Vintage cultured pearls?

[acernoch]

Hello.

We found this set of pearls at my great aunt's house. She wrote cultured pearls on the box...but I can't tell if they really are. they have some natural looking defects on them....so that make me question if they are cultured or natural.
I do not have much experience with pearls and really have no idea what to try to sell them for.
Some listings have them at $600+ or down as low as $70. So, I am trying to get a realistic price range to start trying to sell them at.

Thanks for any information.

 

[GemGeek]

They look like baroque cultured pearls to me. Try coiling the pearls around one end until they make a circle and take a photo directly overhead, getting as much in the field of view as possible. That will give a better idea of the shapes. If your camera has a macro setting (little flower) and you can also get a close-up of a few pearls, that will help with evaluation. They look great and I'm sure you will sell them quickly.

 

[acernoch]

sweet

sweet

sweet! Thank you GemGeek.
I'll get that coiled picture tomorrow and post it.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

They do look very lustrous. They may sell better if you give them a gentle bath first. Use a mild soap and warm water solution (soap, not detergent.) Wipe them clean with a soft cloth, rinse and dry with another soft cloth. Then wrap them in a towel to dry them.

With a magnifier try to read what the metal of the clasp is. Could be silver (925) or 10K or 14K white gold.

 

[acernoch]

Ok all. I cleaned them up and got the coiled up picture.
the metal clasp does not have any info stamped on it.

when the sun comes out then i can get better white background pictures again.

 

[pattye]

Sometimes the hook piece is stamped and not the other part of the clasp. Looking forward to additional photos, thank you.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

They look like nice baroque cultured akoya pearls, as GemGeek said. Baroque pearls don't have as high a value as round ones, but as these are older, they will have thicker nacre than pearls being sold today.

If you can take the photos again on a white background (like a paper towel) the luster will show up much better. If you list them for sale you will want to use a white background to show them to best advantage. Does your camera have a macro (close-up) setting? That would show the surface quality best.

Sometimes the mark is on the tongue part of the clasp. [Edit: Pattye said it first!] I've also seen it on the side of the oval part of the clasp (very hard to see, you need a magnifier.) It is not likely that the clasp is base metal, even if it was replaced at some point; I'd expect it to be at least silver.

 

[lisa c]

What do you guys think about this - a black background shot to show the pearl shapes, and definitely white background to showcase ​the luster? Not another hoop for posters to jump through, but nice for showing off-round shapes isn't it?

 

[CharmedOne]

Hi!

You may find something on the part of the clasp that is showing face up in the middle of coiled photo. The clasp looks like sterling and if it is, it could be marked there on either side. I have few clasp very similar and sterling is usually printed there. You will need a magnifying glass though. That is a very nice strand

 

[GemGeek]

They are still a bit hard to see, but you can tell that they are cultured semi-baroque akoyas. When photos are taken at an angle, it can distort the appearance. The shape does show up nicely on the black surface!

 

[acernoch]

sweet!
Thanks all. Now i know what to call them when i list them. and am going start out trying to sell them at a medium price range then.
i'll inspect the clasp again and try to find the stamp.
Thanks again! You all are so helpful and nice.

oh..and i forgot.
my camera is just not good at doing super up close pictures. like the micro ones. bummer. but i will do my best.
all the pictures i take are with the "up close" setting. :/ meh

 

[lisa c]

If you try the daylight shots, put them on a white paper towel in the shade. It may sound counter-intuitive, but if you have an automatic focus digital camera it will adjust for the shade. It allows the luster to show beautifully without glare or strong shadows.

 

[acernoch]

Hey all!

ok here are the final listing image I am going to use. We only get 5 pictures. meh.

I was able to find the "sterling" stamp inside the clasp. Thanks again. never would have looked on the edge of it.

I'm going to start out at about the 300 dollar range and see how many hits i get. from searching around on the marketplace, it seems like a good medium. My pearls were one of the best looking baroque sets I found on there. more spherical and less flaws than the others i was finding. so that gives me some confidence. Wish me luck!
and thanks again to all of you who commented. Helped me immensely.