| Hi Sharon,
Although gemologists with a good grasp of pearls are very few and far between, the pearls themselves and their actual rarity and value are also subject to serious debate. As long as the appraisal is for insurance purposes it is relatively easy. That is were the clasp test comes in. If your pearls have a consistent set of brand name clasp, box, and papers all is hunky dory should the respective company still exists. The jeweler can just call them and ask them what a new strand would cost today. If your jeweler is just eyeballng your pearls for what they may be worth in the market today and your pearls have a custom clasp, it starts to get murky. The same goes for companies that no longer exist. If you have a strand of mystery pearls (i.e. your jeweler has no clue what they are) with a mystery clasp (base metal on pearls that obviously pass the tooth test) all bets are off. Typically you will get an eBay-based guesstimate on those.
Zeide |