Natural Strand? Cultured? Mixed?

[mausketeer]

hi guys! I hope everyone is well. I've been "good", no jewellery for a while, lol. I wondered if I could get your opinion on this strand please!

i picked it up on-line, came from the UK (it did say "natural" in the listing but I didn't put much stock in that of course). it is 22" long, and they are about 2 to 8mm (which I thought was rather large if they are naturals, yes?). most of the shapes looked natural to me but some really looked cultured! I just couldn't decide so thought I'd go for it and figure it out when I had them in hand. there are also about 3 or 4 non-nacreous beads in the strand, (not surprising for something so old though I thought, could have been added in at some point. third bead from the end on both ends are beads, and there are one or two more elsewhere).

so I got them yesterday and I'm stumped. when I look with my loupe, there are several with some chipped away at the drill holes and I see no evidence of any bead or nucleus, it just looks like solid material all the way (but I don't know what they used to use as nucleus for old cultured pearls. is it possible they used mother of pearl? and if it chipped, the entire thing chipped? nacre and nucleus together? the inside is nacreous at least I can see that.....).

Thoughts? thank-you! (these are photos from the listing.......I'll post my own later, I'll try to get close-ups of the chipped areas near the drill holes. oh, I also shone a flashlight through them, and they are sort of, translucent but not totally uniform if that makes sense? some look darker than others......)

Jodie
(foot still broken if you can believe it! lol).

 

[Lagoon Island Pearls]

I wondered if I could get your opinion on this strand please!

Although this strand appears graduated, it's not. The middle sizes are uniform with a few larger in the middle, then finished with what are likely keshis.

I'll never say never, but this strand presents too many concerns to deem any of these natural or warrant further investigation. Even if some of the smaller were, they would have to be distinguished from the remaining batch which would be costly and subjective at best.

After being cleaned up and restrung, this piece can be worn and adored in the same manner as a natural strand.

 

[lisa c]

​(((Jodi))), welcome back!!! Been busy? lurking? sitting on your hands so your credit card can cool off?? Have you seen all the new spats we have? Isn't it great!?!

Some of the littlest pearls have the round look and sharp reflection of old akoyas, from the traditional graduated strands, and some look like slightly baroque akoyas and some look like older cultured freshwaters (the ones that don't have as sharp a reflection, and the ones that look a little frosty), but I'm NOT one of the experts here. (I shouldn't even be venturing a guess).

If you look at the single picture in the third row down from the top, I think you can see it best there.

See where the necklace is curving, second 'line' from the topmost? Pearls #5,6,7,8,9,10,11. See how uniformly round they are, how the reflection of the pearls next to them is so distinct, and the surface seems so smooth? Then follow around the strand as it curves and see how the quality of the nacre changes? and the shape of the pearls? Of the pearls I numbered, #7 looks off, as if it were from a different strand, but still one of the traditional momme.

Now look at the biggest pearls, at the color and luster, how the reflections seem more diffuse and at the same time deeper.

I think the necklace is a combination, going by the types of shapes and luster. Which pearls had the darker centers, the bigger or smaller ones? Although, I will say of my two strands of akoya, the older seems more luminous or lucent (?). I think the nuclei make the difference.

So Sorry about your foot. Is your elbow doing OK?

 

[pattye]

Jodie,

Very, very good to hear from you! There are some very lustrous pearls on your necklace! Since you aren't seeing much with the loupe, it might be fun to "candle" the pearls by putting a very bright light behind them. Just a strong flashlight, or book light like someone else did recently~I'll find and link it here. See photo in post 8.

How does the clasp work? It looks pretty unusual, too.

 

[Bodecia]

Hello Jodi,
I would not say the smaller pearls are keshi. They are either natural or cultured. I have seen quite a few similar necklaces and my heart always leaps with hope but cultured can have that look too unfortunately especially when old and worn. If I were you I would snip the necklace at the clasp and test one or two of the pearls by smashing them yes, I would. First test the one on the end that looks natural and mangled. If no MOP bead in that select a rounder pearl (small) and smash that. Not the bigger ones . I they are all nacre you know the whole strands is worth checking out via X-rays. If not you have not lost much and can restring them knowing what they are and resell if you don't want to keep them.

Good luck,

Dawn - Bodecia
http://www.ebay.com/sch/dawncee333/m.html
eBay Seller ID dawncee333 and natural pearl collector & seller and all round pearl lover.

 

[mausketeer]

hi, thanks for the welcome back! no, not been lurking, was off buying gold rather than pearls, lol (I was being "good" in theory, not in practice). found a few neat Victorian pieces I'll post on the non-pearl chat. well, I found one "for sure" cultured pearl, nacre chipped off, can see the bead. then I read a few more old posts on here and saw that yeah, they DID use MOP beads as nucleus (was just thinking of the brownish clam shell beads I've seen, they didn't look nacreous to me so assumed it couldn't be beads) so...... I may send it back (paid too much to keep it as a cultured strand)..... oh, can't smash any for that reason either, but it sounds fun!

