My latest pearl purchase, Your thoughts and Opinions are Appreciated.

[CharmedOne]

Hello Everyone!

I wanted to post these photos and get your opinions. Out of the four auctions that I thought could be natural pearls, I only won one. Which totally beats none, but I really think it had a lot to with the pounds to dollars and trying to figure out what to bid. Anywho, I purchased this from a seller in Brighton, England, who was very nice by the way. The largest pearl is 7MM and the smallest is 3MM. There are 85 pearls and the necklace measures 40cm. The diamond is an old cut and the clasp is not marked but test as 9k. That's all I know about them. The package just reached New York last night, so I don't have it yet but I really wanted to know what the experts thought about it. These are the sellers photos. I only have three. Thank you so much for your opinions and thoughts, this is all a learning experience for me ~d

 

[pattye]

CO,

VERY interesting strand! Looking forward to your impressions and more photos when the necklace is in your hands. Perhaps more likely early akoya because of the roundness and size range of the graduation. If it turns out to be naturals, extremely round and well matched, although I do see some drops in the mix (not a negative thing at all). The clasp and gimp are most interesting, too.

 

[CharmedOne]

Thanks Pattye! The seller has a return policy, so I figured why not give it a shot. The drops are really what made me curious. I should have it in a few days. ~d

 

[Caitlin]

I think it looks like a very good/fancy 3.5 momme or what ever they call that style. That 3.5 momme was once the industry standard and almost the only size and shape of cultured pearls available. It mimics what natural pearl necklaces always looked like- that is, tapered from center to back,. but with larger pearls, since it was very, very hard to get natural pearls all of one size, except seed pearls.

If it were natural it would not be any other kind of natural than natural Persian Gulf pearls. In a natural Gulf pearl necklace there would be more variation in the shapes and it would have much smaller pearls, seed pearls, at the ends near the clasp. The center pearl would more often be in the 5- 6mm range, as 7mm and up are rare in Persian gulf naturals. A matching color (white needs to be matched in color) necklace that round is not seen by mortals very often and I doubt would ever have to go to an auction to change hands.

However, the beauty of your pearls pay far more tribute to natural pearls than matching size pearl necklaces do nowadays, and that is why it is so easy to think those older cultured akoyas are natural. They used to sometimes fool me too, but now I have seen too many naturals, so I must rule out the possibility of them being akoya pearls, but I can't, in this necklace. Maybe someone will argue that I am wrong, so that is just my reasoning and opinion....... And we are going by photos...

 

[Isi]

Hello, I completely agree with Caitlin. The pearls close to the clasp are too biggish compared to the more centered ones, These proportions are not what you could find on a classical graduated natural strand.
Besides, the drop or pear shape pearls on the necklace are very often a sign of cultured akoya pearls. For some reason, air or gas of some sort finds its way between the nucleus and the layers of nacre ; hence the "bump" which gives a drop shape to the pearl. Most of the time the bump is drilled through so that it is less obvious and doesn't disturb the general round harmony at first sight. You don't usually find these drop shape on a strand of Persian Gulf natural pearls. Not sure if I made myself clear.

 

[Lagoon Island Pearls]

Hello, I completely agree with Caitlin. The pearls close to the clasp are too biggish compared to the more centered ones, These proportions are not what you could find on a classical graduated natural strand.

There are too many concerns to deem these natural.

It's been said here many times, if they look like akoyas, they're probably akoyas.

Akoyas rarely present as natural.

The grade of the strand is almost always depends on the grade of the lot. Strands can be graded in different ways. Some by size or shape, some by color, but by far... the most difficult (yet most often faked) is lustre, especially by color.

No paperwork, no provenance.

 

[GemGeek]

I love the strand and the clasp - classic beauty that never goes out of style in my mind.