Hello! Want to see? :)

[Annette Rene]

Hello all! I'm new here. I've been an avid collector (and seller) of antique jewelry for some time now. I will be the first to admit - I do not know much about pearls. So that is why I am here - to expand my knowledge in the wonderful world of pearls!!

I thought I'd start off by showing you a few of my pieces I've acquired and see what you have to say about quality and worth. Don't worry about hurting my feelings - most of these things I've picked up for next to nothing.

First off - I will show you the star of my pearl collection. An Elizabeth Gage Torsade pearl necklace with 18k gold clasp, 18k beads, and Lapis. Now I know this one is worth a good deal for it being just an Elizabeth Gage - I have yet to have it appraised. This is an older piece so I can't find another like it online - but, the ones I've seen close to it are up in the $10,000 range...



Next I have a large heavy custom made ring. It's either 14k or 18k (I tested it but I honestly can't remember at the moment). I really find the darker pearl next to the white very pleasing to the eye! I have no idea what type pearls these are or what is the worth of something like this...



# 3 is a fun necklace with a 14k clasp. I was told these are Biwa pearls ~ But, I definitely do not know how to check if they are real/fake:



#4 is a long double strand pearl necklace with a 14k gold Chinese Symbol clasp. I have no idea what type pearls these are - I'm guessing freshwater:



#5 is a triple strand pearl necklace, again with a 14k gold clasp. I'm guessing freshwater again. I do not know what the worth of these pearls would be or if they are desirable:



#6 was an interesting find for me - someone was selling this 4 strand necklace for $6 "scrap" and I picked them up. A friend told me they were Biwa pearls, but again I am not sure. These pictures aren't so good (taken with my phone) so you can't really see the lovely peachy hue. The clasp is worthless - being gold filled. But, I thought there could be something to the pearls themselves.




And lastly, I thought these were just fantastic. Someone gave me some faceted grey pearls with a tulip beadcap. I made the drop down labradorite and antique mother of pearl rosary beads to go along with them:




Please, let me know what you think! I'd love to learn more about what I have. Also, I apologize for the poor quality photos!

Hope you all are having a wonderful start to the New Year!

-Annette Rene

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Great photos!

The most valuable pieces are the first two, as I'm sure you've guessed.

The Elizabeth Gage piece, IMO the best of the lot by far for resale purposes (one size fits all!), is truly lovely and looks like it would be comfortable to wear. It may date back to before higher-quality round Chinese freshwater pearls began to be produced, and although I am not a jewelry expert by any means, my guess is the largest part of the value is in the gold and craftsmanship (and the name, of course) rather than the freshwater pearls.
As to the $10,000, was that a realized price on sale of a similar item, or an asking price?

I admire the ring with the baroque pearls, even though I could not wear that design. I'm guessing a cultured Tahitian paired with a baroque blister pearl but I don't know what sort of shell the blister pearl was grown on. Again, the gold and workmanship are an important part of its value. As it is a specific size the buyer will need to fit that ring size. But ladies love rings and I think this one will be a winner. See these "sold" baroque pearl rings from eBay, highest to lowest:
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_sacat=0&LH_Complete=1&LH_Sold=1&_nkw=baroque+pearl+ring+%2814k%2C18k%29&_sop=16

The stick shaped pearls that are being called Biwa pearls are produced in large quantities in China. It's not likely they're fake-- I don't think I've seen fakes of this sort of pearl as they are not costly. Here is an unsold listing at $103: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Single-Stra...D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557
There are not many sold ones.

The 2 strand fwp necklace is not as nice as the one after it, IMO-- the pearls seem less similar in shape, size and luster. I'm guessing $50 or less for this one, but really you should scour eBay to see completed listings-- specifically "sold" listings, which will give you the best idea of what people are actually willing to pay for these sort of stands.

The "potato" freshwater pearl 3-strand necklace is pretty and looks nicely made, but again, the Chinese are producing better FWP these days so these non-round pearl shapes are not in as great demand. The gold clasp will help. My guess is $100 or less and I think that may be a bit generous.

