What do I have? Value and Quality

[Emeraldeyes]

Hello Forum,

I have several necklaces left to me from family and would like to know what kind of pearls they are, how much they would most likely go for if I was to sell them, and if they are real. I believe all but one strand are real.

Any information you can fill me in on would be great, as even though I live in a major city, there are not a lot of people in my area who are knowledgeable about selling Pearls.

Best Wishes,
Courtney

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Hi Courtney,
Welcome to Pearl-Guide!

I'm going to copy and past from the sticky thread at the top of this forum; note especially that a white background is much better when trying to assess pearls. A black background just swallows up details and luster.

Welcome to Pearl-Guide!

If this is your first post, please be patient-- your post and photos will need to be approved by a moderator before they can appear on the forum.

Feel free to post your own thread in this section, but please be sure to answer the following questions in your thread!

We would be pleased to try to help you determine what sort of pearls you have, but we will need some information from you first.

We need you to answer every question:

1. Do the pearls feel slightly gritty or smooth when rubbed gently against another pearl (or against the edge of your tooth, if there is only one pearl?) Please rub gently!
If they are gritty, they are likely to be real nacre (genuine pearls.) If they feel smooth, they are likely imitation pearls.

2. Please provide clear, in-focus photos without flash against a white background (a paper towel works nicely.)
Include close-ups of the clasp (front and back) and a few of the pearls. If there are flaws, include a photo of those. Also the box they came in, and tags if you have them.

3. Any history you can give us about the pearls. Where/when you or your relative got them, any documentation you have (receipts, appraisals), their price range if you know it, etc.

4. Describe any marks on the clasp. These may be numbers (14K, 585, 750, 925 etc.) or brand names or even pictures. [To this I'll add, if there are stones, have you had them tested?]

5. Measure the pearls, with a millimeter ruler if possible. If they are graduated, measure the largest and smallest pearls.


Please understand that any opinions we offer are not an official appraisal. If you think you may have valuable pearls, please see a jeweler.

Also I'll copy and paste something I posted for someone else this week, which may help you make some judgments about the pearls yourself:

See if the clasp/chain has a gold mark on it. Usually imitation strands don't have gold clasps.

Also, rub 2 of the pearls gently together or against the edge of one of your front teeth. If they feel a bit resistant or slightly gritty, that is how genuine nacre feels. If they glide very smoothly against each other or against your tooth with no resistance at all, they are likely imitation. (However coated real pearls may feel smooth and grimy imitation pearls may feel resistant.)

Imitation pearls also may have some or all of these characteristics (particularly cheaper pearls):

• extra swirls of built-up pearl-like coating near drill holes
• peeling coating that is very thin with the bead visible underneath
• beveled drill holes
• all the same size or shape, in the case of non-graduated strands (but some imitation strands have variable shapes and size pearls)
• all have the same overtones (usually none; Majorica brand have green and pink overtone colors due to the final layer of coating they receive).
• larger drill holes than real pearls have (pearls are sold by weight so drill holes are small)
• very cheap pearls with a plastic bead inside will be unusually lightweight; better imitations have glass beads and feel heavy, more like real pearls.
• glass bead imitation pearls may feel very slightly warmer against the skin than genuine pearls
• If you have a 10x loupe, look at the surface. Real nacre looks very smooth, while imitation pearl coating looks coarser textured. If in doubt compare with known-real or known-fake pearls.

Most freshwater pearls that are solid nacre are not fully round. The Chinese are now culturing smaller round freshwater pearls with beads inside that are round, but they are not yet commonly found.

 

[Emeraldeyes]

Hi,

Thank you for your response. I re uploaded these on a white background and have put them between my teeth as well. I think the 2 necklaces on the far left side may be fake. The second one in from the left says "Japan" on the back of the metal clasp, so I'm fairly sure it is a fake. The other ones have nothing on the back. What type of pearls do you think these are in each of the other necklaces however?

Thank You,
Courtney

Hi Courtney,
Welcome to Pearl-Guide!

I'm going to copy and past from the sticky thread at the top of this forum; note especially that a white background is much better when trying to assess pearls. A black background just swallows up details and luster.

Welcome to Pearl-Guide!

If this is your first post, please be patient-- your post and photos will need to be approved by a moderator before they can appear on the forum.

Feel free to post your own thread in this section, but please be sure to answer the following questions in your thread!

We would be pleased to try to help you determine what sort of pearls you have, but we will need some information from you first.

