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Are they akoyas?

K9

Brilliant_Rock
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Jul 7, 2007
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776
I picked up this vintage graduated pearl necklace the other day. They were sold to me as akoyas - I honestly wouldn't know the difference either way! How can you tell?

They are a lovely cream body color with pinkish overtones. I don't see any pink around the drill holes so it doesn't look like they were pinked... again, I'm not sure I have the best trained eyes though.

They also have great luster as I can easily see my reflection in them. I'll be re-stringing them this week as the stringing is old and stretched between the pearls.









Edited for spelling

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naria

Shiny_Rock
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Mar 10, 2012
Messages
101
To my eye, they look like standard akoyas. If they are, they have been pinked. This is done before the pearls are drilled, I believe, so wouldn't be evident in the drill hole. I suggest doing the tooth test where you gently rub your tooth a long a pearl. If it is a little grainy, this indicates that it is an actual pearl.
 

pearlsngems

Ideal_Rock
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I agree that they look like akoyas. The overtones are not all the same, as you would generally expect in fakes-- some of the pearls have pinker or bluer overtones. They are very round (so there's a bead inside, as akoyas have.) I see at least one pearl that has a surface blemish that one sees with real nacre (see pearl on far left.)

And yes, beautiful luster! Congratulations!
 

K9

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
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Thanks naria and pearlsngems. I was very certain that they aren't faux - I just don't know how to tell freshwater from akoya. :)) I also didn't know that pinking would be done pre-drilling. Good to know!

I think the blue you're seeing may be the blue shirt I was wearing when I snapped the photos.
 

NacreLover

Brilliant_Rock
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I am not so sure they are real pearls. The drill holes look wrong to me. Can you take more photos please. Some of them seem to be poofing out or look too large and wrong.
 

K9

Brilliant_Rock
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Hmmm... interesting. OK - it's dark here so I'll try to take more photos tomorrow!
 

pearlsngems

Ideal_Rock
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My understanding is that pinking is done after drilling, through the drill hole. (I don't see how else the dye could reach the conchiolin layer to color it.) I'll see what I can find about that in my books....

Edit: In the article by Fred Ward in National Geographic (August 1985), p. 202, there is a photo of a pinked pearl where the pink layer is visible through the drill hole. The text next to the photo reads, "Only a drilled pearl can be dyed. This one (above) gets its pink tint from a red dye in the conchiolin, the porous layer between the nacre and the nucleus."

In Pearls by Elisabeth Strack, p. 362, it says: "Drilling is followed by processing which means that the pearls are either bleached, chemically treated, artificially coloured or polished."

I have 2 vintage akoya strands in which I also didn't see evidence of pinking when I examined the drill holes prior to restringing, so I assume they were not all being pinked back then.

Also, I see another pearl with a typical surface blemish, lower center. I do think they are real but take more photos please, including closeups of blemishes.
 

naria

Shiny_Rock
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Mar 10, 2012
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Great to know. I need to buy the Strack book.
 

K9

Brilliant_Rock
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776
thanks pearlsngems! I had always thought that pinking was done post drilling which is why I was looking for pink around the drill holes.

I'll take better photos today and post them later. I don't have much invested in this so it's no skin off my nose either way... I'm just curious about them.
 

seaurchin

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Nov 2, 2012
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2,847
The smaller pearls by the clasp look a big elongated to me, which I believe is a characteristic of the older akoya strands. Although I don't understand why...

Edited to add: But, I also see what someone mentioned about how it looks like the "pearl" protrudes around the drill hole, too. So... I don't have a clue. :razz:
 

mynattk

Shiny_Rock
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Oct 23, 2010
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253
I have the same feeling as NacreLover that they may not be real pearls. What metal is the clasp?
 

K9

Brilliant_Rock
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Jul 7, 2007
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776
the clasp is 14k (it's killing me that I can't take photos right now!)
 

naria

Shiny_Rock
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Mar 10, 2012
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101
I'd do the tooth test. The close up in the third picture though is why I suspect real and not faux. The large pearl has a slightly mottled texture which is what I associate aragonite layers looking like.
 

pearlsngems

Ideal_Rock
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K9|1367936699|3441935 said:
thanks pearlsngems! I had always thought that pinking was done post drilling which is why I was looking for pink around the drill holes.

The photo in the National Geographic showed the pink pretty deep inside the hole, not near the surface...mind you this was an older pearl so the nacre was thicker. But I'm not sure you can see the pink when the pearls are strung...hard to see fully inside the hole.
 

K9

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Jul 7, 2007
Messages
776
This is the best I could do. They are like sandpaper against my teeth. Blech. :knockout:

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K9

Brilliant_Rock
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776
Sweet - thanks!

Now... how can you tell? Trade secret? :cheeky:
 

pearlsngems

Ideal_Rock
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Just from reading, experience and looking at pearls and pearl photos (as well as lots of fakes.)

You took some great closeups which showed the appearance of the surface of the nacre, the blemishes, the colors and overtones and the variation between pearls. Fakes are more uniform, they don't have overtones and their flaws don't look the same as those of real nacre.

I'm wearing a vintage graduated akoya strand myself today. I restrung mine with 10# PowerPro with a fine wire needle. Unlike silk, the PowerPro won't stretch or collect skin oils and should be highly durable.
 

K9

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Jul 7, 2007
Messages
776
Thanks pearlsngems!

I am going to restring the strand this weekend. The silk they are on presently is stretched and kinda gross. I'll have to post more photos when they are complete!
 

naria

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Mar 10, 2012
Messages
101
You might also want to clean the peals if they are fairly old (which would be my guess). The other forum has directions on how to clean pearls prior to stringing if you search for it. (Finishing a paper due tomorrow for school so I'm too lazy to look it up myself right now and I don't think I'm allowed to link to them per forum rules).
 

K9

Brilliant_Rock
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Thanks naria. I did already clean them - I have the pearl doctor cleaning solution so I gave them a nice bath in that. ;))
 

pearlsngems

Ideal_Rock
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Even though they have had a bath, you will probably need to wipe some grime away around the drill hole after you cut the pearls apart. That's what I've found, anyway.
 

K9

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Jul 7, 2007
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776
I'll definitely give them a more thorough bath when I pull them apart. Since they are graduated, that should be an interesting endeavor to keep them in order.
 

pearlsngems

Ideal_Rock
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To keep them in order, I cut them apart one by one, wiping each pearl clean as I go, and string them onto a bit of thin gauge wire (I have a spool of 28 gauge base metal wire) or a length of thread knotted on one end, and lay them temporarily strung that way onto a grooved beading board.

It's slow and methodical but it keeps me from having to crawl around on the floor looking for pearls that got bumped off the table or out of order accidentally.

Some people string all the pearls onto the silk at one time and then go back and knot. this would also be a good way to keep them in order.
 

AnnaGraceDreamPearls

Rough_Rock
Trade
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May 27, 2013
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Even the pearls are aged but the luster is still there with natural pink / silver overtone. They are real pearls with slightly even texture and uneven luster on surface. The drill hole is normally where the main flaw is located. It is fine with the hole due to aging. The color tone is natural without dye or treated. It is still beautiful. Whether they are saltwater or freshwater I am not too sure without touching the pearls. The knots between the pearls turned worn and yellow which needs to be restrung. With proper maintenance on pearls, your necklace can ensure a longer lasting shine. Enjoy !
 

bsomlo

Ideal_Rock
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Apr 25, 2013
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I'm just wondering if you ever restrung this strand and what you thought of them overall?
 
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