Gee Douglas, are you apologizing for being funny???? Nah...I bet Katie appreciates a funny remark too!
anyway, I hope you post again Kate, with close ups of the pearls on a white paper towel. We have a thread called Taking pictures of pearl jewellerythat gives good information.
the point of the next two suggestions is to see if you can reveal some/any nacre:
what would you think of picking one, [not the biggest or best looking for suggestion (2)] and
(1)gently scraping away at the surface of one of these things? Or
(2)Here's what I'd try - soak one pearl in one half bleach - one half water solution for 15 minutes. Then take it out and rinse it, towel dry and have a look. Maybe you will have revealed some nacre. If not, the bleach solution might've softened the surface enough to make the scraping easier.
The bleach solution will dissolve/damage a pearl, given enough time, so never put known, good pearls through this, ok?
Please come back and tell us more!