Inherited mystery strand

[Rhea Pearlman]

I found this graduated strand in my mother's things. I don't recall her showing these to me. I don't know anything about them.

The pearls feel slightly gritty against my teeth and against each other.

The clasp says "Sterling" so I assume these are from the '60s when my mom was buying herself jewelry. She never mentioned these as being inherited and we didn't get any of her mother's things, so I don't think they're older than that. There was nothing identifying with them, the bag they were in was bought separately.

I don't think there are flaws on any of them. But they obviously need to be cleaned and restrung.

I've always wanted a graduated strand and I think these are lovely, so I'm happy to have them. I'd like to know anything about them. I don't even know what to call their color.

Is there anything I should say about them when I get them restrung?

The pictures were taken in light cloud cover, except the last one which was in full sun.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

I am getting an imitation pearl vibe from them, despite their varied size and shapes, which otherwise would make me lean toward their being off-round akoyas. (I have had imitation pearl necklaces with varied shapes.)
I know you said they feel gritty but sometimes people say that but it's really just grime they are feeling. Grime can make pearls feel like they are sticking against each other. I recall someone who posted that their obviously fake pearls felt gritty. So I sometimes take that with a grain of salt.

Here is why I'm leaning toward fake (but just barely. I could be wrong):
1. The area near some of the drill holes looks the way excess imitation pearly coating looks like. In particular look at the non-clasp end.
But that could be a build-up of grime.
2. Color and luster are very uniform. Luster isn't great but that could be grime, too. If they were not cleaned, they could have built up a patina over time.
3. The finish is low end (bead tips instead of gimp). But sometimes real pearls are strung this way. Maybe she even had them restrung at one point and the stringer did it this way.
4. The silver clasp is lower end, at a time when gold was not so expensive. But there are definitely real pearl strands out there with silver clasps.
5. That center pearl's shape does not look like akoya. Or is that just camera distortion-- is it actually round? If round, then that leans toward akoya.
6. Most real strands have some flaws. But maybe you will find some if you look closer after cleaning the pearls.

It's best to clean pearls before trying to figure out what they are by photos.

Do this simple test: Real pearls are cooler than fake pearls. If you have any other pearls that you know to be real or that you know to be fake, put both in the same temperature environment for half an hour or so. Then touch each against your lip, which is very temperature sensitive. Compare.

As to restringing, if you still want to do it, we have a tutorial on our Lowly Beaders forum. It's not hard or expensive to do it yourself and can save you money.
Stringing tutorial

The color... cultured pearls, and even some imitation pearls, tend to get yellowed with age and exposure to skin oils, pollution, cosmetics/lotions. The color is not reversible. But if you like it, then it doesn't matter.

Clearly, whatever they are, they were loved and worn a lot. That is reason enough to restring and wear them.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

I edited the above post so please reread it.
I am beginning to lean more toward akoyas, because a number of my impressions could just be because the pearls need to be cleaned and maybe that center pearl is showing some camera distortion.

Do try the temperature test-- and please post what you find!

 

[CortezPearls]

And you can also use a UV lamp to see the pearls fluorescence. If real they will "glow blue".