Assembled pearls

[Taylor]

Hi, I just bougth a pair of earrings on eBay supposedly from 1920. The box may be that old. It has lost all printed lettering but the embossed name of Paul Gale Greenwood Norfolk VA still remains. According to Google this was a high-end jewelry store of the period. The first thing I did was to remove the screw-on post findings. I was surprised to discover that one was set with half a cultured pearl filled with a bit of wax and the other was set with 3/4 a cultured pearl assembled to 1/4 a MOP bead. The "pearls" are small, 4-5 mm and bumpy, with lovely orient. Was this a common practice? Is it still? They are pretty but not the naturals I'd hoped. Thanks

[Zeide Erskine]

Hi Taylor,

What you describe there sounds an awful lot like replacements. Probably the earrings did not originally come in the box and chances are that first one of the original PPBs wore out or fell off and had to be replaced and then the other later, hence the disparity in fixing methods. At least they have still luster.

Zeide

[Valeria101]

In closed settings, half-pearls might have been propped up to look larger (i.e. higher cabochon as it were) and defects on the back side treated in weird ways. Matching otherwise not very similar pearls could have been one goal of the assemblage (say, matching a flat half pearl with a more rounded cousin etc.). But that would have likely happened to natural pearls earlier on. Now, this note is based on sum total two examples of Austrian jewelry, not very close to the geographical target. The 1920s date tallies, but jewelry things were a bit behind the times in the region. The description reminded of them.

Just a thought.

Sorry to hear about the disappointing purchase... I hope those were not too damaging cash-wise and would at the very least make a interesting piece of pear-tampering history.

[Taylor]

Thank you both,

I realized after I went back to look at the settings, one had left its 1/4 MOP bead in the setting cup. So both are cultured and set on riser beads; a bit disappointing, but still can be re-set into leverbacks. Caitlin's rule of thinking about eBay as a education is a good one. Not many dollars lost and I can add to examples I've seen first hand. Are these mobe penguins by any chance?

[Zeide Erskine]

Hi Taylor,

The are almost certainly early Mikis. If they were anything elese, they'd be naturals what they clearly are not. Anyway, you only paid US$20 plus shipping and they certainly are worth that if just for their historical and educational value.

Zeide