Trying to determine if freshwater or Akoya?

Hi Pearl loving community! I’m new to this forum, but have enjoyed reading many of the threads. I’ve exhausted my resources (my jeweler isn’t a “pearl” guy and ChatGPT can only get you so far) so I’m hoping someone here might be able to determine if my pearl necklace is freshwater or Akoya.

1. They are definitely cultured, not fake—gritty texture when rubbed against each other.
2. I purchased them preowned for $250 from a lady on eBay who mainly trolls antique stores for dolls. She didn’t have any provenance and thought they were Akoya but couldn’t say for sure, freely disclosed she doesn’t know a whole lot about pearls.
3. The pearls are a uniform double strand, 18” long (36” I guess!) and ~7mm diameter. The clasp is solid 14K gold, marked “14K”.
4. They appear to have been stored in a dark blue satin Bucherer bracelet box, which is what they were in when she acquired them.

I’d love to have a strand of Akoya but if these aren’t, they were still a great buy IMO and I think they are beautiful. Thank you to anyone able to help!
-Courtney

Akoyas. There are some pearls that show erosion of the nacre near the drill hole; if you look closely you will probably see the bead nucleus there.
I'd have them cleaned and restrung. Congrats-- and enjoy!

Wow!! I’m actually surprised and thrilled! Thank you! In your opinion, is it worth the cost to have them X-rayed or whatever else to obtain a provenance? I don’t plan on selling them anytime soon, but who knows what the future holds?

No, that is certainly not necessary, nor would it provide provenance. They are cultured pearls, not natural pearls.