shape
carat
color
clarity

Worth $100?

PreRaphaelite

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Feb 2, 2015
Messages
3,564
Anyone have an opinion on this strand? It’s short for a necklace but the pearls look pretty to my uneducated eye.

C1B7BD24-A5F3-45CD-98A8-7617571B396D.jpeg

B005D931-FA78-4DC7-82EC-F70A70CAD22A.jpeg

A7BE0D14-8CA6-4AAA-8398-C9DBD859B857.jpeg

D3C9D279-659C-4052-AC3D-BAA503DEE4FE.jpeg
 
Last edited:

amoline

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Oct 11, 2018
Messages
341
It's a 14K gold clasp, so that's something. The pearls could probably use a good cleaning like any vintage necklace, and again like any older necklace probably in need of a restring.

The surfaces aren't perfectly clean - that would be something I might ask for some more photos of, just to see if the strand is indeed significantly blemished

Looks like a pretty necklace, though :)
 

PreRaphaelite

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Feb 2, 2015
Messages
3,564
Thanks for your reply. I’m afraid I’m completely ignorant about pearls but these have the kinds of blemishes that make me think they might be actual pearl instead of glass beads with spray coating. Do you think that’s realistic?

If I get them, theyll become a bracelet.
 

amoline

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Oct 11, 2018
Messages
341
My eye would agree that they are genuine cultured pearls. A better indicator is the clasp being of true 14K gold. Most necklaces that were faux pearls aren't strung with genuine gold clasps and the like.

The french wire around the ends also indicates a high quality stringer.

And as a PS, I love your crescent button pearl earrings! If I hadn't just lost one of my jobs from the coronavirus craziness, I'd be all over those for my mother. :) Wishing you GL for a sale over there too.
 

PreRaphaelite

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Feb 2, 2015
Messages
3,564
Thanks @amoline :)
Stay safe and thanks for your expertise!
 

Pearlescence

Brilliant_Rock
Trade
Joined
Oct 3, 2013
Messages
787
The clasp alone, if really 14 carat, is worth at least half that, if not more - hard to tell size and weight. But gold has, predictably, shot up in price due to uncertainty. It always does.
The pearls look quite flawed. But shiny. Shiny is always good
 

WinkHPD

Ideal_Rock
Trade
Joined
May 3, 2001
Messages
7,516
Do you have a loupe? Do you have the ability to inspect the pearls in person?

If you can answer yes to both of these questions, I have a couple of easy tests for you to perform, one does not require a loupe, the other, for most people, does.

1. Hold the stand up and slowly rotate the pearls, I usually do this with four to six inches of the strand held between my hands. If the pearls appear to blink at you as they rotate, this is light reflecting off of the mother of pearl bead in a cultured pearl strand. If they blink brightly, it is also indicative of a thin nacre, which is not what you want.​
2. With a loupe, lightly pull and bend the strand so that you can loupe down the drill hole of the pearl.With a cultured pearl, you will see a layer of nacre at the outside edge of the hole, and then the hole goes through the mother of pearl bead that is the "seed" around which the oyster grew the pearl. The thicker this is, the better. It is an easy demarcation to see.​
Those two tests should be able to conclusively identify a strand of cultured pearls which have been nucleated with mother of pearl beads.

Salt water cultured pearls are graded on several factors, to include, nacre thickness, luster, shape (round, round in most, semi round, and baroque), blemishes, color, uniformity of color and overtone.

Each factor can dramatically affect the value of the strand.

Have a great weekend.

Wink
 

Bron357

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jan 22, 2014
Messages
6,532
Yes I agree $100 is a great price. The pearls are a nice size and the clasp, being $14k has value. They will be real, as opposed to plastic. They are individually knotted, no one bothers with that for fake pearls.
I’d buy them for $100.
 

