Hello, I need help in identifying pearls

[Mentari.T]

Hi all! Pearl noobie here, kindly need your help

Many years ago, during a business trip I met some wonderful sellers from Lombok, Indonesia who gifted me these pearls.
I have long forgotten I have these, and I do not know how to keep pearls so I just keep them in a box. Now that I have taken them out and I notice there were lines on the pearls, I do want to know if these are real? Are these perhaps freshwater or fake? PS : They do feel heavy and gritty with the teeth test.

There are some brown/yellowish stain that I have tried to clean with water + liquid hand soap, but it didn't come off.
The string was snapped so one pearl dropped, there is no clasp. What do you think of the value or these pearls, so I can estimate my budget in restring the pearls..

The total length is short, do you have suggestion on how I can turn this into a necklace? Or what do you think is better?
Thank you for all the help, I appreaciate it, and please excuse my English as it is not my first language. Thank you!

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Hi Mentari.T-- you came to the right place for answers!

The pearls are cultured freshwater pearls from China. While it's always fun to receive a gift, these are not valuable pearls, so you might want to factor that into how much you want to spend on them, to turn them into something wearable.

If there are too few for a necklace, the easiest thing would be to make them into a bracelet. Any clasp that you fasten and unfasten with one hand would work.
There are also bracelet-helper tools to make it easier to work the clasp with one hand. Basically they are an alligator clip with a long handle-- like this: https://www.amazon.com/Miles-Kimbal...la-568468416862&ref=&adgrpid=67371244691&th=1

If you really prefer a necklace, then you could buy some beads for spacers (say, every 5 or 6 pearls) -- perhaps some bead-quality gemstone beads, which are often quite affordable, or Czech glass or crystal beads. Or maybe opaque beads like jasper, malachite, turquoise, or ceramic beads. There are endless options for beads.

I suggest you string it yourself! Many of us do our own stringing. It isn't hard and saves money. You can find a tutorial and videos on how to string your own pearls on our Lowly Beaders Club: https://www.pearl-guide.com/forums/the-lowly-beaders-club.31/

 

[Mentari.T]

Hello!
Thank you so much for your reply!
Noted, thanks for the suggestions and resources, I'm gonna make this into bracelet then
Just curious, are pearls from Indonesia good quality? I have heard of pearls from Lombok island and Papua island (South Sea pearls) but just wondering if they are any good.
Thanks!

Hi Mentari.T-- you came to the right place for answers!

The pearls are cultured freshwater pearls from China. While it's always fun to receive a gift, these are not valuable pearls, so you might want to factor that into how much you want to spend on them, to turn them into something wearable.

If there are too few for a necklace, the easiest thing would be to make them into a bracelet. Any clasp that you fasten and unfasten with one hand would work.
There are also bracelet-helper tools to make it easier to work the clasp with one hand. Basically they are an alligator clip with a long handle-- like this: https://www.amazon.com/Miles-Kimbal...la-568468416862&ref=&adgrpid=67371244691&th=1

If you really prefer a necklace, then you could buy some beads for spacers (say, every 5 or 6 pearls) -- perhaps some bead-quality gemstone beads, which are often quite affordable, or Czech glass or crystal beads. Or maybe opaque beads like jasper, malachite, turquoise, or ceramic beads. There are endless options for beads.

I suggest you string it yourself! Many of us do our own stringing. It isn't hard and saves money. You can find a tutorial and videos on how to string your own pearls on our Lowly Beaders Club: https://www.pearl-guide.com/forums/the-lowly-beaders-club.31/