Need identification of 2 strands Please

[jewelsings]

I have two strands of pearls - both real but not sure what they are exactly. The white strand has 67 pearls on a 19" long strand. The pearls are 4mm-5mm and the clasp is 10K on the side with the flower and 14K on the hook side.
The irrisdescent black strand was purchased by my Grandfather in either Hawaii or Mexico in the 1920's. The clasp is unmarked. There are 50 pearls and 2 matching earrings. The pearls are between 5mm-6mm on a 17.5" strand.
I will be selling both strands and need to find out the value or atleast the type of pearls these may be...any help is greatly appreciated!! Pictures are at http://tcunite.homestead.com/PEARLS.html

 

[GemGeek]

Welcome to Pearl Guide!
Very interesting. The white pearls are inexpensive Chinese freshwater pearls. Pretty, but probably not worth selling. The dark pearls, though, could be akoya pearls from Japan, or either Pinctada mazatlanica or Pteria sterna from Mexico. How about some close up photos of the black pearls, preferably on a white paper towel in indirect daylight?

 

[pattye]

Agree with Gemgeek, would like more photos of the dark pearls, wow, from the 20's, very interesting!

 

[jewelsings]

More Pictures

More Pictures

Welcome to Pearl Guide!
Very interesting. The white pearls are inexpensive Chinese freshwater pearls. Pretty, but probably not worth selling. The dark pearls, though, could be akoya pearls from Japan, or either Pinctada mazatlanica or Pteria sterna from Mexico. How about some close up photos of the black pearls, preferably on a white paper towel in indirect daylight?

Thanks for your reply! I uploaded more pictures of the darker pearls...http://tcunite.homestead.com/2.html
Thank you!

 

[GemGeek]

Great job on the photos! My impression is that they are cultured as they are fairly uniform. They might not be as old as your family thinks. We have a pearl farmer from the Sea of Cortez in Mexico and we can ask his opinion. I will send him a message. Thanks again for the wonderful photos.

 

[jewelsings]

Great job on the photos! My impression is that they are cultured as they are fairly uniform. They might not be as old as your family thinks. We have a pearl farmer from the Sea of Cortez in Mexico and we can ask his opinion. I will send him a message. Thanks again for the wonderful photos.

Thank you! My Grandparents travelled a lot in the early 1900's and that is when he bought the pearls for my Grandmother...I believe it was in Mexico that these were purchased. These were kept in a small black pouch and I doubt she wore the necklace...but the earrings were worn and one has the post broken off completely. I will have to do some looking through their old photos (slides) to see if I can spot her with these on in any photos for dating purposes (They both have passes away so cannot go directly to the souce). They are beautiful.

 

[Caitlin]

I love a good mystery pearl!

I have never seen such a cheap job of gluing- or such a cheap clasp on such pretty pearls. They may be mystery pearls, but they are worth a reknotting with a sterling clasp, at least- and those wonderful earrings really need rescuing from the horrible glue job!

The very unusual shapes of the pearls don't look like any of your usual commercial pearls, yet they are round enough to look nucleated. I am thinking of two strands with similar subleties to the shape of the pearls- one was brought to the first ruckus by Nerida and I wore it for quite a while. Shapes of the pearls and luster were similar, but they were some kind of complex champagne colored. The other was the strand KarinK's buyer bought for herself from John Tu who had a pile of them that year. His were in the silver-blue color range, but similar shapes and quality of luster.

Now I am not declaring these are freshwater pearls at all- they are a mystery to me- they just remind me more of those two strands than any others in my entire "pearl memory".

I personally love that strand and the earrings and think they are worth upgrading. It looks like whoever did the findings on this set was into the cheapest commercial slap-on crap available indicating mass production of something not highly valued. Only freshwater pearls would get treated like that on a commercial scale.

But I am not convinced that these aren't some other kind of pearl. But Douglas would never treat his pteria sternas like that- so they aren't from him.

That leaves pteria penguin?- except that who cultures those? The pearls are too big and evenly matched to be wild.I can't imagine anyone with pteria penguins using a steel barrel clasp and doing a glue job like that.......

Sorry to go on, but whatever those pearls are- even freshwater- they are beautiful pearls and worth the few dollars it would take to get better findings and reknot.

After all that, I decided they look more like akoyas....if you look at the photos with a blue cast
.....so my vote is useless.

 

[GemGeek]

Caitlin has great feedback. The pearls are certainly worthy of remounting and re-stringing with a nicer clasp. Pteria penguin would fit the look, but is not likely to be grown in Mexico. I sent Douglas a message.

 

[CortezPearls]

Thank you! My Grandparents travelled a lot in the early 1900's and that is when he bought the pearls for my Grandmother...I believe it was in Mexico that these were purchased. These were kept in a small black pouch and I doubt she wore the necklace...but the earrings were worn and one has the post broken off completely. I will have to do some looking through their old photos (slides) to see if I can spot her with these on in any photos for dating purposes (They both have passes away so cannot go directly to the souce). They are beautiful.

