Please, would you check my metaphors?

[JMichaels]

The title of this thread refers to Il Postino, a movie where a postman asks Pablo Neruda to teach him poetry. Which is what I am begging your indulgence on as I do the same to you.

So I just completed Pearls as One (thank you @CortezPearls and @jshepherd - you are amazing and the course was fabulous) but I don’t work as a jeweler, and don’t have access to thousands of known pearls.

So I’m trying to work backwards, and see if I can apply my new knowledge to unknown pearls.

So, that brings me to the strand I’m asking for help on identifying. What I do know:
30”, world’s most generic 14k gold clasp, 6.5 to 7mm, definitely pearls.

So they have to be either Chinese freshwater or akoya.

Shape is Semi-round - although the standards seem a lot higher for roundness in akoyas, so if it is an akoya, it would be described as baroque. I don’t think I see potatoes, but too much trying to guess if it’s a potato pearl and eventually you’re Rincewind. So… odds are edging towards akoya?

Color - cream with a rosé overtone. As with size - not definitive for origin.

Good Luster - AA+ this is what saved these pearls from being shiratama. I could apply my lipstick looking in these lovelies. Not excellent - excellent is “who needs a mirror at all” in my internal grading scheme. But they do glow.

Moderately blemished. A or AA? Every pearl has at least one blemish. I think I see some blinking when I candle with my phone’s light (which is impossible to photograph with the phone) but I haven’t seen enough to be able to judge. And I think the second from the right on the top row in the close up picture of the pearls shows a pin prick. So, more probably akoya?

Nacre quality - A or AA? again, this is something that I don’t know well enough to judge. It doesn’t seem as thin as some 70s and 80s brittle strands I’ve seen, but I might have seen blinking, but I don’t know. So, I’m leaning towards Acceptable, but maybe NV?

Matching is… not good. A maybe. 106 pearls and maybe 5 share a body and overtone with at least one other pearl in the strand? But then, the one time I saw a hanadama strand at a jeweler, I thought the matching was barely good and the pearl lab said it was excellent, so my color perception might be the problem. Good or fair?


So, did I get it right? Is this an A quality (lowest acceptable quality) baroque akoya opera length strand? Or are there stealthy potatoes?

 

[Pearl Dreams]

I think baroque akoyas.

 

[jshepherd]

Yes, they are baroque akoya and the luster looks quite good. A+ to you

 

[JMichaels]

Back for another round of “What is This Weird Pearl!” Featuring J, a magpie with a little education and a lot of weird pearls.
And This Pair:

So, to start with, what I know for certain. 14k gold, 8mm

Size: 8mm, or maybe a little under, depending on where I put my calipers. At the small end for Tahitian, in range for CFW, and at the big end for dyed akoyas. I have had these for almost 20 years, so I don’t know if smaller Tahitians or rounder cfw would have been commercially available in ‘04-‘07ish

Shape: Near Round. It was 8.01 mm on one side and 7.96 on another dimension on the left pearl and 7.99 and 8.03 on the right pearl. Shape is inconclusive.

Color: The photos make them look darker than they are. In the nacre, they’re between charcoal and medium grey. Overtone could be Rose or Aubergine on the left pearl, and a slightly more greenish aubergine on the right pearl. Overtone is what I like to call subtle, although “barely visible in certain lights” would not be untrue.

Luster: Very Good. Light blurring around the edges but a lovely silky glow.

Surface Quality: small pinprick near the mount on the left pearl. So excellent.

Nacre quality: is there an easy way to check this? I didn’t see any blinking when candling, but I couldn’t really see the nucleus at all.

Matching: Good. Again, slight variations in overtone, but size is very close, as is surface quality and luster.

Overall, I would say that these are B+ or A grade, (because “not very colorful” doesn’t seem to count against the grade) and I want to say they are Tahitian, but only because all the dyed pearls I’ve seen go a lot darker than this pair.


How did I do? Would you say my guess is a fair one?

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Tahitians, I would say.

 

[JMichaels]

Tahitians, I would say.

Thank you so much!

Is there a good way to check nacre quality, if you don’t have a pearl-loving dentist? Or just chalky?

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Do you mean nacre thickness? While the nacre of white pearls is transparent, that of black pearls is not. Therefore, you would not see blinking. However, Tahitian nacre is typically thicker than that of akoyas.

