Pearl Idiot!!! (me, that is)

[haler]

I found this site from google. Wish I would have found it before I destroyed pearls!!!! Someone told me years ago that you could tell a real pearl by scraping it on your teeth (which I now see that RUBBING was the key word) would tell whether it was real or not -- but they also added that if you scrapped off the pearl and revealed something either plastic or glass looking that it was fake. So, I have several strands of pearls passed to me by grandmother''s, etc. that I thought were fake all these years --- now it appears they may just be cultered and worth something afterall? So, if I''ve destroyed one or two or three!!! pearls on these strands (cuz I stupidly had to re-check them every ten years or so) -- might they still be worth something?
Feeling so stupid

 

[monarch64]

Haler, if they're actually cultured pearls you could always have them re-strung and they may still be of some value. Don't feel bad...no one's born an expert!

ETA: I mean have the pearls re-strung without the damaged pearls, of course.

 

[JulieN]

even by gently scraping them, you shouldn''t have been ruined? I can''t imagine applying enough pressure with your teeth as to scrape off nacre.

 

[RockDoc]

How did it feel when you rubbed the pearl against your teeth?

Smooth or gritty?

"Gritty" type feel would indicate cultured or natural.

Smooth would be imitation.

Yes, you could remove all the nacre if you rubbed the pearls against teeth providing the nacre was very thin. There are some treatments that MAY work in someof the cases, but hopefully you insured them, and if so the insurance company would be on the hook to replace them. Check this with a gemologist.

Rockdoc

 

[LA-Rocks]

You mentioned that the pearls were very old and that you were able to scrape the nacre off (this is what you meant by destroying a few pearls, right?). Are you certain that the pearls are indeed genuine (cultured) and not fake?

If you are able to flake the nacre off, the pearls would be Akoya. But if the nacre were that thin, there is no way the other pearls in the strand would have been able to stand the test of time. The nacre would be flaking throughout the strand, and the pearls would be quite yellow.

Akoya pearls from days of old were cultured for at least 2 years. This meant nacre deposition was thick enough to ensure lasting quality. Unfortunately the culturing time of Akoyas has dropped dramatically since the 1950''s, resulting in extremely thin nacre, often as thin as 1/10th of a millimeter. A good quality Akoya pearl necklace today (relative to today''s Akoya) may only have .25mm nacre. As such, most Akoya pearls will not last for more than a few years of regular wear. This includes nearly all Akoya strands you will see in nearly every jewelry store across America.

 

[pyramid]

LA-Rocks

Hi Welcome to the Forum. Would the Akoya pearls you speak about include Mikimoto pearls, I have earring studs bought in 1999 which are Mikimoto and I always wondered how thick the nacre would be upon them?

 

[ladykemma]

Date: 8/26/2006 12:58:33 AM
Author: Pyramid
LA-Rocks

Hi Welcome to the Forum. Would the Akoya pearls you speak about include Mikimoto pearls, I have earring studs bought in 1999 which are Mikimoto and I always wondered how thick the nacre would be upon them?

mikimoto or sea magic? there is a big difference. where did you buy them and what grade are they.
i have AA real mikimoto.

do candling. my super duper mikis have very thick nacre. if you hold it under a strong lamp, the nacre will glow as a orange- custard color. mine is very thick.

 

[ladykemma]

Date: 8/25/2006 12:20:23 PM
Author:haler
I found this site from google. Wish I would have found it before I destroyed pearls!!!! Someone told me years ago that you could tell a real pearl by scraping it on your teeth (which I now see that RUBBING was the key word) would tell whether it was real or not -- but they also added that if you scrapped off the pearl and revealed something either plastic or glass looking that it was fake. So, I have several strands of pearls passed to me by grandmother''s, etc. that I thought were fake all these years --- now it appears they may just be cultered and worth something afterall? So, if I''ve destroyed one or two or three!!! pearls on these strands (cuz I stupidly had to re-check them every ten years or so) -- might they still be worth something?
Feeling so stupid

i would think that you would ruin your teeth before you would ruin the pearls.

did you scrape the paint off fake pearls?

 

[LA-Rocks]

I does depend on whether you have purchased the pearls from a Mikimoto store or another retailer selling Blue Lagoon, Sea Magic, or one of the man other lower-end Mikimoto lines. Also, Mikimoto has several quality lines in their own stores, with Hanadama ranking the top.
Unless your pearls are of the finest grade, they likely have a nacre depth in the .3-.4mm range. If of Hanadama quality, the nacre will be a minimum of .4, but likely no more than .6mm.

Keep any hairspray, perfumes, or cosmetics off the pearls and they should last for quite a while.

 

[pyramid]

Thank you Ladykemma and LA-Rocks. They are Mikimoto and were bought from a high end family jeweller in the UK. They are in the Red Mikimoto box. I don''t think they would be the top Handama though as there is nothing that says that. There is something in with them in tlhe box but I will have to look them out to see what it is.

 

[JulieN]

Hanadama would be called "Reserve"