Swoon!

[purlgurl]

A customer brought these in today, just to get a feel for their value. The story handed down, from Gran, is that they are Dead Sea pearls, from someone between husbands 1 & 2, and one day when she gets really sloshed, she will divulge all.
My hands were shaking I was so excited to see them. Any ideas? I thought maybe like Caitlin's Bahrainis
I didnt even get to measure them, but the little ones are the barest whisper of nacre around a hole, and the centre ones are about 5-6mm.Its a very long strand, greatly stretched, with only a few gaps, where the baby ones wore through. I suggested he gets them valued by serious pearl experts here, before having them re-strung, no guesses who gets that job....
He thought the diamond clasp was valuable, but I think he may get a nice surprise with the pearls.

 

[pattye]

Oh my! Those are a treasure--will await the next chapter---!!

 

[pearlescence]

are there pearls from the Dead Sea? Isn't it called the Dead Sea for a reason?

 

[Nora]

The Dead Sea is dead. Nothing grows there except some weird bacteria.
Bacteria as we know, don't make pearls......

 

[purlgurl]

The Dead Sea is dead. Nothing grows there except some weird bacteria.
Bacteria as we know, don't make pearls......

Thats what I thought, I guess she thought somewhere Middle Eastern. Does the clasp look 1920'S?

 

[Nerida]

Lucky you purlgurl, to even see these!

Sounds like 'middle eastern' pearls rather than 'dead sea' pearls, but they are indeed a treasure! I don't think you will get a valuation done without formal certification etc etc...

 

[Nora]

Does the clasp look 1920'S?

It does to me. It is a very nice clasp and expensive too.

 

[GemGeek]

Cool. What we really need is a neck shot, or should I say chest shot?!!

 

[Casey.R]

Could they be American river pearls or something? Or do they not come in sizes that large. The clasp could be from the 20s or maybe even older. It's a classic style.
Do you have any more photos?

 

[pearlescence]

any markings on the clasp?

 

[Caitlin]

I don't think they are American freshwater. The shapes and sizes look Persian Gulf. That photo doesn't show luster. Is it possible to get another photo or two? Including the back of the clasp?

If he wants to sell them, certification would be good. They are natural pearls of some kind.

I would put on a much smaller (old) clasp and sell the current clasp. I have some Am river pearls with a very slender long rice shaped clasp about 2mm x 5mm

 

[Casey.R]

Caitlin, You have persian gulf pearls right? Do you have a link to a photo of them?

 

[Caitlin]

Here they are, unstrung.

 

[Casey.R]

Hmm, those are really amazing looking. And can you assume no bleaching or other treatments? Or did they sun bleach them or something along those lines?

 

[purlgurl]

He only let me take a few quick shots, before he took them away, but they show both sides of the clasp.
I have to agree, the clasp looks too big in proportion the the very small pearls, maybe it was lavish to impress "Gran". I suspect the clasp is Platinum, partly because it is still so bright.
The diamonds were very bright, for old cut gems, and there did not seem to be much fraying of the thread, or gunk or make up built up on the strand, though the bullion was green. Perhaps it wasnt worn much after she married Husband 2.
I will try to get it back for a better photoshoot, but please dont expect that layering technique Jeremy explained.

 

[Heidi]

What a beautiful necklace. Can't wait to see if you can get another luster-revealing shot.

And Caitlin: Those always take my breath away.

 

[Caitlin]

Casey
I know my pearls weren't bleached. My grampa got them from his own pearling dhow,, which he ran in the Persian gulf up to the 1950's. I don't think they bleached natural pearls in general. I think Purlgirl's photo was on a scanner? The photo itself is bleached out.

 

[GemByrd]

Hey Caitlin
Those are beautiful pearls - and SOO PERFECTLY ROUND for natural pearls. I hope that someday I can afford such perfect natural pearls.

 

[BeadersSecret]

Hey Caitlin
Those are beautiful pearls - and SOO PERFECTLY ROUND for natural pearls. I hope that someday I can afford such perfect natural pearls.

Hi Gembyrd, with out prejudice, what makes you think they are natural?
By Purlgirl's description, they sound like very worn cultured pearls.

Carolyn,the clasp is just divine,it is a really magnificent piece from what I can see from the pictures.

 

[pearlescence]

And of course old clasp does not mean old pearls....indeed without verifiable markings it just looks oldish
if and when you do get to re-string do count the pearls by sizes and make clear that the necklace will be considerably shorter when done.