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I'll message @Dan678 a code to take the Pearls As One course free. Course website: https://www.pearlsasone.org/

Also, the skyrocketing price of new akoyas may be leading some buyers to seek estate pieces. If one can't afford new, buy used....

No, but they look like this photo of Renee Newman's (top pearl):

@SteveM makes excellent point about natural pearls. Natural pearls are wild pearls created in nature without human intervention. Cultured pearls are farmed pearls. You can see the price of some natural pearls on this website: https://www.karipearls.com/

The shell pearls (imitation) I ordered have arrived and I have tested them. The bead is composed of ground up shells. Unfortunately they pass the temperature test. They are cool like real pearls, not warm like glass or plastic pearls. However, like other imitation pearls, they slide smoothly...

Just as there are lower and higher quality/priced gems, there are lower and higher quality/priced pearls. An untreated, vivid color true red ruby can be very expensive indeed, and in larger sizes can be quite rare, but a glass-filled ruby is just about worthless. Yet they are sold, and people...

No, sorry, I don't think they are worth that much, used. As a general rule pre-owned pearls don't hold their value unless they are a famous brand like Mikimoto or unless someone famous or historically important owned them. Also, freshwater pearls are the most common pearls there are-- eBay is...

It tends to be lower quality FWP that were dyed. But many unscrupulous sellers advertise them as Tahitians, which are saltwater pearls of much greater value. You'll see this on eBay quite often.

You got it right! They are dyed cultured freshwater pearls from China. The dye is stable. The pearls are tissue grafted, no bead inside, so very durable. Will you wear them?

Just the appearance of the surface when I blow up the photo, mostly. But if you have other pearls that you know are real (or fake) you can test these pearls using the temperature test. Real pearls are cooler than glass or plastic pearls. If they have been in the same temperature environment as...

They look like imitation pearls to me.

@PearlyLibrarian, Happy Anniversary! Lovely photo and lovely pearls!

Sure, let the clasp soak too. Just 10 or 15 minutes is enough. If they are currently strung on silk, you want to make sure the thread is dry before wearing them again as silk stretches when wet. That's why I suggest waiting 24 hours. It will certainly be dry by then. Polyester thread is more...

So freshwaters, then. Well, as I like to say, sunscreen isn't good for pearls-- but cancer isn't good for skin! So wear the sunscreen-- and clean the pearls every time when you take them off. Use a damp soft microfiber cloth, and wash the cloth often. And if they need a good cleaning, give them...

Freshadama is a brand name of gem grade freshwater pearls sold by Pearl Paradise, specifically. Do you mean you think they are gem freshwaters (no particular brand)? Maybe! Some gem grade freshwaters are sold in that size range. Do you see a bit of off-roundness that I am not seeing? These...

An imitation strand would not typically have a .5mm size range like that, while a real pearl strand would. Given that the clasp is gold (imitation strands usually don't have karat gold clasps) and given that it is finished with gimp (that little coil of French wire that protects the thread...

Can you attach a photo with the clasp as well? With a close up of the clasp front and back. Are there any metal marks indicating the kind of metal? 14k, 585, 925 etc. Also, the pearls near the center appear to be oval rather than round, but that could be distortion from the camera. We sometimes...

The clasp just says "Japan" and appears to be base metal. I think someone combined imitation pearls with possibly freshwater pearls in that piece. See the pearls in the areas I marked? They have a different shape and tone than the others. The rest seem to be imitation; the ones I marked may be...

I actually saw a necklace very much like #2 yesterday, on the neck of the checkout clerk at BJ's. The necklace had belonged to her late aunt so it was very sentimental. For once there were few customers, so we had time for a nice chat about pearls, Pearl Guide and the Pearls As One course. I...

This is easy. All of them are cultured (not natural) Chinese freshwater pearls with no bead nucleus. The first 2 sets were cultured in Hyriopsis cumingii, the Trianglesail mussel shell. They were commonly sold in the '90s and first decade of 2000s. After that the Chinese began producing rounder...