What kind of pearls are these? 18k gold hoops.

[toastygang]

I have a pair of what I think are vintage pearl hoop earrings from the 70s to 90s. Each pearl has a pair of 18k gold endcaps, and I included a photo of the stamp but it may be hard to see; it says "Italy 18k". The pearls are all similar size but not exactly the same (around 5 mm diameter on average), and most of them have imperfections like a rippled surface or some pockmarks. The pearls feel gritty on my teeth so I think they are real.

What I'm trying to figure out is if they're cultured or natural, and if cultured, what type (freshwater or saltwater)? On one hand, I thought it would be pretty easy to get perfect cultured pearls hence why the imperfect surfaces were odd, but since I think these are vintage, then maybe the technology to make perfect cultured pearls was not there at the time so some imperfections in pearls were acceptable? I found pictures online of vintage Mikimoto pearls (those are cultured Akoya, right?) and they are all flawless. I know natural pearls are rare, but the imperfections are strange so I'm wondering if they are natural pearls. They must be nice if they are set in 18k gold.

Does anyone know?

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Nice earrings!
They look like cultured akoya pearls.
The technology was there to make high quality cultured pearls, but akoyas are not all perfectly round nor perfectly clean; there is bound to be a range of quality, seeing as they are formed in living oysters. These imperfect pearls are also used in jewelry, and keep the price point down.

 

[toastygang]

Thank you for your reply!