My great great grandmothers NATURAL pearl necklace

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Samlisabella

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Mar 21, 2013
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IMG_4651.jpg

Wanted to share, It's too lovely not to.
 
Welcome, what a beautiful necklace! Thanks for sharing! Please tell us the story behind it and where it came from and if for a special occasion? Could you post a photo on a plain white background, like a paper towel? Somehow the largest center pearls are cut off, and we want to see the whole necklace!
 
pattye said:
Welcome, what a beautiful necklace! Thanks for sharing! Please tell us the story behind it and where it came from and if for a special occasion? Could you post a photo on a plain white background, like a paper towel? Somehow the largest center pearls are cut off, and we want to see the whole necklace!
Click to expand...


I will take more pictures on a white background when I get them back, they are currently at Kazanjian Jewelers in Beverly Hills, there is a jewelry show this weekend.
Background on these, My great great Grandmother who lived in Bremen Germany was given this necklace by a young suitor named William, they were supposed to get married. William, fought and was killed in the German Civil war in 1866, sadly. My great great grandmother eventually married my great great grandfather. William's last name has been lost through the years of story telling. These pearls have been passed down through the years, now to me. The original clasp was platinum with sapphires and diamonds. Somehow between my grandmother and great aunt it was replaced. Shameful, it was gorgeous. My grandmother who lived a pretty affluent life wore this necklace all around the world, without a second to think about the rarity of them. She had them x-rayed at the GIA in New York in the 70's, wore them on the subway there, waited and wore them on the subway home, HORROR!! Someone at the GIA contacted someone at Christies, who apparently pursued her relentlessly for the necklace. She developed a massive hatred for Christies and auction houses in general. They are so pretty, and I have quite a few cultured pearl necklaces, and the visual differences, to me, are clear. You can't imitate the pure luster in natural pearls like cultured, and cultured pearls are in an of them selves, stunning! I came across this site doing a bit more research as it stands, there was a second strand of natural pearls, a necklace that my grandmother kept a secret. They are being evaluated as I type. The second strand is beautiful, but was not as well kept as the first, and unfortunately, noone in my family knows or knew a thing about them.
I will post pictures of that necklace in white when I get that back too, I have some pictures of it that I will post in my album.
 
Thanks! I love stories like this and looking at the individual pearls is an education of comparison with akoyas. Those are very well matched and very round.
 
They are so round and clean, I honestly thought that they were Akoya.
 
I'd like to see more photos because most of the pearls could pass for akoya in their roundness, but there are shapes in there that look natural. Also my guess is that the luster looks natural, even on black, not like an akoya at all. The clasp is not something that natural pearls wear, EVER but only akoyas. I think the second necklace has more off rounds, but that clasp! Even a thin old style barrel clasp would be more appropriate. That clasp means she could wear it around the world and no one would look twice. I think the second necklace is more off round, but it is not knotted between so if worn a lot can get off round, even barrel shaped.

Any chance that GIA certificate is still extant?

I look forward to photos on white. Also, put your best strand of cultured pearls next to them in at least one photo.

I have a strand of natural pearls, but they are much more variable in off round sizes than yours, which would make yours worth a fortune and a chase from Christies, though it must have been one person who did that, because the staff is generally very decorous and doesn't look for pearls that have not been offered to them.

Your story is very cohesive and sophisticated compared to most of the Grandmother pearls we see. It influenced my perception. It is just the right story for naturals and if they are from the 1850's the young man you GTGTGT grandmother almost married must have been VERY wealthy, for naturals that round would have been priced for far more than the usual off round necklace. If he could find a dealer, because the people who owned that quality rarely sold them except the Russians after the revolution and only through a very upscale dealer. It would have probably been the treasure of his family, their foremost pearls, because a round strand and perfectly matched in the color and gradation.like that are very herd to find.

When I cleaned my grandmother's pearls, the drill holes revealed many layers of nacre, slightly worn down. Easier to see when dirty. There is no trace of a bead, which would show if the pearls were cultured. The one with the orange hole is unique, but note that there is a bit of variation in the colors. To perfectly match for color AND graduation is astronomical. The young man must have been of the high nobility.

2 pearl shotMickey's pearls first line croppedmore 008.jpgcropped dirty pearls.jpgMickey's pearls first line croppedmore 008.jpg
 
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I thought the second strand was Akoya too, but both have been xrayed and confirmed natural. the second strand has a couple that are in rough shape, I will most likely have that restrung.
 
