The pearls you posted Terry,are beautiful. There isn't any comparison between the two necklaces..
You are right.
The gold would be worth more.
Probably a lot of people don't research before purchasing pearls. Since most people haven't seen baroque Akoya pearls they would probably think this necklace was very unique. In fact they might even like the blemishes on the pearls.They probably wouldn't know Akoya are never naturally black.
Whoever bought these pearls might even brag that they had a Akoya ,black baroque pearl necklace.
I have one relative who thinks she has a very valuable Akoya necklace.It's not Akoya, It's freshwater. She takes very good care of it. I don't have the heart to tell her differently.
Another relative has a freshwater pearl necklace that she purchased from a shopping channel. She thinks it's worth much more than what she paid for it.