(thank you also for remembering my elbow Lisa! I'm on some pretty heavy duty pain meds right now so, pain level is better, if I don't take them, I can't function..... Ehlers-Danlos is not a joke, but I'm happy to still be walking!

 

[Bodecia]

Hi,

It seems that way to many sellers on eBay are calling pearls "natural" when what they should say is cultured. It is very irritating and if you get in contact with eBay you should have no problem returning them. I know a lot of people think buyers are not protected but they are. If an item is incorrectly listed then you have every right to get your money back. Make it official otherwise you have no comeback if the sellers does not make the refund.

I recently asked a seller what she meant by "natural" and she got quite ****ty with me saying that natural meant cultured and saying just pearls meant imitation. How stupid do they think we are? But unfortunately a lot of people fall for it. In my opinion it is an intentional rip off and if they are found out they pretend ignorance. Some are just ignorant but others are cheats.

Dawn - Bodecia
http://www.ebay.com/sch/dawncee333/m.html
eBay Seller ID dawncee333 and natural pearl collector & seller. And all round pearl lover.

 

[GemGeek]

Bodecia has a ton of experience with this, so if you don't want to return the necklace, smash away. To me, the third pearl on each side of the clasp appears dull in the way that akoya cultured pearls do when the nacre has worn off the bead. Maybe two necklaces were combined. Still, the necklace is very appealing and if the price was right, I would just enjoy it.

 

[Caitlin]

Hey
Always glad when yo can make it over here! That necklace looks far more like my mother-in-law's baroque akoyas than like any of my grandmother's natural strands. The orient/iridescence on this strand is extraordinary. You have a great eye for luster -and for me, that is the best thing about pearls, not the shapes or even if natural or not!

 

[mausketeer]

yah, I really do love it (and yeah, the lustre on some of the pearls is what made me hope it was natural too, plus the shapes of the larger pearls just didn't look "baroque cultured" to me......gosh, got a lot to learn!). but for $300 I think it may be too much (especially considering how many strands of cultured white pearls I have in my drawer that I DONT wear, the perfect round ones are just not my style). although ........if I "pass on" some of them to others I can certainly rationalize keeping this one! lol. ooh, I have a lovely double strand with nice small pearls I bought for my sisters wedding and ended up giving her something else instead. is there a "buy/sell" thread on here anywhere now? am I allowed to say when I'm selling something?

I contacted the seller. she was very nice. she said by "natural" she just meant the shape and she said "goodness, aren't natural pearls so rare, how would you ever find a strand for 180 pounds?". she said of course I can return them, no problem, or if I'd like to keep them she would refund me 45 pounds (about $75 Canadian).

Jodie

 

[lisa c]

Meh. Given what you already have, some pretty neat stuff, what's special about this one? Take the money and look at the conversation on thread Where can you buy natural pearls. 'Course I'm a great one for putting money aside, toward something better...then agonizing "purchase? or Ruckus?" and doing neither...so,

what do you want to do?

 

[mausketeer]

finally have my photos...... last two are artificial and then natural light (sorry, can't take selfies by the window, can't see). love how my cats always try to "help"...... lol

 

[mausketeer]

well, I tried (I know we all love neck shots).....

 

[lisa c]

Did you clean it or something? The knots look a lot newer. Yes, it's pretty, but. Didn't you want to buy Naturals? or maybe it's not that important to you? I say that because not everyone is ambitious to own naturals.

I'd love to have something like what the knitters' forum that Heidi belongs to has. They have something called De-Stashing. I think we don't have something like it on Pearl-Guide because it's an educational forum more than a purchasing and sharing forum (although sometimes it feels more like a family than anything else).

 

[GemGeek]

Oh! That is just the loveliest necklace and so pretty on you. Everyone needs a furry helper!

 

[lisa c]

GG, doggonit! I'm trying to talk sense to the girl, and you're going all moony on me! Whatever am I going to do with you girls if you keep going all moony over a bit of luster? Focus now!

Oh, I give up! Go have fun...

 

[GemGeek]

Ah, I missed that. I say take the partial refund money and keep the pearls because they are beautiful. The divots and such just add charm in this case because the pearls have a special glow. Moony is right - guilty as charged!

 

[lisa c]

(((GG and Jodie))) XO

 

[mausketeer]

lol! you girls make me chuckle! (no, didn't wash them at all, just my camera must be different).... well I didn't write her back yet because I love them and want to keep it BUT...... yes, naturals are my obsession (and I was very bad the other day....... bought a strand of natural Pteria sternas....... teensy weenie tiny little guys but oh, the colours make me swoon...... and I've always had a fondness for seed pearls anyways......). so ...... I MUST BE STRONG AND SEND THEM BACK! well......hmmmmm....... as I said, I have some others I could sell, I forgot I also have a couple of neat Mississippi River pearls I could sell. I didn't have the heart to drill them so, they're just sitting in a drawer..... I guess I can say that you can PM me if you're interested? is that allowed?