Ball Clasp but Mikimoto docs?

[TootsieGirl]

A dear friend of mine recently died, and I am in charge of closing out her estate. She traveled widely in her life, and bought a 32” strand of Mikimoto pearls in Hong Kong from Lane Crawford Jewelry in 1987. In the last year of her sickness, she and I went to a pawn shop to get a price; she was in need of a little money. And a little money is what they offered, as they said that the clasp was not Mikimoto. We tucked the pearls back into her dresser drawer, and I haven’t thought about them since.

I pulled the pearls out yesterday, and the pawn shop is correct - there are no Mikimoto markings on the clasp, which is a brushed yellow 18k ball. The documentation does match the number (106) and size (7.5-8mm) of the pearls. The clasp is marked .750 and WJ. Any idea of the manufacturer?


I also found another Mikimoto document from the same jeweler in Hong Kong, but in 1993 - another 32” strand of 105/7.5-8mm pearls - but there is no sign of that strand. But I DID find two strands, one with a 18k Mikimoto pearl clasp and one with a 14k clasp. Those two strands look identical to my untrained eye, and add up to 105 pearls. I wonder if she broke the opera length up? If I send the two strands to Mikimoto, can they tell if they belong together, and add a Mikimoto clasp to the shorter strand?

Thanks for any thoughts or help.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

I'm sorry you have lost your friend.

I think you will have to pose the question to Mikimoto directly.