Natural Old Kobe Pearls

[SuzieQ]

Hey all I inherited some pearls. My dad got them from Japan when he was in the war in the 1940's. They are very beautiful and lusterous. They are almost uniform in size besides in the middle where they are larger. The clasp is sterling silver. They are in the original red box with Kobe and some Japanese writing on the inside. The lady at the jewelry store was knowledgable about pearls and was excited to see them. She said only the rich and famous have these kind of pearls now a days. Does anybody know any thing about them? Thank you any information would be appreciated.

 

[jshepherd]

It sounds like a nice strand. But it is cultured, not natural, unfortunately. But a cultured strand in fine condition from that time is a rare find! A lot of those strands came back to the US in the packs of the GI's. They were very much responsible for Mikimoto's comeback.

Would you like to scan up the Japanese writing and post it here?

 

[SuzieQ]

ok I will try to figure it out.

 

[jshepherd]

Ebisu - one of Mikimoto's favorite statues (a 'sea' god), he collected them - 172 total. The first 3 characters say Ebisu, the next two are a bit difficult to make out, although I believe I see a faint radical signifying deity (right side of the 5th character). The last simply signifies 'store'. This may mean more to someone with more experience in these older pieces.

 

[SuzieQ]

Thanks for the info. Do you know where I can find more information? Do you I wonder what they are worth? It is 16 inches in length and I think maybe 1/4" to about 5/8in round, I couldn't find a mm measuring tape.

 

[jshepherd]

I am going to guess that the pearls are about 7mm graduated at the center, and around 4mm at the ends. Value is definitely going to be determined by the quality of the strand - or better - the quality of care the strand has received over the last half century.
I do not personally deal in vintage pieces and so I would not be comfortable giving you an accurate value even viewing the pearls personally. Zeide would be better at that, I am sure.

 

[SuzieQ]

All right thank you so much for all your information it is quite helpful.

 

[Zeide Erskine]

War pearls

War pearls

Hi Suzie Q,

The American military more or less confiscated the entire pearl stock of Japan after WWII and sold it to GIs. The qualities vary greatly depending on whether the strands were already matched at the time of surrender or afterwards by forced labor. Your strand looks like it came from one of the many pearl dealerships that went bankrupt before the occupation. Valuing vintage cultured pearls is a lot trickier than valuing naturals. Maybe you can post a few pictures of your strand on a white non-reflective background.

Zeide

 

[SuzieQ]

What interesting information. I tried to upload the picture after I scanned it but the file is too big so I will try to figure out how I can get the picture on the forum. I can probably email the picture.

 

[SuzieQ]

I found out more information on my pearls. My dad said he is pretty sure he bought them in Kobe, but he does not recall the store. That was in December of 1953 is the approximate time. He also said they are cultured Mikimoto pearls and at that time he paid quite a bit for them, and they were strung when he got them.