Necklace With Chinese Pearls?

[rivermandave]

Another of my Mom's goodies.

Nadine Leo looked at this (email) and said she thought the pearls were Chinese.

Any thoughts? And do any of you recognize the beads?

 

[rivermandave]

Here's the rest of the necklace.

No clasp...total length of about 31 1/2 inches.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Looks to me like all FWP-- the small ones are dyed.

 

[pattye]

Agree with Pearl Dreams, cultured fw.

 

[JerseyPearl]

I am not an expert, so no comment on the content of the necklace...but I will comment on its style...it looks like a lovely piece that would be fun to wear with a white blouse and denim.

 

[rivermandave]

Looks to me like all FWP-- the small ones are dyed.

Can you point out what you mean by "small"? They all look roughly the same size to me.

And what "tells" that they are dyed?

Here's more closeup

 

[Pearl Dreams]

By the "small ones" I meant the dark ones (because they are smaller than the white ones. )

FWP do not come naturally in this dark color. The eggy shape (no bead inside to make them round) is typical of lower end FWP but they are dyed to mimic Tahitians.

 

[GemGeek]

The color would come out better if you had a white or neutral background. I agree with Jersey Pearl that this is a fun necklace.

 

[rivermandave]

By the "small ones" I meant the dark ones (because they are smaller than the white ones. )

FWP do not come naturally in this dark color. The eggy shape (no bead inside to make them round) is typical of lower end FWP but they are dyed to mimic Tahitians.

So are you saying that the tiny "beads" are actually dyed pearls? And if so, are the white ones dyed or natural?

This is for sale so if anyone has an offer send me a PM

 

[pearlescence]

Hi
The dark - black - ones are dyed and the white ones are bleached. These are what are called 'potato' pearls. They are worth very little second hand, even when the pearls have decent lustre, as these seem to.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

The small ones are dyed cultured Chinese freshwater pearls. The large ones are (probably bleached) cultured baroque Chinese freshwaters.

They are cultured, not natural. Cultured means they were produced by means of culturing methods in farmed mussels. Natural means wild, not a product of human activity, and that does not apply to your pearls. But they are real pearls-- just not natural.

Your pearls don't have a bead inside-- they were cultured by the introduction of a bit of mantle tissue into the mussel. This triggered the formation of the pearl.

Although attractive, the pearls do not have a high value. The market favors round pearls more than baroque shapes.

Edit: I was slow. Wendy is right.

 

[rivermandave]

Thank you both for you time and expertise

 

[Lagoon Island Pearls]

In cultured FWP's, candled views appear uniform at the nucleus. After all, they're grafted in the same manner.

In natural pearls, though pearls may be matched as to size, shape, color and luster, the nuclei will appear markedly different.