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Interestingly, Mikimoto themselves say of their AAA ("Reserve") strands that they are "near perfectly round" and have "minimally blemished surfaces." Perfection in akoya strands is not to be expected; even the best ones may have some flaws in some pearls...

I wouldn't say that, but it's true that some pearls seem more opaque than others. I'd say it has more to do with the quality of the nacre. Akoya pearls with thin nacre can look milky, because you can see the bead through the thin nacre. And these metallic white FWP, which are solid nacre, look...

Yup, that's the price I recall another poster quoting. :oops: Just wear them and enjoy them.

It's one of many pearl books I own! :)

So-- I looked at the entire book page by page, and that one didn't happen to be included. Mikimoto will certify their own jewelry for a fee (a rather stiff fee.) You would have to ship it to them. But you can get certification of authenticity and replacement value if you feel it is worth doing...

Stunning! I will look through my book, Pearl Necklace, which is all Mikimoto necklaces, and see if it happens to be included. (This is a huge coffee table book, not a catalogue of everything they've made.) Will look now and post again.

They appear to be akoyas, one strand more baroque than the others but none completely round. You're right that pearls don't hold value, and unfortunately these are no exception. Their luster and surface quality also leave something to be desired. My advice to you, if you are trying to sell...

On eBay, what you get may not even be what is in the photo. Photos are reused over and over.

That is really interesting! But somehow I think that the so-called shell pearls sold on eBay are not these labor intensive ones described by Kari, based on their low price. e.g. "Rare Huge 12mm Genuine South Sea Shell Pearl Round Beads Necklace 20'' AAA+" now listed on eBay for $6.99 with free...

It's usually the lower quality fakes that have the build up around the drill hole. The better fakes don't. That being said, it looks to me like some of the nacre was lost on that pearl-- and I do think it's a cultured pearl.

I'm tempted to buy some cheap ones just to cut them in half and see exactly what they are.

Typical freshwaters of 7mm would not be fully round, lacking a bead nucleus. There are some new Edisons that have a bead nucleus but they would not be on eBay for $25. And really, freshwaters round enough to look like akoyas would not be sold for $25 either, unless they had mediocre luster or...

It's looking like it has peacock overtones-- greenish with a pink center.

To me they seem to have gray body color. Try photographing them in diffuse light (shade outdoors or farther away from windows indoors); you may be able to bring out the overtones.

That is an interesting omission. Ebay is full of so-called "shell pearls".

Definitely ask for your money back. The sellers may have thought they were real, if they bought them from a vendor who thought they were real. It happens. Ten years ago I found such shell pearls at a very reputable shop where we had previously bought jewelry. Here, read my post about that...

And shell pearls are a type of imitation pearl.

Do you have any other pearls (whether real of fake) to compare their temperature with? Real pearls are cooler than fake ones. To check this, put all the pearls to be compared in the same room for half an hour or so (i.e. same ambient temperture.) Then touch them to your lips briefly. Lips are...

I'm not seeing that; the photos aren't clear enough for my eyes. Could be a pearl with thin nacre. Also I have owned real pearls whose box clasp had no safety. (I replaced the clasp!)

Some time ago I took these two photos to compare what the gold colored FWP (that is the one in my avatar also) looked like compared to my GSS. One photo is dry, the other with the pearls submerged in water in a white dish. But it's interesting to look at the pearls to the right and left of the...