Please, would you check my metaphors?

[Pearl Dreams]

Yes, with pearls as with all beaded jewelry, restringing is the big variable. Anything goes.

 

[JMichaels]

I’m back! With another strand of … “well, it’s definitely a pearl.”

I think I’ve gotten good at “cfw vs akoya” but this one is stumping me.

The basics - 17” and 18”, 14k clasp, 6.5 mm. At least 12 years old (definitely not Edison)

Pearls by the neck do have some surface flaws, including dull spots and a spot that might be nacre worn away - but might just be a flat spot. (The second picture with details of the clasp)

They are round with mid level luster.

Half the time I think mid-level akoyas, and half I think better quality cfw

 

[ennui]

Some of the pearls appear oval to me, but that could be distortion in the photo. If they're all round, I'll go with Akoya, but the clasp attachment looks inexpensive even if the clasp itself is 14K.

 

[ennui]

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.

Did I know this? I know about blinking but I never really thought about *why*. Transparency. I thought it was just thin and fragile.
Chalk it up to, learn something new every day ... or maybe just a new way of thinking about nacre.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Did I know this? I know about blinking but I never really thought about *why*. Transparency. I thought it was just thin and fragile.
Chalk it up to, learn something new every day ... or maybe just a new way of thinking about nacre.

Have you ever handled mother of pearl (shell) beads and seen the iridescent flashes as you rotate the bead? That flash of iridescence is what causes the "blinking" effect when you roll strands of white pearls whose nacre is thin. You're seeing the bead nucleus right through the transparent nacre, because the nacre is too thin to cover the bead adequately. And thin nacre is more fragile and more likely to wear away or chip.

 

[JMichaels]

Some of the pearls appear oval to me, but that could be distortion in the photo. If they're all round, I'll go with Akoya, but the clasp attachment looks inexpensive even if the clasp itself is 14K.

The lower half are an example of photo distortion. (One day, I’ll get good pearl photos…. One day.).

I think that my problem is that the stringing, materials, roundness and luster are consistent with cheaper akoyas, or better quality (not freshadama, but at least AA+) cfw.