My grandmother, when she had the pearls was stalked by Christies, which completely turned her off. She never gave anyone the idea she wanted to sell them.


Caitlin said:
I'd like to see more photos because most of the pearls could pass for akoya in their roundness, but there are shapes in there that look natural. Also my guess is that the luster looks natural, even on black, not like an akoya at all. The clasp is not something that natural pearls wear, EVER but only akoyas. I think the second necklace has more off rounds, but that clasp! Even a thin old style barrel clasp would be more appropriate. That clasp means she could wear it around the world and no one would look twice. I think the second necklace is more off round, but it is not knotted between so if worn a lot can get off round, even barrel shaped.

Any chance that GIA certificate is still extant?

I look forward to photos on white. Also, put your best strand of cultured pearls next to them in at least one photo.

I have a strand of natural pearls, but they are much more variable in off round sizes than yours, which would make yours worth a fortune and a chase from Christies, though it must have been one person who did that, because the staff is generally very decorous and doesn't look for pearls that have not been offered to them.

Your story is very cohesive and sophisticated compared to most of the Grandmother pearls we see. It influenced my perception. It is just the right story for naturals and if they are from the 1850's the young man you GTGTGT grandmother almost married must have been VERY wealthy, for naturals that round would have been priced for far more than the usual off round necklace. If he could find a dealer, because the people who owned that quality rarely sold them except the Russians after the revolution and only through a very upscale dealer. It would have probably been the treasure of his family, their foremost pearls, because a round strand and perfectly matched in the color and gradation.like that are very herd to find.

When I cleaned my grandmother's pearls, the drill holes revealed many layers of nacre, slightly worn down. Easier to see when dirty. There is no trace of a bead, which would show if the pearls were cultured. The one with the orange hole is unique, but note that there is a bit of variation in the colors. To perfectly match for color AND graduation is astronomical. The young man must have been of the high nobility.

View attachment 22071View attachment 22072View attachment 22073
Click to expand...
 
I am so sorry to hear that about Christies. It is agregious because the GIA respects privacy and it would have been a sell out in the GIA telling someone in Christies so aggressive that they chased her. For the most part gem people are as secretive for their clients as psychologists as are about their patients and that would have been a huge breech of privacy.

What kind of x rays? When was that? Do you have copies of the reports? Derek's remarks remind me not to only believe the story, but to test the evidence against any hard data. The thing that figures against 19th century pearls are the clasps. No one in their right mind should have replaced them.

A possibility to rule out is that they were sold and replaced with good really beautiful lustered top of the line akoyas. I have seen akoyas with the most beautiful natural luster in the world. (see Gem Geeks unbleached hanadama necklace below) Or a new xray. Dentists' xrays rarely show the inside of the pearl enough to tell anything.
 
Caitlin, do you happen to have a comparison photo with natural and akoya strands in order to see how does the luster differ? Thanks
 
Caitlin said:
I am so sorry to hear that about Christies. It is agregious because the GIA respects privacy and it would have been a sell out in the GIA telling someone in Christies so aggressive that they chased her. For the most part gem people are as secretive for their clients as psychologists as are about their patients and that would have been a huge breech of privacy.

What kind of x rays? When was that? Do you have copies of the reports? Derek's remarks remind me not to only believe the story, but to test the evidence against any hard data. The thing that figures against 19th century pearls are the clasps. No one in their right mind should have replaced them.

A possibility to rule out is that they were sold and replaced with good really beautiful lustered top of the line akoyas. I have seen akoyas with the most beautiful natural luster in the world. (see Gem Geeks unbleached hanadama necklace below) Or a new xray. Dentists' xrays rarely show the inside of the pearl enough to tell anything.
attachment.php

https://www.pearl-guide.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3934&highlight=natural+hanadamas
Click to expand...

The original clasp on both necklaces were swapped by my uncle, who thought they were more value able than the pearls. My grandmother never spoke to him again.
The paperwork on them is with the estate lawyer, until every aspect of my grandmothers estate is finalized. My grandmother had them x rated at the Gia in New York in the 70's. such a different time, she wore them on the subway there and waited alllllllll dayyyyyyy longgggg as she says, and wore the back home on the subway again. I alled the Gia to get a copy but they don't have a database that dates that far back.
 
I spent a few minutes looking for the photo Lilliefuzzysocks took of a natural necklace with various cultured strands. I can't figure out where it is, it was begun back in august 2012
 
I couldn't see the photos there either, but this one was the subject of a thread with photo taken at Pearl Paradise by LFS
 
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