what pearls?

[parfaitelumiere]

Hello,

I recently purchased this necklace, 50cm, size from 2,5 to 13mm, old knotting, definitely old stuff.
Not in my hand yet, so I will tell more once I get it.
But let's ask the question.
What pearls?

 

[BWeaves]

Baroque akoyas?

 

[pattye]

Definitely an interesting piece and dirty, too! A very unusual graduation, I've never heard of a 13 mm Akoya, though. What else were you told? How old? What metal is the clasp? Some pearls are quite round, others are definitely baroque, possibility of naturals??

 

[parfaitelumiere]

In the end was not 13mm, only 7mm I shipped back, really disapointed.

 

[lisa c]

What was the clasp? To me the necklace looked like a ‘mutt’, with nice quality smaller pearls but the bigger pearls looked poor quality to fake, and not a color-match with the smaller pearls. That’s why I thought mutt. Broken necklaces, or someone wanted to make a plain necklace graduated?

Now that you say 7mm center pearl I’d guess an aged akoya graduated necklace with the nacre worn off the center pearls...,

eta, but no, I can’t get past the very different (to my eye) color and appearance of the pearls. Parfait, in your hand, did they have a more uniform appearance?

 

[CortezPearls]

Yes, looked like a "mutt" but maybe even some of the pearls were natural...but it did look mostly Akoya. The darks spots are very consistent with natural pearls and early cultured pearls.

 

[lisa c]

So, pearls were actually sold like that, with such low luster and black spots?
(I am SO revealing my ignorance.)

Would the large pearls have cleaned up and perked up? There just seemed such a disparity in the quality of the small and largest pearls, plus I thought that the hardest wear occurred on the sides and back pearls of a necklace.

Still learning, here.

 

[parfaitelumiere]

I bought, because description was saying "13mm center pearl" .
As 13mm akoyas didn't exist, this may have been natural strand.
But if right description would have been made, 7mm center pearl, I would skip it and not buy, because it was meaning early uite baroque akoyas, maybe 20's or 30's
This can be cleaned of course, and akoya luster is most of times quite good even on poor pictures, the real luster was better than picture.
Of course there are exceptions, poor early really worn akoyas, using low quality beads, easy to see you can discern the bead inside pearl with nake eye.
This one, even quite baroque, was a bit better, but not a good one.

 

[CortezPearls]

So, pearls were actually sold like that, with such low luster and black spots?
(I am SO revealing my ignorance.)

Would the large pearls have cleaned up and perked up? There just seemed such a disparity in the quality of the small and largest pearls, plus I thought that the hardest wear occurred on the sides and back pearls of a necklace.

Still learning, here.

Oh yes Lisa! Back in the heyday of all-natural pearls you had what you had and did what you could with them. Not that many pearls around.
Unless you were a Mogul or King/Queen or high-ranking person...the more common folk also wanted pearls and took what was available.
"Pearl Processing" to enhance them, clean up spots and the like was done everywhere...sun bleaching, feeding pearls to chickens (polishing), even the use of shark-skin for removal of spots.
Alos, the original necklace could have been different, pearls swapped over the years...unfortunately, these items cannot tell us their story, but I hear a "whisper of a story" when I see jewelry like this.

 

[SurfnSci]

Feeding pearls to chickens?! Eek. I'm sure the final "collection" was fun

 

[CortezPearls]

Feeding pearls to chickens?! Eek. I'm sure the final "collection" was fun

LOL
They fed the hens some grain and pearls...then waited hours, but not until the hens pooped! They killed it and from its gizzards they extracted the pearls and ate the animal. I have always wanted to try this out...but can't bring myself to kill an animal or have anyone else do it for me...so this is something I will never do or try

 

[SurfnSci]

Oh gosh, I had naively assumed they simply let nature take its course through the entire chicken!!! Thank you for the full facts