Cultured from Japan late 60s (1 of 2)

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714punk

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Thank you for assistance.

Yes they are gritty. And I assume these are cultured (read narrative). The clasp reads STERLING with another mark immediately following.

This was brought back from a 'business' trip from Japan in I think 1968 along with a string of 'real' pearls.
When my dad was leaving he asked my mom if she wanted anything and knowing whoever his hosts in Japan were to be she blurted out 'yeah a string of pearls would be nice, real ones, not those fake cultured ones'.

And this is what I know to be true. My father was not a gangster but he knew a lot of them, worked for many of them, and participated in gangster activities. On top of that his father came to this country in 1905 as a tourist and NOT a laborer shows the socio-economic class he was entitled and enjoyed. Lastly he was sent there to represent the president of the American division of the largest electronic co in Japan.
With that said I expect these to be authentic and to be of higher quality. I know this reaks of snobbery but in reality it would reflect poorly on the giver to present him with inferior quality usually meant for export.
For the sake of being brief I will save you from further details of the nuancess of Japanese sociopolitical history. But will be more than happy to elaborate.
One last thing, he made a stop in Hong Kong and I do have the silk bags they were transported and stored in.
I seen my mom wear them a handful of times because she said they were too heavy ☺
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I understand your post was the first of 2, and presumably you will be writing part 2.

That said, this looks like a strand of cultured akoya pearls. The uniformity of their size and shape is what you would find in either an akoya strand, or an imitation strand. Given that you find them gritty and their history, I expect they are cultured akoyas.

Cultured pearl are "real pearls". They are not imitation pearls.
They are also not natural pearls, which are wild-caught. Think of cultured pearls as farmed pearls.

The photos are a little fuzzy so we can't really tell surface quality. The luster does not appear to be high, but that could be the lighting. Diffuse light doesn't show luster well.
 
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Agree with PD, they seems to be cultured akoya with a sterling silver clasp. The pouch looks like a generic jewelry pouch common in HK and Asia in general. Would you have a clearer photo to show the luster? It looks a bit dull and the reflection is fuzzy.
 
I agree. They appear to be cultured akoya pearls, which are real pearls.
 
Sorry I have been really busy. I will post some better pics tomorrow in natural sunlight. I do see a nice reflection. And thats why I wrote real in quotes, because to my mom whom btw is quite spoiled cultured are man made ��. The second (2/2)necklace I believe are natural by the research I have done. I will post those in next few days. Along with a somewhat dark humor story on why I know he stopped in HK and maybe some pics from his trip with many Japanese celebs such as Katsu Shintaro.
Thank You very much for your time. One other thing my mom doesnt care for yellow gold she prefers white, platinum or sterling. So the clasp material is purely preference in style.
 
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