My Grandmother’s pearls

[Jennifer Hernandez]

My grandmother passed away over 12 years ago and being the oldest granddaughter I was able to get some of her jewelry. I passed it off mostly is fake or costume jewelry however my grandmother came from a wealthy family in England so she definitely had real authentic jewelry, as well. I’m just trying to determine if this necklace that is very vintage is real or fake. Pearl was her birthstone, as well as, my own and I plan to save it for my daughter but I don’t want to give her something that is fake . Now from the picture you’ll see that the clasp is missing gemstones and is very old. I did clean up the pearls as best as I could without putting them directly into water. The top two pearls closer to the class were peeling and I did peel them off to see what they would look like underneath. There is another larger pearl that is also peeling it is further from the clasp. They do seem heavier than the fake pearls that I have and they also feel cooler to the touch. But other than that I really don’t want know much about pearls . I would appreciate any comments or suggestions. Thank you

 

[Lisa Loves Shiny]

Hi Jennifer. They look like imitation pearls.

 

[amoline]

I would agree with LisaRN. These seem to be imitation pearls - but there's certainly no harm in them and they have their place, especially for gifting to a daughter early on.

 

[Tartansparkles]

I also inherited my gran's pearls. They are a beautiful, pinky coloured graduated strand. But when my mum passed them on to me and I gently cleaned them, they too started the peel. I was curious and peeled more than I should have and came to the conclusion that they were imitation. The 'peel' was plasticy. If you can wear yours, wear them and enjoy them. Mine will stay in a drawer; I can't dispose of them because of the sentimental value and I can't wear them because the peeling is quite obvious.

 

[Rose-gold-or-bust]

I don’t think real pearls peel. Natural pearls, as they age, may turn yellower, duller and crack but I don’t think they peel

 

[pearlsngems]

I agree with everyone else that they are imitations. I expect the bead under the coating is glass. Likely the stones in the clasp are rhinestones.

Here is a simple test you can use that usually is accurate: rub 2 of the pearls together gently, or rub one pearl against the edge of a front tooth. Real nacre feels gritty while imitation pearl coating glides smoothly. Also if you have a 10x loupe, look at the surface with the loupe and compare what you see with the surface of a known-real pearl. Real nacre is smooth looking at that magnification, while fake pearls look coarser. Even the best fakes look coarse when compared with real pearls..

If you feel the need for more proof, if you wipe one of the pearls with a cloth with acetone, fake pearl coating will be dissolved, while real nacre will not be harmed. (But if you do this with real pearls, wipe them off right afterward with fresh water. No point leaving the solvent on them longer than necessary.) Obviously you should not do this test if you would like to keep the imitation pearls, as it will damage them.

 

[Pearlescence]

Way back when your grandmother was a young lady a father would want to give his daughter a string of pearls as her coming of age present. Now back then there were wild pearls and fakes. No cultured to speak of. (Mikimoto was just getting started but cultured Akoya only became widely available and affordable after WW2) So most daughters got the best fakes which money could buy. That they have lasted this long is a testament and they should be honoured for what they are, not dismissed for what they are not.
Yes, they are fakes, but they are also tokens of the love and effort made by a father.
I've seen many strands like yours. Pass them on as a a special family heirloom.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

Queen Alexandra of Great Britain (a daughter of the king of Denmark no less) wore real pearls.... and fake pearls

there is some really beautiful antique/ vintage costume jewlery around
Elizabeth Taylor had the odd piece of fake jewlery too
and Princess Diana also wore costume jewlery

may your daughter have fun, being glamorous with grandma's beautiful pearls be they real or fake

 

[ennui]

Elizabeth Taylor had the odd piece of fake jewlery too
and Princess Diana also wore costume jewlery

Liz had a large collection of fashion jewelry, as I recall from the estate auctions after she passed. So did Jackie Kennedy Onassis. There's no shame in it.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

Liz had a large collection of fashion jewelry, as I recall from the estate auctions after she passed. So did Jackie Kennedy Onassis. There's no shame in it.

thank you
i kind of couldn't remember with Liz
and i completly forgot about Jackie
all fabulous classy and rich ladies who all influenced popular fashion of their time - ladies copied Queen Alexandra's limp for goodness sake ! and all those pearls around her neck where to hide a scar and fashionesters lapped it up !

id just like to add grandma and her sisters
who had nice middle class fine jewlery but also sported some woundeful costume pieces
im sad to say that mostly got lost because my mother's generation didn't value it
as a girl i got a stash that belonged to a childless great Aunt and although im sad it got broken and lost at least i loved it and enjoyed the sparkles and i think my sister did after me


that's why i really hope Jennifer's daughter gets the pearls in a few years
Jenifer there are places you can find on Esty that restore and repair costume jewlery so even if they are fake please give them some love