what are these unusual pearls in these jewellery pieces

[Johanna1]

Hi all

here are 2 items with unusual pearls. The first is 1 of a pair of earrings I hope they are not rare because I recently lost the other earring somewhere in the street. I brought them a few years ago from a vintage and antique jewellery seller, this was a long time before I became very interested in pearls. the black pearl has a tiny diamond in it that catches the light when it swings. The pearl measures 13mm by 9mm by 9mm this has a lovely iridescence that does not show up in the photo very well. The other earring was a very good match for this, I am keeping this earring to use as an enhancer.

The necklace here is a very small necklace of about 15 inches, the pearls measure about 4mm and are all around the same size, there are no knots between each pearl and the clasp is a small white metal screw barrel clasp of a white coloured metal this metal does not react to a magnet so may be a precious metal of some kind. Initially I though the were rise krispie pearls but after seeing many of these types of Chinese pearls, I am not so sure that these are as they look so different. Even though these pearls are so small they all have a lovely glow and many have a lovely orient and play of colours.

I have tried to describe them to the best of my ability and here are the photos.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

The erring is really interesting because I thought it was only recently that diamonds were being embedded in pearls. Is that a diamond in the earring finding as well?
Any hope of finding the lost earring?

The strand is surely freshwater pearls.

 

[pearlescence]

The whites are similar to these, are they not?
Freshwater...http://www.pearlescence.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=93_26_52_53&products_id=2112

 

[Johanna1]

Yes the white is very similar to them. It is a fairly large diamond in the finding which is 18ct white gold, however, I think the finding is a later addition because looking very closely at the bail on the pearl it looks like yellow gold. The tiny diamond embedded in the pearl is a very old cut diamond and it has been embedded directly into the pearl with no surrounding mount.

Unfortunately the other earring has gone for good. I was walking along the street in the dark and knocked the earring out of my ear with my scarf. I spent many minutes searching for it but as it was dark I could not find it. I was very sad and upset as I do not think I will be able to replace it as they are so unusual.

 

[GemGeek]

I have one beautiful tahitian pearl earring, so I share your loss. I lost two other single earrings this year by pulling them off by mistake as you did. The tahitian pearl earring was lost on a short overnight trip. I didn't even get to wear them. I still feel a little sick whenever I think about it.

 

[Johanna1]

Diamonds being embedded in pearls is not a new idea, see links below. These are a beautiful pair of Edwardian earrings that I so wish I could have but are too expensive for my pocket. They are a little like my earring with the diamond embedded.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/110960649242?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649