Hello Jewelsings!
I finally had the time to check out your thread...very interesting photos! It seems like you have a natural pearl strand there, most of the pearls look like they come from the "Rainbow Lipped Oyster" (Pteria sterna) and others look like they are from the "Panamic Black Lip Oyster" (Pinctada mazatlanica), but it is hard to give you a 100% effective appraisal without actually handling the pearls.
Some of the pearls look like they are all-natural pearls and some look disturbingly "cultured". The brooch and cheap resin-work at the end of the necklace is very common of the small "jewelry shops" or stalls that can be found all over Mexico so this strikes very close to home.

So, since you have supplied the photos and pearl sizes, this is what I think you have: one natural & cultured pearl necklace with many natural Pteria sterna pearls, some natural Pinctada pearls and some cultured Pinctada pearls. In Mexico it is very common for jewelers to finish up a necklace with other pearl types, mixing and matching as needed (same thing with paint jobs...have you ever seen a pistachio green house with flamingo pink paint? You finish the green and then you use what was on "special" Ok, I'm joking here!). You get the idea guess.

So, seems you have something valuable there, now it is a matter of getting a full appraisal to determine its actual worth!

Happy New Year 2015 to all the Pearl-Guide.com Community!

 

[jewelsings]

Hello Jewelsings!
I finally had the time to check out your thread...very interesting photos! It seems like you have a natural pearl strand there, most of the pearls look like they come from the "Rainbow Lipped Oyster" (Pteria sterna) and others look like they are from the "Panamic Black Lip Oyster" (Pinctada mazatlanica), but it is hard to give you a 100% effective appraisal without actually handling the pearls.
Some of the pearls look like they are all-natural pearls and some look disturbingly "cultured". The brooch and cheap resin-work at the end of the necklace is very common of the small "jewelry shops" or stalls that can be found all over Mexico so this strikes very close to home.

So, since you have supplied the photos and pearl sizes, this is what I think you have: one natural & cultured pearl necklace with many natural Pteria sterna pearls, some natural Pinctada pearls and some cultured Pinctada pearls. In Mexico it is very common for jewelers to finish up a necklace with other pearl types, mixing and matching as needed (same thing with paint jobs...have you ever seen a pistachio green house with flamingo pink paint? You finish the green and then you use what was on "special" Ok, I'm joking here!). You get the idea guess.

So, seems you have something valuable there, now it is a matter of getting a full appraisal to determine its actual worth!

Happy New Year 2015 to all the Pearl-Guide.com Community!

Thank you all for the comments and guidance. I appreciate your time and expertise! I will have the pearls appraised and post again with the results.

 

[lisa c]

Wow. I don't think there are many people who know as much as Douglas about this class of pearls. Do you guys have a recommendation for a particular appraiser?
Am I mystifying this too much, are appraisers getting better with pearls than past posts would indicate?

 

[GemGeek]

Yes, an appraiser will not know what Douglas knows as an expert. But the necklace can be sent to the GIA lab for a pearl report. A full report will be expensive, but you can sell for more money. I suspect that someone here might make you a private offer and save you the cost.

 

[lisa c]

Hi Gigi! TY; as always, hopefully a PGer will buy and post!

 

[lisa c]

Hi jewelsings, may we include your pictures on this thread?

 

[KarinK]

Wow, this turned out so interesting!

- Karin

 

[jewelsings]

More info on the pearls

More info on the pearls

Hi jewelsings, may we include your pictures on this thread?

I found out today from a relative that the pearls were bought in HAWAII not Mexico (I was unsure where in my first post). My Grandfather bought the pearls for my Grandmother on a trip they took in the late 1950's - also later than I first thought - they did a lot of travelling throughout their lives. Anyway, this may help in the identification...I am going to send off for an appraisal. I understand there is also a matching bracelet too! Please feel free to use the photos for any purpose. I will be back with the appraisal findings. I will be selling the entire lot as soon as I know the approx. value.
Thank you everyone!

 

[GemGeek]

Interesting. Remember that most appraisers usually see your standard pearls but they can request an identification report from GIA should you want to go that far. Ask for a fair value appraisal for sale. Insurance replacement is not a market price.

If they were purchased later, they are most likely cultured pearls and may be naturally colored blue akoya pearls. The stringing is a mystery, but they may have been restrung, so you can't count on it. The clasp is clearly modern.

Good Luck!

 

[pattye]

Ah, with the update of the later purchase for the dark pearl necklace, I wondered about the possibility of baroque blue akoya.

 

[Caitlin]

If any of them are Pterias wouldn't they fluoresce under an ultraviolet light? A cheap uv flashlight is all you need. If any of them fluoresce, red or pink, it is a sign of a pteria sterna. It certainly would rule out the akoya possibility for any florescent pearls.

Much cheaper first test than the lab. If any fluoresce, then we know those are not baroque natural blue akoyas.

If any of them floresce, I am going with Douglas, if not I stick with akoya.

Mystery pearls are the most fun!

 

[GemGeek]

Being purchased in Hawaii does not preclude their being Mexican pearls. Black pearls would have been imported into Hawaii.