We need you to answer every question:

1. Do the pearls feel slightly gritty or smooth when rubbed gently against another pearl (or against the edge of your tooth, if there is only one pearl?) Please rub gently!
If they are gritty, they are likely to be real nacre (genuine pearls.) If they feel smooth, they are likely imitation pearls.

2. Please provide clear, in-focus photos without flash against a white background (a paper towel works nicely.)
Include close-ups of the clasp (front and back) and a few of the pearls. If there are flaws, include a photo of those. Also the box they came in, and tags if you have them.

3. Any history you can give us about the pearls. Where/when you or your relative got them, any documentation you have (receipts, appraisals), their price range if you know it, etc.

4. Describe any marks on the clasp. These may be numbers (14K, 585, 750, 925 etc.) or brand names or even pictures. [To this I'll add, if there are stones, have you had them tested?]

5. Measure the pearls, with a millimeter ruler if possible. If they are graduated, measure the largest and smallest pearls.


Please understand that any opinions we offer are not an official appraisal. If you think you may have valuable pearls, please see a jeweler.

Also I'll copy and paste something I posted for someone else this week, which may help you make some judgments about the pearls yourself:

See if the clasp/chain has a gold mark on it. Usually imitation strands don't have gold clasps.

Also, rub 2 of the pearls gently together or against the edge of one of your front teeth. If they feel a bit resistant or slightly gritty, that is how genuine nacre feels. If they glide very smoothly against each other or against your tooth with no resistance at all, they are likely imitation. (However coated real pearls may feel smooth and grimy imitation pearls may feel resistant.)

Imitation pearls also may have some or all of these characteristics (particularly cheaper pearls):

• extra swirls of built-up pearl-like coating near drill holes
• peeling coating that is very thin with the bead visible underneath
• beveled drill holes
• all the same size or shape, in the case of non-graduated strands (but some imitation strands have variable shapes and size pearls)
• all have the same overtones (usually none; Majorica brand have green and pink overtone colors due to the final layer of coating they receive).
• larger drill holes than real pearls have (pearls are sold by weight so drill holes are small)
• very cheap pearls with a plastic bead inside will be unusually lightweight; better imitations have glass beads and feel heavy, more like real pearls.
• glass bead imitation pearls may feel very slightly warmer against the skin than genuine pearls
• If you have a 10x loupe, look at the surface. Real nacre looks very smooth, while imitation pearl coating looks coarser textured. If in doubt compare with known-real or known-fake pearls.

Most freshwater pearls that are solid nacre are not fully round. The Chinese are now culturing smaller round freshwater pearls with beads inside that are round, but they are not yet commonly found.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

I'm sorry, I still can't tell-- the photos are overexposed and the pearls are very small in the photos.

Try this: take a separate photo of each necklace, coiled up. Try to get close up enough that we can see the surface of the pearls.

If there are any flaws on the surface, take a photo of them. Real pearl necklaces always have at least a few flaws-- surface irregularities that occur naturally. Perfectly unflawed strands are usually imitation.

As to metal clasps, sometimes the stamp (925/Sterling, 585.14K etc) is on the tongue of the clasp. I have also seen it on the side of the clasp.

 

[Katbran]

We can' t tell from the photos , sorry. We also can't advise as to value. Once you know if they are real you can do a web search and get an idea of prices on eBay etc. But to be honest..used freshwater don't go for much , if they are akoya you will do a bit better.

As PD says...if they are perfectly round and all exactly the same colour and the surface is totally clean..they could easily be fake. But without measurements of the pearls and close ups of them it's impossible to say exactly what they MIGHT be.

 

[Emeraldeyes]

Thank you both for answering. My experience is more in precious and semi-precious stones, so I do apologize for not knowing how to photograph the pearls. I will take some new photos and post them a little later tonight.

Thank you both again!

We can' t tell from the photos , sorry. We also can't advise as to value. Once you know if they are real you can do a web search and get an idea of prices on eBay etc. But to be honest..used freshwater don't go for much , if they are akoya you will do a bit better.

As PD says...if they are perfectly round and all exactly the same colour and the surface is totally clean..they could easily be fake. But without measurements of the pearls and close ups of them it's impossible to say exactly what they MIGHT be.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

My experience is more in precious and semi-precious stones.....

But then surely you have a 10x loupe? If not, you really ought to get one.

The surface of real nacre looks much smoother than the surface of imitation pearly coatings, even the best ones.