Evaluation Forum.

[Amrita]

For most of us the classic white pearls are just the beginning!

So true, Caitlin!
Mrs. Lai, you have a nice start there to your pearl journey, thanks to your husband. Welcome aboard!

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Yes, that's true-- I started with white pearls, too.

 

[Mrs Lai]

Thanks so much ladies! Yes my hubby love them so much, he is very happy to see the pearls on me, they are so gorgeous!! Wish all of you having wonderful holiday! I start to think what I'm going to get for next celebration

 

[Mommy33]

okay so...... these belonged to my grandma..... well, actually, okay the truth is..... this IS my grandma (she has a condition......) she is leaving these to me but she won't take them OFF so - this is the best photo i can get! how much are they worth?????????
View attachment 14154

Is the dog authentic...does anyone have a mirror?
Pardon my humor...if you can call it humor.

 

[thehirv]

grandmas pearls

grandmas pearls

Mrs. Lai,

Welcome to P-G. What a lovely gift from your thoughtful husband! The photo is too out of focus to say anything specific about the quality, but the pearls do seem to be very shiny. Usually the store that sells the jewelry will provide the grade. I hope there will be more pearls in your future!

Thank you very much for the Holiday wishes!

 

[GemGeek]

Those are very beautiful pearls. Can you tell us something about them? Are they from your family? Also, can you take a photo on a white paper towel so we can get a look at them without the shiny background? Also, a shot of the clasp might be helpful.

 

[thehirv]

grandmas pearls

grandmas pearls

They were my grandmothers. I dont know when or where she got them .she got tbem before I was born because I have seen pics with them on her. I am 50 now so more than 50 years old here are pic of the clasp and on white paper there are 2 sets of pearls

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Your pearls lok very much like the 3.5 momme (momme is a unit of weight) akoya strands that were sold in Japan in the 1940s and 1950s. Servicemen and other personnel overseas would buy them to bring them home to their sweethearts. The cost was kept down because the strands were graduated (since pearls are sold by weight.)

Imitations were also made. If you gently rub 2 of the pearls together, they will feel very slightly gritty if they are real, and totally smooth if they are fakes. But I think they are real.

See this little article:
http://www.imperial-deltah.com/news2/pearls_and_occupied_japan.htm

It is not unusual for people to come on Pearl-Guide with these strands-- if you search "momme", you will find other such strands and threads about them.

If you would like to wear them, you could restring them. I have a strand like that which I restrung myself with 10# test Power Pro. (More info on request.)

 

[thehirv]

of the 2 strands the off white one is fake the other is real any value to these

 

[Pearl Dreams]

I didn't notice that there were 2 strands but now I see that. It's good that one is real.

As to value, there is always sentimental value. There is beauty value. For many people, that would be enough reason to keep the pearls and wear them.

Did you check for any markings on the clasps? 925 would indicate sterling silver. They could also be white gold. Gold would raise the value a bit.

To get an idea of what people are willing to pay for pearls, our usual advice is to check eBay for recent completed (specifically, sold) listings of graduated strands of pearls.
Here is a search I just ran, specifically in vintage and fine jewelry categories.

I omitted fake and Mikimoto brand pearls (which tend to go for a lot more money, but to sell them as such you would need some evidence-- Mikimoto clasp marking, papers, etc.) and mother-of-pearl beads. You could play a bit with the search terms but basically this gives you an idea:

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw=graduated+%28pearl%2C+pearls%29++-faux+-imitation+-glass+-simulated+-Swarovski+-Mikimoto+-mother&_sop=15&LH_Sold=1&_osacat=12595&_from=R40&LH_Complete=1&_trksid=p2045573.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0&_nkw=graduated+%28pearl%2C+pearls%29++-faux+-imitation+-glass+-simulated+-Swarovski+-Mikimoto+-mother&_sacat=12595

A few weeks ago at a local second hand jewelry dealer I saw a strand for $200. But if you sell to a local jeweler or consign it, they would have to pay you significantly less in order to be able to add their markup.

 

[pearlescence]

What happened to the plan to have a pro forma or the like for pearl evaluations - it seems that we are back to a plethora of vague posts with 'can you tell me what these are?' sometimes even with no photo. It seems to me to be a waste of everyone's time.
I thought the plan from Caitlin was some sort of questions form - and if the forum goes back to that then posts which don't follow that need to have a referral to that as the only response. There's a lot of needless clutter going on again
Maybe a whole new section with READ THIS BEFORE YOU POST AN INDENTIFICATION REQUEST in big red letters!

 

[GemGeek]

That sounds great in theory, but in reality it is difficult to do. You are dealing with people who have just signed on for the first time and already may be overwhelmed by all they have to deal with by just getting signed up. We are very familiar with the forum, but it can be confusing for the newbie, no matter how many sticky notices we put up.