As to other aspects of quality, it seems to me with Tahitians that what you see is what you get. You can judge with your own eyes whether the surface and luster are good or not. If there are overtone colors, these also will be obvious in diffuse lighting.

 

[JMichaels]

Do you mean nacre thickness? While the nacre of white pearls is transparent, that of black pearls is not. Therefore, you would not see blinking. However, Tahitian nacre is typically thicker than that of akoyas.

As to other aspects of quality, it seems to me with Tahitians that what you see is what you get. You can judge with your own eyes whether the surface and luster are good or not. If there are overtone colors, these also will be obvious in diffuse lighting.

Thank you so much!

I loved Pearls as One, but it’s definitely written for jewelers to know what they’re selling. I’ve picked up a half dozen books that have been recommended around Pearl Guide, and am slowly working my way through them, but some authors do assume a level of competence that I just don’t have.

I appreciate your time and patience as I try to figure out if what I’m looking at is actually what is there

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Renee Newman has just come out with her newest pearl book-- it's on Amazon. I find her books very good for beginners. (I'm still waiting for my copy -- due to arrive on Friday.) This is the book:

Pearls. Their History, Sources, Types and Qualities

Contents of new diamond book by Renee Newman

reneenewman.com

Her books are beautifully illustrated. You can see photos of what really great pearls look like.

 

[JMichaels]

I’m back! Thank you for your patience with me and my weird “I’ve had this fifteen to thirty years and I’m not entirely certain what it is” pearls

This particular strand was purchased as a hank from a local silversmithing store (who had been a regular buyer at Tucson for decades) when they went out of business. They are definitely pearl


Size: Smallest pearl is 8mm x 9mm, largest is 9mm x 11

Shape: Baroque? Or would it be soft-baroque? They’re mostly ovals, with about 8 of them being lightly circled.

Color: A gorgeous charcoal grey, but some of them seem to have a mix of grey and brown body tones? Peacock, Aubergrine, and Rose overtones

Luster: Very Good. I can see my phone’s reflection in the photos.

Surface Quality: Good. Almost all the pearls have small pits, and several are circled. But the pits aren’t terribly deep?

Matching is good.


So I think they’re B+ quality Tahitians, with excellent luster. But the one thing that is throwing me is the size. Would it be possible to have bought tiny(for Tahitians) Ts back fifteen years ago? Or am I suffering from PSS, and these are normal for first graft? Or, are these colorful potatoes? (I do like my potatoes, it’s just that … well, I know what they look like. I have lots to compare them too. It’s the weird shapes and unique colors that throws me off)

 

[BWeaves]

Just from the photos, they look like dyed freshwater pearls to me. The size, and the egg shapes, and the colors look like dyed freshies. I could be wrong, but that's what it looks like from your photos to me.

On the plus side, if they are freshies, they are 100% pearl nacre, with no bead nucleus.

 

[JMichaels]

Just from the photos, they look like dyed freshwater pearls to me. The size, and the egg shapes, and the colors look like dyed freshies. I could be wrong, but that's what it looks like from your photos to me.

On the plus side, if they are freshies, they are 100% pearl nacre, with no bead nucleus.

Thank you very much. The thing that kept throwing me off was that they were grey, and I’m used to the dyed cfwp being much darker. (I’m not questioning you here! I’m apologizing for taking your time)

But hey, sturdy(ish) pearls are a good thing!

I really appreciate your time and experience

 

[pattye]

Agree with BWeaves, dyed freshwater pearls. They likely were good quality pearls to begin with.

 

[BWeaves]

Thank you very much. The thing that kept throwing me off was that they were grey, and I’m used to the dyed cfwp being much darker. (I’m not questioning you here! I’m apologizing for taking your time)

But hey, sturdy(ish) pearls are a good thing!

I really appreciate your time and experience

Dyed pearls come in all colors. I have dyed freshies that are pale blue. They're not the same kind of blue as blue akoyas, but they are on the pale blue grey side. And, I have some dark, peacock colored, dyed freshies, too. I happen to love them all.

 

[A Breaker]

Thank you very much. The thing that kept throwing me off was that they were grey, and I’m used to the dyed cfwp being much darker. (I’m not questioning you here! I’m apologizing for taking your time)

But hey, sturdy(ish) pearls are a good thing!

