What kind of pearls are these

[og500]

Pearl necklace inherited from family Austria. Given to wife's grandmother in 1960 by rich Doctor family from Innsbruck.

Valuer in the Dorotheum Innsbruck had a quick look and suggested we took them to Sotheby's (we live in UK)

Had varying opinions, including 2 jewellers wiling to send the to the lab, fronting all costs providing we sell to them. Others saying cultured and worth very little.

Gold clasp was estimated by 1 jeweller to be from approx 1820

Pearls are approx 7 - 7.5mm in size , mostly round. 82 pearls in total

Sorry, the photos aren'r great - if required I could borrow a better camera and re-upload

Many thanks for having a look

 

[KarinK]

Hi and welcome!

I am a complete amateur. More knowledgeable people will come along. My first reaction when seeing the pearls was old, slightly baroque akoya pearls. That would make them cultured pearls. Then I saw the clasp and the estimate of the age. It made me wonder if perhaps the pearls could have been strung with an old clasp somewhere along the way.

I'm looking forward to seeing other's comments

- Karin

 

[KarinK]

PS

Lovely clasp, by the way. Does it have any markings? Has it been tested for gold?

- Karin

 

[og500]

Hi Karin, thanks for your comments. The clasp hasn't been tested for gold. Its hollow I guess due to weight and I can't find any markings.
Oliver

 

[Pearl Dreams]

I hope you don't commit yourself to selling to anyone just to avoid paying the costs of the lab yourself!

If the pearls are natural, you may do better at auction than you would selling to either of those jewelers. And the clasp is gorgeous!

 

[Anne21]

It's beautiful! Do you have a picture of the entire strand? I'd love to see it if so. Hope you can find out more about it.

 

[Lagoon Island Pearls]

Definitely not natural.

It's a nice strand of vintage baroque akoyas.

 

[pattye]

Welcome og500,

Yes, please, a photo of the whole strand would be helpful. The clasp is lovely! I agree with Karin, more likely to be early Akoya bead nucleated pearls, due to the color, roundness, similar size. I am not an expert on natural pearls either, but if these were naturals the strand probably would be graduated and the pearls less round.

Here are some examples of natural pearl necklaces for starters: https://www.pearl-guide.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7811

https://www.pearl-guide.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7446

And in the meantime, Dave replied!

 

[Lagoon Island Pearls]

And in the meantime, Dave replied!

Normally I don't reply to akoya threads, which are the most common inquiry here at PG, unless they're questioned as natural.

Pattye hit the mark on her comment about natural strands. A strand of 7-7.5mm akoya is really, really common for vintage cultured pearls. The same strand in naturals would fetch six figures.

There are a couple of unwritten rules of thumb I'll use to ID akoya pearls.

1- If they look like akoyas, there're probably akoyas.
2- If they present with an individual red or green color shift, they're probably akoyas.

Looking at a natural strand, it's unlikely you'll see the alternating red, green, red, green style of grading matched sizes.

 

[og500]

Hi

Thanks to everyone for their opinions! Wouldn't have even questioned them (natural or cultured) if it wasn't for the 'expert' at Innsbruck Auction House. We only took them there because they cost a lot of money when originally purchased. Which I guess even cultured pearls did back then.

I've included a photo of the entire necklace as requested.

One more question - Is it worth a punt at the gem and pearl lab? ?160 for full report with cert. and photos if natural or ?80 if not

Do any of you experts think its worth the ?80 gamble or are they akoya cultured for sure.

Thanks

 

[og500]

 

[LitGeek]

It is a really beautiful necklace and that clasp is FABULOUS! Based on Dave's assessment, if the necklace were mine I would save the money and skip the testing.

 

[KarinK]

Ditto here. Dave is a true expert at natural pearls.

- Karin

 

[GemGeek]

The great thing about Dave is that he shares the reasoning for his opinions so you can learn from him.

 

[pattye]

Thank you for adding the photos of the full necklace, which I hope will be worn and enjoyed, not stuck away in a safe. No need for a lab report, great explanation, Dave!

Would be interesting to test the clasp and identify the gems, as much of the value is there.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

I totally agree-- it's the clasp that is the star of the show!

 

[og500]

Thanks for all the advice guys. A few of the valuers / jewellers we've seen have said they are basically worthless in monetary value. Perhaps just the value of the clasp. Is this true for vintage cultured akoya pearls? Thank you. Oliver

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Not worthless, but probably worth less than what the owners wish they were....

 

[pattye]

Oliver,

You definitely have a necklace of great sentimental value. Vintage baroque akoya pearls generally have thicker nacre than most akoyas now days and many find baroque shapes more interesting than round. The pearls WITHOUT the clasp would not have a high value (likely in the $100's, not $1000's) , but certainly not worthless, unless they show damage not visible in the photo. Yes, by far the most value is in the clasp if it proves to be karat gold with genuine gemstones.

 

[og500]

Hi
A little bit more information. The pearls were purchased approx 1972 for 40,000 Austrian Schilling. This roughly equates to about ?28,000 or $45,000 in todays money. The antique gold clasp (circa 1820) was purchased separately. Sorry for all the questions, but has the value of vintage Akoya cultured pearls really dropped so much that they are now worth in the rangge of approx $100's.
Thanks again guys for all your advice