x ray of "older pearls"

[coco marie]

hi everyone! i'm guessing these are salt water cultured. they were a gift from my dad. clasp is 14k, looks kind of 40s or 50s. pearls restrung in the late 80s, then given to me mid 90s after dad passed. here's xray from my cool dentist.

 

[jshepherd]

Yes, it looks like you have a strand of cultured akoya pearls!

 

[coco marie]

Yes, it looks like you have a strand of cultured akoya pearls!

thanks jeremy! care to guess the value (i have no idea)? they are opera length, about 36 inches, all in excellent condition.
i have another strand from ebay, that were advertised as akoya. choker length double strand. clasp is 14k white gold w 3 small diamonds (looks 1920ish bc there's a little filagree). very pretty although the pearls in opera length look to be in better condition. guess i'll go back to dentist! also have a strand of mikimotos (i have the original dark green velvet box) that my dad got in japan circa 1965. he gave them to my grandmother and when she passed i received them. i'll take those to dentist too.
i'm so happy to have found this site! so informative and my dentist is my new BFF! thanks again!

 

[GemGeek]

Yes, you have a cool dentist! How about posting some photos taken on a white paper towel? Closeups of a few pearls would be great.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Also, when you take the photos, don't use flash-- that would make it harder to see the surface quality and luster.

 

[coco marie]

Also, when you take the photos, don't use flash-- that would make it harder to see the surface quality and luster.

ok i'll take pics of the 2 akoya strands... might have to wait a day, it's currently raining and rather dark. thank you!

 

[coco marie]

rain has stopped but overcast. here are pics on brawy white paper towel. first group is the Xrayed pearls. clasp stamped 585 (14k UK).. then a choker double strand from ebay (has the white gold clasp). thank you again for looking!

 

[coco marie]

color seems to have changed a bit on upload..if you can pull image off and look in photoshop or other image editing program, you will see they're not as pink/taupey (esp on the ebay pearls). must have been compressed as well bc images were larger than this. oh well, hope you can get the gist.

 

[GemGeek]

Wow, the long strand is very beautiful - looks to be of great quality. The other almost looks artificial in comparison and the pearls do not look like they match the age of the clasp. It could just be that the nacre is very thin. An x-ray of the eBay strand could help determine more about it.

It is hard to sell used pearls for a decent amount. An insurance appraisal will give the amount that it would take to purchase a similar strand if you had a loss, but you might not be able to sell them yourself for that amount. So, there is more than one value. I would insure the good pearls and then wear the heck out of them!

 

[coco marie]

Wow, the long strand is very beautiful - looks to be of great quality. The other almost looks artificial in comparison and the pearls do not look like they match the age of the clasp. you're saying the pearls look newer than clasp? and yes i think nacre thinning in some spot on these. It could just be that the nacre is very thin. An x-ray of the eBay strand could help determine more about it. yes back to dentist lol

It is hard to sell used pearls for a decent amount. An insurance appraisal will give the amount that it would take to purchase a similar strand if you had a loss, but you might not be able to sell them yourself for that amount. So, there is more than one value. I would insure the good pearls and then wear the heck out of them!

thanks gem geek, my comments in red above. neither of these are for sale per se... although everyone has a number hah. i'd like to get a gia appraisal, but don't want to ship pearls anywhere. i suppose i can find someone in my area to appraise them however. and yes i will start to wear them more often! thanks again!

 

[GemGeek]

Ah, yes, the pearls look newer than the clasp, because cultured pearls from that era would have very thick nacre and they would be graduated in size. Sadly, in recent years some akoya pearls have been sold with hardly any nacre covering the bead.

 

[pattye]

Coco Marie,

Welcome and thank you for sharing your pearl photos and story! Yes, wear and enjoy your lovely pearls!

 

[AMc]

Really lovely strand- just gorgeous! I love that you had them x-rayed (send your new BFF a bottle of wine as a Thank You lol!), the results show nacre almost as thick as a Tahitian pearl, which is wonderful!

Also, GREAT JOB on the photos you posted! Looks like you definitely did your homework before posting- we couldn't ask for better!

 

[Amanda]

Lovely pearls - and not often people talk about visiting their dentist with such enthusiasm!

 

[coco marie]

Lovely pearls - and not often people talk about visiting their dentist with such enthusiasm!

interesting comment on the nacre thickness being close to tahitian. (i have no idea what that means except for thicker nacre is it's a good thing)
thank you everyone for the feedback. much appreciated! i'll let you know when i go to dentist again

 

[Amanda]

Tahitian pearls have a minimum thickness of 0.8mm before it is legal to export them from Tahiti or sell them.

Akoya pearls often have thinner nacre, over the bead which was implanted in the host, which means that they can wear away more easily and be more fragile.

You grasped the essential, though - thicker = A Good Thing

 

[Happy Huku]

What beauties, wear and enjoy, that's their value.