The best book for pearl identification

[CharmedOne]

I bought a little bag of pearls from an estate sale and was wondering if the was a way to identify what kind of pearls they are. There are 52 of them in all different shapes, sizes and colors. The original owner was well off but nobody cared about the pearls and with fees, I only paid $16. There were some really neat ones in there and some of the black ones have rainbow colors and one kinda looks like lava around the drill hole. Some are fully drilled, a lot of them only have one hole (which was a surprise to me) and a few had no holes. Quite a few have pairs, if you will. Is there a book or maybe a website you could suggest? I didn't want to bug you guys with so many of them. Thanks so much. ~d

 

[Marianne]

Oh bug us, please We love pictures (take with macro setting on a white paper towel in natural light)... and a challenge!

 

[CharmedOne]

Ok I will try but all I have is my iPhone. I'll be back with some photos in a bit. ~d

 

[CharmedOne]

Here are the best of what I could get with my phone. A couple pearls look like they may have been earrings or a ring because I see little white metal coming out of one of them and a few have a drill hole with a flat side.

 

[CharmedOne]

More photos

 

[CharmedOne]

Taking photos is far from easy.

 

[CharmedOne]

I need a better camera. That's the best I could do for now. Thanks so much. ~d

 

[juliebeth]

inexpertly, and upside-down, i'm guessing there's a couple of tahitians and possible ssp in there! even if not, how fun to have all those to play/work with.

 

[CharmedOne]

Yes, upside down not sure why that is. Unfortunately, my iPhone is the only camera I have at the moment. But hey, I gave it a shot. ~d

 

[GemGeek]

I have an old jewelry box with a collection of pearls that worked their way off of posts and a bunch of undrilled akoyas that I got at Sea World from the Pearl divers". I'm betting that most of yours are better than mine. For one thing, Tahitian pearls weren't sold yet when I amassed my stash. If you were nearby I would be happy to take a look. Doing it by a book would be tough. You can take them to trade show and ask when you see a pearl vendor who isn't busy. But, sight-ID is not certain on some pearls. I think you should take this as a challenge to get out and see as many pearls as possible - then people will come to you.

 

[CharmedOne]

Thanks GG! Definitely a challenge. It wasn't expensive and it gives me motivation to go see some in person.

A group shot from my phone

 

[GemGeek]

You need to get a friend with a camera to help you. I'm sure we all want a closer look. There's a greenish one in there and some cool shapes.

 

[pattye]

Charmed One,

Very nice collection! Definitely a bargain!! Perhaps when you retake the photos, group the pearls by color similarity or in some way that maybe 5 or 6 are in the same photo, so we can see some great close-ups!

 

[CharmedOne]

I will have to get a better camera and do that Pattye. Thanks so much. ~d