Faith]

Thats great news! They turn that weird green glow, with pknkish tan tones, if that makes any sense! Well, next I've got to find someone nearby, hopefully Seattle area, that can clean them up for me, and restyle the good ones into wearable gems! Thanks again, I'll post a picture for you all when I get that accomplished. If you can reccomend anyone in the puget sound region please let me know, have an amazing pearl filled day!

 

[KarinK]

Pattye, our beloved and active forum member, is in Portland, OR.

 

[CortezPearls]

I agree with KarinK...Pattye is near you and she's a great person, pearl lover and beader/stringer. Reach out to her.
Have a great weekend!