I really appreciate your time and experience

I am loving this thread! I love the way you go thru and ID each part. Makes me think that a little more careful ID might be helpful for me.

 

[JMichaels]

I am loving this thread! I love the way you go thru and ID each part. Makes me think that a little more careful ID might be helpful for me.

I have a lot of book knowledge of pearls. But I don’t live anywhere where I can see the good stuff in person.

Over the decades, I’ve bought a lot of pearls because I thought they were pretty. So I’m fairly good at distinguishing between 90s and 00s cfw and akoya, but anything outside that range is unfamiliar. So I’m trying to apply my book knowledge to the pearls that don’t quite fit - this thread is me asking the kind people here to check my homework!

 

[JMichaels]

I fell in love with the vintage 18k gold JKa clasp on this strand, and bought it for the clasp. When I got it, the pearls were less round and less lustrous than I’d expect of cfw on an 18k clasp. (I don’t think I can explain how terrible the pictures were on the sale site. Imagine oversaturated to the point you weren’t exactly sure where the pearl ended and the background began).

Size: graduated strand, 9 to 12mm

Shape: Baroque. Very baroque, some lightly circled

Color: cream

Luster: about a half dozen pearls seem to have moderate luster, but the rest are … more subdued.

Nacre quality: I don’t see a nucleus when candling, but I don’t know if that means that the nacre is thick - or there is no nucleus.

Surface Quality: Good. Almost all the pearls have small pits, and several are circled. Flaws on about 5-10% of the pearl surface

Matching: Acceptable. There are some pearls that have a noticeably better luster than others, while others have fewer flaws - it’s like they make the hank by pulling out of an alphabet box, rather than looking for similar characteristics.


So - I would normally say cfw, but it does seem like that would be a complete clasp mismatch. Could they be the lowest quality of SS?

 

[A Breaker]

The JKa clasps I have seen have been on Faux pearls...so I wonder if the clasp was on Faux & these were restrung on it? On the big photo, 3 up on the left from the bottom pearl has very freshwater shape. Like a potato, but one end is fatter. Reminds me of an American Gumdrop candy. I think they are freshwater..but I love them!! I have some of these older huge chunky freshwaters with lower luster... I still think they make a statement. But I like variation in my pearls!

 

[JMichaels]

The JKa clasps I have seen have been on Faux pearls...so I wonder if the clasp was on Faux & these were restrung on it? On the big photo, 3 up on the left from the bottom pearl has very freshwater shape. Like a potato, but one end is fatter. Reminds me of an American Gumdrop candy. I think they are freshwater..but I love them!! I have some of these older huge chunky freshwaters with lower luster... I still think they make a statement. But I like variation in my pearls!

From my research, J Köhle was a jewelry findings manufacturer that specialized in clasps from 1919 to whenever they closed (at least 2018 - their JKa trademark is still licensed, but I can’t find a trace of the company after a business profile in 2018).

Like Konig now, the company never really had much to do with the final necklace. I’ve seen JKa clasps on glass, coral and lapis beads, freshwater pearls, and memorably, a stunning massive diamond and 18k basket weave clasp on a gss strand.

Thank you so much for your reassurance, and affection for my little chunky. They are happy pearls, and I’m rather glad that I can dismantle the strand with impunity.

I have a similar strand of old chunky freshies (although the luster is a little higher on my older strand), and when I bought this one, my plan was to lengthen the old strand from choker to princess, and make a bracelet/necklace extender with the remaining pearls.

So it’s great to know I can move forward on that project.

 

[A Breaker]

That sounds lovely!!! Do post the finished pieces!!!! Being in the USA.. I have only seen the Faux with JKa.... But from this forum, I have learned that what I have found/seen may or may Not be true. The vast majority of Vintage Faux pearls I have seen don't have any knots. But BWeaves...has the opposite: her faux are all knotted and real are knotted just near the clasp. I even was told (many years ago) that you always could tell the quality of the pearls by a gold clasp.... thru this forum I have learned to look at the pearls instead...because history, restring & things just happen. Japan had master silversmiths 20'-40's... so vintage akoyas usually have silver clasps, but may get restrung in the USA with a "home restringing" kit & new clasp. So who ever told me about gold clasps on pearls didn't know the history of pearls and they were incorrect. It is sometimes true that great pearls get gold clasps...but sometimes Not true. Almost every day I learn something new here...