Lustrous pearl mail received—are they akoyas or freshwater?

[multichrome]

They pass the tooth test. I got them on eBay. The clasp is 14k, and the strand is hand-knotted. They’re about 5mm. I don’t have much information, but I assume they are vintage—I don’t know how modern the fluted ball clasp is. My guess is that they are 30+ years old. They are a baby pink—I don’t think they are discolored. I took some quick photos, but can provide more. They are very mirrorlike! Thank you for looking, and hope you all have a good day.

 

[multichrome]

In the last photo they were still kind of damp from their bath and so I dried them off before I took the other pics. You can see water between the pearls. Sorry about that.

 

[pattye]

Aww, nice find, a pretty necklace with excellent luster! My thought would be freshwater, natural color, all nacre ( no bead nucleus). They are nicely matched and I seem to see some pearls that are a bit oval. Why do you feel they might be vintage?

 

[multichrome]

Thank you, Pattye! I probably have no good reason to think they’re vintage, as in over 25-30 years old. The listing had nearly no info. I just saw how shiny they were and that the clasp was of good quality, and that they were knotted with some skill. The listing photos were not sharp, but I was fairly sure that the shine was not the result of a flash photo. The seller seems to sell older items, not much jewelry. I’m happy they turned out to be so lustrous in person. I’ll restring them soon, and that will be fun!

 

[Gemandpearlover]

Oh how pretty! What a great find. The clasp is a corrugated ball clasp. Have fun stringing those lovelies.

 

[multichrome]

Thank you, Gemandpearllover! It’s such a nice clasp. I love metallic pearls, so these are a real treat to find. I’m looking forward to choosing Beader’s Secret thread to complement them. They don’t need immediate restringing, but it will be nice to give them a thorough-but-gentle bath and to work with them.

I appreciate all of your comments so much.

Cece

 

[Pearl Dreams]

My immediate impression was fwp also. Nice luster and a pretty color.

 

[multichrome]

Thank you, everyone! I put them next to my Japanese akoyas of similar size and the oval shape was very clear to me then! I’ve been wearing them on my arm so I can stare at the luster, haha!

I wonder how old they actually are. Maybe I can find a similar strand on eBay or Etsy with a fuller description.

Thank you again!

Cece

 

[Pearl Dreams]

The near-round FW pearls are more recent...the are currently being produced in that shape, but in any case probably not older than 15 years or so.

 

[multichrome]

Thank you, Pearl Dreams. I just looked at the listing again, and the word “vintage” was in the title. So they aren’t vintage at all, but I love them anyway. I didn’t pay much—as a rule, I don’t when buying on eBay. But I did want a strand of small and very lustrous pearls, so I got my wish! It’s nice, too, that the color is natural.

I think I will restring them on Beader’s Secret “Shell.” (Photo by Pattye.)

 

[Marianne]

Agree with Pearl Dreams, probably nor older than 15 years. Shell is the perfect color to use with these little beauties!

 

[cmd2014]

No, these look more like modern Chinese fwp than vintage.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Shell is a great color for those!