Valuation Help: Tahitian Strand 11-13mm

MotherOfPearlTrumpet

MotherOfPearlTrumpet

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I made a deal and purchased this strand of gently used Tahitian gray pearls with a 14K yellow gold/diamond clasp. Will you all take a took and tell me what you think the fair "used" valuation would be please? They are 11.6mm to 13.4mm, 35 pearls. .02CTW Diamond clasp. I think I know based on other used pearls I've seen, but I would like some other expert opinions. I don't plant to sell them, only restring them with a different clap and use them.
Thank you for your help.
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It is a lovely gray color in natural light, with a tiny amount of color variance between the pearls. Definitely not as much variance as you can see in these photos.
 
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It's a very nice strand, and the clasp is very interesting too.
Nice colors, great shape...medium luster, some imperfections but great sizes too.
Hard to set a price just with photos and a description...I would say $3 to $6 thousand if new. I would consider that a fair price used too.
Hard to say...I would compare prices with online companies...and you could even find a new necklace, better quality pearls for about the same price.
 
Like with anything, there is a HUGE variance in price and quality out there. Most strands new like this that I've seen run $7,000 to $10,000 with luster being similar to much better depending on the strand.
I feel like I got a very fair deal on these. I just wasn't sure if Tahitian pearls diminished in value like Akoya's.
 
I think all cultured pearls that are not historically significant (i.e. didn't belong to someone famous) diminish in value, regardless of the type.
People will pay more for new pearls than for pre-owned ones.

Edited to add: Maybe if pearls are scarce or HTF, they may retain value-- value being what people are willing to pay for them. People pay more for hard to find items. I'm thinking Fijian pearls, Cortez pearls.
But not Tahitians.
 
Pearl Dreams said:
I think all cultured pearls that are not historically significant (i.e. didn't belong to someone famous) diminish in value, regardless of the type.
People will pay more for new pearls than for pre-owned ones.

Edited to add: Maybe if pearls are scarce or HTF, they may retain value-- value being what people are willing to pay for them. People pay more for hard to find items. I'm thinking Fijian pearls, Cortez pearls.
But not Tahitians.
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Good advice. And I don't buy pearls as an investment, I buy them because I like them and usually because they are also a good value for the money. New isn't important to me, especially if it's significantly more expensive. That way I don't feel guilty wearing them.
 
I took this Tahitian strand apart last night to wash the pearls. The pearls washed beautifully and have such nice subtle shades of gray/blue/green, especially under LED light. Looking forward to restringing them with gray silk thread to create a more unified look. My plan is to put the larger pearls next to the diamond clasp (below) so it can be worn in front. Depends on how the clasp turns out though. It is a "screw type" clasp (the kind where you have to install a male/female screw into a pearl) and I plan to see if the jeweler can modify the clasp by removing the male/female screw parts, smooth out the "hole" and install a "bar" on the inside of the clip-cup so that I can string pearls in a standard way and don't have to drill them larger and glue in a compatible screw part (especially since I just can't find one!!) Gluing in a screw parts would become a permanent part of the pearl, or at very least, leave a gaping hole; and just doesn't seem like a good idea, especially when pearls need to be restrung from time to time. Hopefully the jeweler can make this modification and restringing will work. I'll post it on 'My Pearling Story' when it's done.
I just LOVE this clasp!!! It was an EBay find, but the pearls it was attached to were long gone. I think the reason it didn't sell was because no one knew what to do with it.
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Diamond Clasp Back 6 2023.png
 
MotherOfPearlTrumpet said:
I took this Tahitian strand apart last night to wash the pearls. The pearls washed beautifully and have such nice subtle shades of gray/blue/green, especially under LED light. Looking forward to restringing them with gray silk thread to create a more unified look. My plan is to put the larger pearls next to the diamond clasp (below) so it can be worn in front. Depends on how the clasp turns out though. It is a "screw type" clasp (the kind where you have to install a male/female screw into a pearl) and I plan to see if the jeweler can modify the clasp by removing the male/female screw parts, smooth out the "hole" and install a "bar" on the inside of the clip-cup so that I can string pearls in a standard way and don't have to drill them larger and glue in a compatible screw part (especially since I just can't find one!!) Gluing in a screw parts would become a permanent part of the pearl, or at very least, leave a gaping hole; and just doesn't seem like a good idea, especially when pearls need to be restrung from time to time. Hopefully the jeweler can make this modification and restringing will work. I'll post it on 'My Pearling Story' when it's done.
I just LOVE this clasp!!! It was an EBay find, but the pearls it was attached to were long gone. I think the reason it didn't sell was because no one knew what to do with it.
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Click to expand...
Love the clasp and I can't wait to see the completed string. I hope the modifications can be done.
 
I agree with you both: it's a beautiful clasp! Nice to see it in its full glory.
Looking forward to your upgraded pearl string :arms:
 
Wow. The intersped rings and then this central white gold & diamond arrangement makes this quite special. The pearls look large, clean and lustrous.
Quite a find!
 
Update on my clasp...it took a while to explain my vision to the jeweler but he accomplished what I wanted. We had to add a diamond rondel to the bottom of each piece so that the thread/French wire could wrap over the support bar left after removing the screw and thread casing. The diamond roundel allowed the thread to be centered as it comes out and goes back into the pearl. Stringing this Tahitian strand now. I'll post the photos of the finished necklace both here and on "My Pearling Story" thread.
Here are photos of the "adjusted" clasp.
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Came out quite nice! Waiting for the final result!
 
Done! These 11 to 13.5mm Graduated Tahitians are just so beautiful. Heavy, lustrous, just a slight variation in color (enough to know they are the real deal), and fantastic with this one-of-a-kind gold/diamond clasp. These will be a real treasure to wear. Now I just need to find the perfect pearls to restring with the clasp that came with these pearls.
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