PreRaphaelite

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Feb 2, 2015
Messages
3,564
Thank you so much everyone! I am really new to pearls and want a bracelet that I can wear daily, but still enjoy the miracle of them.
I’ll keep you posted.
:)
 

PreRaphaelite

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Feb 2, 2015
Messages
3,564
Ok, small update. I haven’t clicked ‘buy’ yet.
There’s another strand that is slightly cheaper, but more importantly is long enough to wear as a necklace. Can I ask real quick, what my friends here think of these pictures? Or should I go with the first strand I posted and just settle for a Bracelet.

Second strand:
D190F83A-DDE7-451B-A1DC-18A03968FF82.jpeg 538F5C92-CE08-4D44-8642-C1730AB2BC46.jpeg
 

PreRaphaelite

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Feb 2, 2015
Messages
3,564
Just to add, I know it’s ridiculous to ask anyone for advice with only a few photos! I’m sorry about that. I feel silly but there we have it. I’ll be moving forward on one of these choices tonight by 8pm eastern time so there will be some good pictures to come with one of them. Thanks :)
 

pearlsngems

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jan 4, 2010
Messages
2,788
I like this second strand better. The first, shorter strand is semi-baroque. Baroque akoyas have varying thickness of nacre over the surface of pearl, and while this can make for greater luster in those areas where the nacre is thick, it can also make for too-thin areas of nacre, especially on lower quality pearls. That affects durability.
 

PreRaphaelite

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Feb 2, 2015
Messages
3,564
I’m still trawling for pearls. Anyone have an opinion on this one?
The clasp is listed as 14k.
8DBBE5C3-6019-4A6E-B7E5-BC7EFB530E13.jpeg 7269FD5F-1D9F-42A4-B94F-A10B371239C4.jpeg AFE39EFD-BCEC-4C73-92BB-4917025CC59D.jpeg
 

amti

Rough_Rock
Joined
May 26, 2014
Messages
54
The second strand looks like freshwater pearls to me. The last strand, the pearls look like baroque akoyas. They might be cream, or they might be more yellow... hard to tell without knowing about the lighting. Is that clasp an engravable clasp or was it face down? Is there something that you're looking for (strand, bracelet, a good deal, etc...)? Sometimes, the value in older strands is in the clasp.
 

PreRaphaelite

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Feb 2, 2015
Messages
3,564
Thanks for your reply! I think the clasp is face down in that last photo. I have no idea whether I would actually prefer freshwater or akoya to be honest. They’re probably quite yellow - in fact, yes, they’re really too yellow. I’d like to find some cream ones. But high-shine, new looking pearls won’t work for this project. I do like the way some pearls seem to be made of silk satin, if that makes sense?

I recently bought a vintage pearl/diamond clasp that didn’t have a strand attached, so I’m looking for one to pair it with. My budget is small (Like maybe $100-$175) so I assumed this would be just an auction search rather than retail.

Because the vintage clasp doesn’t really lay flat when attached to a single strand (maybe it was designed to be a bracelet clasp) I was really getting excited about the way a double-strand of very small pearls looked, if I could find them. Just haven’t seen any affordable ones yet. I’d also consider coral or turquoise, but I know nothing about them either. Sigh. Bumping up against my own glaring ignorance here.

Here’s my clasp:
B46787B2-F271-4E11-A89C-5F2FD7609013.jpeg

And maybe this is what I should go for, instead of the usual size pearl diameter? What do you think?
F7662FC4-81EB-4166-A030-14280C433BCB.jpeg
 

collier

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Jul 27, 2011
Messages
368
Are you looking to make it a bracelet so the clasp stays up? Most of the pieces you have posted are necklaces. Those tiny ones are charming!
 

PreRaphaelite

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Feb 2, 2015
Messages
3,564
Thanks. This thread has been something of a stream-of-consciousnesses but now the vision of the end result has cleared up, so I’m looking for a 4mm double strand, about 18-19 inches. It will allow the clasp to lay right, I think.
 
Be a part of the community Get 3 HCA Results
Top