Keshi pearls

[bluidragon]

I have been trying to post and cannot seem to get it together. I went shopping yesterday for pearls. I came across a lovely necklace. I was told the pearls were Keshi but not similar to the ones I have seen here. The focal Pearl was 22mm with 10 graduated pearls. The gold workmanship was a piece of art. The necklace fitted!

The price was a little expensive but before buying the necklace , I thought I will ask for opinions before investing. .
Did the pictures come out?
Bluidragon.

 

[bluidragon]

I also have this picture. Are they Keshi?View attachment 36552

 

[Marianne]

That is a stunning necklace. The pearls certainly could be White South Sea baroques and keshi. Wow!

 

[Red]

Wow, look at the luster on those pearls. I don't see why there couldn't be large white South Sea keshi. I have a tiny pair of WSS keshi in earrings from PP and I love, love, love the luster. Nothing else quite like them.

 

[pattye]

Heavens, that is gorgeous! I only see one pearl that could possibly have a round bead nucleus, but all the others seem like keshi. Can you see most of the back side of the pearls? A work of art for sure!

 

[BWeaves]

Wow! That's gorgeous! My two favorite things. Pearls and leaves.

 

[bluidragon]

Pattye so they are Keshi? I could see the back . The pearls were beautiful. I hesitated making a move on the necklace for fear of fakes. When I attempted the tooth test the seller almost jumped across the counter to strangle me. So I thought to write you asap. I did not want to be taken for a ride.

 

[bluidragon]

So they are Soth sea Keshi as the I was told. I am relieved to read this.

 

[pattye]

Nothing in the photo makes me feel these are not South Sea keshi. Do you know who the designer is? You look amazing in this, in spite of the casual shirt, lol. Like BWeaves, leaves are a fav also. The pearl I couldn't see well is the one high on your left shoulder, but right side in the photo above. Here it doesn't look like it has a bead nucleus. Sooooo lovely!

Will you be wearing this to something special soon?

 

[bluidragon]

To bed! No, probably to a conference , dinner out and with some friends. I did not buy it as I wanted the forum' insight to what the seller was telling me. Now I have a better idea that the seller was in fact telling me the truth to best of her knowledge .

 

[bluidragon]

I bought a Gold/platinum SSP. . It is 15x15.8 mm. One occlusion on the back. I have a question, would the nucleus of this size pearl I bought be more than half the size of the Pearl? I watched the video on Kamoko pearl farming that stated nucleus'sof SSP tend to be anywhere from6-9 mm . That is a large nucleus don't you think? Are we customers paying for nucleus or Thick Nacre? I have difficulty understanding.

 

[pattye]

Lol, to wear and enjoy on many occasions! If it is meant to be~~~~(the magnificent necklace)

AND a gorgeous pendant, wow! Only an xray can measure the actual nacre thickness, but South Sea pearls are known for having thick nacre. The longer the pearl is left in the oyster the thicker the nacre becomes, but the pearl also becomes less round and more likely to develop blemishes. I couldn't find specific info in Strack's book about nucleus size in SS, but larger nucleus are used to produce larger pearls. Probably your pearl was the 2nd one produced by the oyster. The first pearl is removed, then another bead the size of that pearl is inserted in the pearl sac, the oyster grows the new pearl for several years before it is harvested.

 

[bluidragon]

Is 44,000 USD an appropriate amt. to pay? The other pearls ranged in size from 20-11m. I want to know before I ask my husband

 

[pearlescence]

I assume that the other components of the necklace are gold and diamonds,,,in which case the pearls are probably the cheapest part of the whole.
It looks like a one off, certainly not mass produced, and the craftsmanship is superb. Some sellers bandy around 'museum quality' for anything which is half decent but that, from the pictures, comes up to museum quality. It's stunning, and if it is a one off designer piece it is remarkable work

 

[bluidragon]

You are sooo great to answer the question. I swear before I put down enough to buy a heater and a car I want to have an idea from the expert. I wish I could take you shopping with me.....oh, I am sorry , I do. I learn a lot from from this forum.

 

[bluidragon]

Okay, I am learning. What suggests that this is the second from the an oyster? What is it you are observing ? I do love the color. I know you are an expert but you people know so much. I am sur part is from schooling and other is from long experience in the business. But again how would a first pearl turn out vs a second?

 

[bluidragon]

It is 18 it gold, diamond ~ 8.5 ct. , Color F-G, VS1 on the necklace.

 

[Katbran]

Well Wendy makes a good point, if it's a designer name that's going to impact on the price a great deal as well. This is ( from Churchills site) a Lorraine Schwartz Bucellati style necklace with 5 ct. and 18 kt gold, pearls 20-25, for 89,000 ( on sale from 95,000 ) But when it comes to things like this...I've got no idea as to what is reasonable.

Your necklace is gorgeous and compared to the one I've posted..seems like a reasonable deal...and I like your's better...this one is very heavy looking.!!

 

[pearlescence]

There's a huge amount of very skilled work in that piece as well, Katbran. You don't get skill like that cheap. Again, the pearls are going to be one of the cheaper elements relatively, after the designer name, the making, the gold and the diamonds, even though the pearls are the focus of both pieces.
They will take only a few minutes to set onto the piece in each case. However much we love the pearls, they aren't the big price factor in either piece.
I would love to have the name and the workshop to make pieces like that. And then sell them at that sort of price point!

 

[bluidragon]

I saw this piece as well. My husband said that I would probably wear this more often but .... I don't like to wear pins as I again am scared it will fall off. I can contact the designer if you like? I know they will be at the San Francsico gem show.