what are there? Any value?

[paulasbrito]

Hello,
I am a complete newbie in pearls and I inherited these. Can someone tell me what are these? Are they valuable? I inherited these from my grand-mother. Don't know exactely where she did get those, I know she travelled a lot to the east like India, Macao, Hong Kong etc.
Thats the only thing I know about these necklaces...
Thank you very much!

[morphius]

is there a hallmark on the clasps? 14K, 18K, 925 or something like that? The pearls in the image on the right appear to be 2 x 4mm button pearls...do you know the sizes of the pearls?

[paulasbrito]

The is no hallmark in neither of them. And the sizes are 8mm for the ones on the right and aprox 2-3 mm for the ones on the left.
Thank you!

[lisa c]

Please provide closeup photos of any markings on the Opened clasps.
The multistrand clasp is from costume jewelry, which of course has its own value and place in the scheme of things. Lots of fun!

I hope you enjoy your grandmother's pearls. Isn't it wonderful that so many of our grannies are/were well-traveled!?!

[paulasbrito]

I don't see any marks in there, but here the best pictures I could get.
Thanks!

[Caitlin]

The bottom one looks like freshwater button pearls and gold plated. That is fashion jewelry. Unless it is a brand name, it is not worth a lot, but it is pretty and wearable to work.

The one with the amethysts is harder to guess on. The clasp looks nicely made, but I really can't see the pearls. We need more photos without the yellow. Maybe taken outside in indirect light as in the north side of a building. We need to see the pearls in that one better.

First do the tooth test. do the buttons first so you learn that slightly gritty feel, then do the second one. It might not be real.

[Nora]

I'm not sure of course, but those look very close to the natural pearls from the Persian Gulf, I showed here some time ago. Taking into consideration that Paula's grand-mother traveled a lot to the east, those could be natural as well.

Attached two photos of my friend's natural pearls:

[KarinK]

Nora, if it was a 6-stranded natural necklace, wouldn't one assume that the clasp would be gold and have a stamp? Apparently there is no indication that the clasp is not costume.

- Karin

[Nora]

Karin, clasps are often replaced in the life time of a necklace, so you really can't tell the value and nature of the pearls by the clasp.
On the natural strand I showed, the clasp is also modern.

[lisa c]

Nora, you did get a photo of your friend's pearls after restringing! Great! That was one of my favorite threads.

Thanks for trying to re-shoot the clasps, Paula.

Nora is correct, the clasp doesn't always predict the quality of the pearls, and that's a good reminder. Nora, don't you think there's a distinct difference between these pearls and your friend's, and Polina's though? These have a very sharp snappy clean look to the luster, and doesn't the color look awfully bright and uniform for naturals?

Paula, Your pearls are beautiful with very pretty color and luster. I'm not one of the experts, I'm learning, this is a guess/impression. I think the pearls look lovely, but like modern Chinese Freshwater, and nothing wrong with that! I love them!

Let's see what the Power Hitters say.

[Nora]

Nora, you did get a photo of your friend's pearls after restringing! Great! That was one of my favorite threads.

Thank you Lisa. Those 333 pearls are very special indeed.

[lisa c]

Im hearing your inner voice - is it muttering "and every single one of the 300+ knots as well"? What a great read that was!

I'm going to find it and give it some stars.

[Caitlin]

Nora could be right. I wonder about the clasps, is that just dirt on the amethyst tongue? Can you soak just the clasps in a little water to see if that is just dna build up from being worn, or if it is worn metal? Also a close up of the tongue of the clasp with a pearl? More close ups. There must be marks somewhere.
Nora could be right.

[paulasbrito]

Thank you everybody!
I looked and looked and looked and I can't see any marks...
This is strange?
I will try tomorrow to clean those ametysts (or whatever they are) and post new pictures. Its night already here.
I have a slight memory of when I was a child (i'm 40 now) of my grandmother wearing that necklace and say something about rubys - but I am pretty sure she only wanted to impress me.
:-)
I will post more pictures then you can tell me your opinion.
I did the tooth test but I couldn't find any difference at all - I am really newbie in this...

[Alison]

Hi Paula,

The colored stones in your clasp appear to be pinkish rubies. Please note that unmarked gold is extremely common, depending on country of origin and time period. For example, gold marks were not legally required in the U.S. until about 1908. The clasp looks well-made, so you could have it tested to determine gold content.

If you are getting that 'gritty' feeling to the teeth with both necklaces, I would say the first one appears to be cultured saltwater pearls, and the second one may be inexpensive freshwater pearls. The clasp on the second is costume jewelry, but I agree with those who note that clasps can always be changed -- I have run into many examples of that myself.