1947 graduated pearls bought in China

[Caroline57]

My grandfather bought these pearls in 1947 while stationed in China. He gifted them to his mother, my great grandmother. My great grandmother, grandma, and grandpa have now all passed and I was just given them.

Im not sure if they're real or fake, freshwater or saltwater, or anything else about them. I do know they were restrung 35 years ago. I tried the tooth test, and they don’t feel smooth, but they also don’t feel very rough? Idk lol I was afraid to do it much because it seemed to possibly scratch them.

There is no marking on the clasp saying 10 or 14k that I could see. The clasp isn’t tarnished at all, but the connectors next to it are.

I will take them to a jeweler in the fall, but was hoping someone might be able to help me in the mean time

 

[Pearl Dreams]

They look very much like imitation pearls.
I base this on the excess coating near some of the drill holes (you can see where it curves outward in places), the appearance of the coating on some of the closeups and the uniformity of the luster, color and shapes.
The way it is finished (with the end beads where the strand attaches to the clasp) is also lower end (but I understand they were restrung.)
As to the clasp, sometimes there are metal marks on the tongue of the clasp, and sometimes even on the side! Look again with a magnifier. But it could be base metal.

Obviously the necklace is sentimental! Whether it is real has nothing to do with that. But you may not want to invest money into it. I don't see knots between the pearls but if you wish to restring it (knotted or not) I have a tutorial posted on the Lowly Beaders Club here. It's easy to restring it yourself and it would save money.

It has accumulated some grime, as pearls do over time. Normally I'd suggest soaking them in a bowl of distilled water with a little mild soap added, then wiping them clean with a soft cloth and then rinsing in more distilled water and leaving them to dry for 24 hours on a soft towel. But being imitation and old, soaking may loosen the coating or make it flake off, so you'd want to be careful. Maybe try wiping some of the end pearls gently with a soft damp microfiber cloth, as a test, first.

My FIL gave my MIL a strand of pearls. They both thought they were real, as did the rest of the family! It wasn't until they both passed away that I got a closer look at them and realized they were fake. And my grandmother bought my mother a strand of pearls on one of her trips to Europe. My mother treasured them! But they were imitations; neither she nor my grandmother realized that. By the time she was old I knew more about pearls and told her, but she didn't care. They were very meaningful to her. She is gone now but I still have the necklace, as it is sentimental.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

An afterthought: if you don't feel sentimental about them, IMO you should feel free to do whatever you wish with them.
I have told my daughter that she does not have to become the curator of my stuff when I'm gone!

 

[A Breaker]

Here is the huge problem: once that coating starts to loosen... it comes off in flakes and it looks horrible & makes a mess. If these are fun for you, I would get a nice case to keep them in and enjoy looking at them. There are glass cases or even antique case on Etsy. You can find Vintage Akoyas that look very similar on Etsy if you want to wear that style $150-300. Or if you just want them for a prom or wedding, they usually wear okay for a 1 time use. (I noticed some people are selling those necklaces just for that, with the note that: "special occasion use only")