 

[pearlescence]

That's fair enough and entirely reasonable but the first person to respond to a vague post could still just refer them to a checklist while saying that we can't do much of anything without photos and basic information. It would save a lot of time and efford for all
something like ' we are delighted to look at pearls and to tell you what we can about them, their quality, rarity and comparative value (though not an official valuation) but to do that we must have certain basic information and a couple of photos etc etc
I would think that someone confused would be glad to have something clear telling them how to proceed rather than leaving it to them to make up themselves.

 

[GemGeek]

Good point.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

That sounds great in theory, but in reality it is difficult to do. You are dealing with people who have just signed on for the first time and already may be overwhelmed by all they have to deal with by just getting signed up. We are very familiar with the forum, but it can be confusing for the newbie, no matter how many sticky notices we put up.

Bingo! I've seen this on other forums as well. Newbies often post without reading guidelines and stickies.

To add to the problem, the stickied thread on this forum is 4 pages long and doesn't particularly help a newbie know what to post.

I suggest we un-sticky this Evaluation thread and create a new stickie with only one post in it containing our requirements (and lock the new stickied thread so it can't be added to.)
Then we can refer newbies to the new stickie.

Suggested content for the new sticky:


Welcome to Pearl-Guide!

We would be pleased to try to help you determine what sort of pearls you have, but we will need some information from you first:

• Do the pearls feel slightly gritty or smooth when rubbed gently against your tooth or against another pearl?
If they are gritty, they are likely to be real nacre (genuine pearls.) If they feel smooth, they are likely imitation pearls.

• Please provide clear, in-focus photos without flash against a white background (a paper towel works nicely.)
Include close-ups of the clasp (front and back) and a few of the pearls. If there are flaws, include a photo of those. Also the box they came in, and tags if you have them.

• Any history you can give us about the pearls. Where/when you or your relative got them, any documentation you have (receipts, appraisals), their price range if you know it, etc.

• Describe any marks on the clasp. These may be numbers (14K, 585, 750, 925 etc.) or brand names or even pictures.

• Measure the pearls, with a millimeter ruler if possible. If they are graduated, measure the largest and smallest pearls.


Please understand that any opinions we offer are not an official appraisal. If you think you may have valuable pearls, please see a jeweler.



Did I forget anything?

 

[pearlescence]

That's pretty clear PD. I suggest numbering the paragraphs - makes it easier to keep track.
Is there a way that they can only post in the evaluation thread if the questions are pasted into their post, so they have to answer them or deliberately ignore the questions.
Note it also relies on regulars not responding unless the info is there except to point out we need the info please

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Yes, numbers would be better.

Very likely we will need to keep giving people the nudge (or the link) to answer the questions from the sticky. But that's okay.


So here's the amended proposed sticky:


Welcome to Pearl-Guide!

We would be pleased to try to help you determine what sort of pearls you have, but we will need some information from you first:

1. Do the pearls feel slightly gritty or smooth when rubbed gently against your tooth or against another pearl?
If they are gritty, they are likely to be real nacre (genuine pearls.) If they feel smooth, they are likely imitation pearls.

2. Please provide clear, in-focus photos without flash against a white background (a paper towel works nicely.)
Include close-ups of the clasp (front and back) and a few of the pearls. If there are flaws, include a photo of those. Also the box they came in, and tags if you have them.

3. Any history you can give us about the pearls. Where/when you or your relative got them, any documentation you have (receipts, appraisals), their price range if you know it, etc.

4. Describe any marks on the clasp. These may be numbers (14K, 585, 750, 925 etc.) or brand names or even pictures.

5. Measure the pearls, with a millimeter ruler if possible. If they are graduated, measure the largest and smallest pearls.


Please understand that any opinions we offer are not an official appraisal. If you think you may have valuable pearls, please see a jeweler.

 

[pearlescence]

add here..

We would be pleased to try to help you determine what sort of pearls you have, but we will need some information from you first (we need you to answer every question):

 

[Pearl Dreams]

How about this?



Welcome to Pearl-Guide!

We would be pleased to try to help you determine what sort of pearls you have, but we will need some information from you first.
We need you to answer every question:

1. Do the pearls feel slightly gritty or smooth when rubbed gently against your tooth or against another pearl?
If they are gritty, they are likely to be real nacre (genuine pearls.) If they feel smooth, they are likely imitation pearls.

2. Please provide clear, in-focus photos without flash against a white background (a paper towel works nicely.)
Include close-ups of the clasp (front and back) and a few of the pearls. If there are flaws, include a photo of those. Also the box they came in, and tags if you have them.

3. Any history you can give us about the pearls. Where/when you or your relative got them, any documentation you have (receipts, appraisals), their price range if you know it, etc.

4. Describe any marks on the clasp. These may be numbers (14K, 585, 750, 925 etc.) or brand names or even pictures.

5. Measure the pearls, with a millimeter ruler if possible. If they are graduated, measure the largest and smallest pearls.


Please understand that any opinions we offer are not an official appraisal. If you think you may have valuable pearls, please see a jeweler.

 

[pearlescence]

Over to you Caitlin! Can you turn the post red or something to make it stand out?