From here the flatter FWP look like inexpensive Chinese fwp rather than Lake Biwa pearls, but can you provide a closeup photo?

I'd love to see a close-up photo of the faceted pearls themselves. They are interesting!

I'd love to hear opinions of Caitlin, Wendy and others. Am I being too hard?

 

[GemGeek]

The photos are small, so that it's hard to be sure.

Does the first one have pearls that are slightly rondelle-shaped without knots, like rows of pearly corn? Back in the early days of Chinese freshwaters, the very best of those pearls were made into high-end necklaces, alternating with gem stones.

The ring probably has natural pearls, but could be baroque cultured - very interesting.

All the rest look like Chinese freshwater cultured pearls to me, but again, I can't really see them close enough to tell.

The earrings are very boho-chic. I would love to see an "ear shot".

Thanks for sharing. Look for the macro setting on your camera (little flower). I would love to see more photos, especially close-ups.

 

[Annette Rene]

Pearl Dreams and GemGeek- thank you for your fantastic replies! Sorry about the picture quality - I took them with my phone in the middle of the night! But I got out my camera this morning and took a couple more pictures. It's raining and dark here where I'm at - so I couldn't get a good "ear shot" of those faceted pearls (it is *hard* to capture those facets even on a micro setting).

As for the Elizabeth Gage necklace - I priced it according to other pieces I've seen online. She has a few newer designs that aren't as nice as this one going for around $5,000-$6,000. I knew the woman who new the woman who bought them while in England (and she did not buy cheap stuff). It was actually given to me after it had been sitting out in a dirty garage for probably well over 15 years! Such a waste!

I'm not hurt if some of these necklaces are relatively worthless on the scale of pearls - I've acquired all of them for either free or around $20. I've had fun wearing them, that's for sure!

Here are some better photos for you:

 

[Annette Rene]

Sorry GemGeek - I didn't answer your question! I guess you could call the EG necklace "rondelle-shaped" and it is without a knot between each pearl.

I also took a closeup of the two Freshwater pearl strands so you can see better!

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Ah, yes, the pearls from the Gage necklace are the ones that look like corn on the cob! From the 1990s I'd say. Lustrous and very pretty.

The small flatter ones seem like low quality freshwaters, also from the 90s.

I love the soft, textured look of the faceted pearl!

 

[Annette Rene]

I adore those faceted pearls! They are such a lovely shade of grey. I actually have one more thing that I could use help on. I got this bracelet from a woman who was clueless to what it even was (said it was fake set in sterling silver) - it came from her Grandmother's collection. Turns out - the pearl is real (tooth test!) and it's set in white gold. I took it to a jeweler and the stones are not diamonds - but, not fake! The woman said she actually didn't know what they were. I'm guessing perhaps rock crystal. The reason I say this - is that this could actually be a good deal over 100 years old. I've seen this design in old Victorian jewelry. I've actually seen the *same* one in a collection just done with yellow gold and garnets.

So anyways - maybe you could help me out with the pearl. In the back there is a hole. I'm pretty sure it's a man-made hole - so possibly this was set in something else previously? Who knows!

 

[GemGeek]

A sweet button pearl. If it is old, then the stones could be zircons. If you clean them up and they show dispersion (flashes of color) like diamonds when a spot light shines on them, that would be most likely. If there is no dispersion, it could be rock crystal quartz, white sapphire, topaz or colorless beryl. I would wear that bracelet in a heartbeat!

 

[Annette Rene]

I love this one - but the clasp is a little loose. I almost lost it the last time I wore it! I happened to turn around and see it laying in the middle of the street!!

It doesn't have that colorful flash of a zircon which is why I thought it to be rock crystal (especially since it was so insanely popular at the time). I had thought of a Sapphire, Beryl or colorless topaz - I'm just not sure! I'd love to find out one day!

I do not know the value of button pearls. Are ones of this size the norm?

 

[Marianne]

That bracelet is total class!

 

[Annette Rene]

Thank you, Marianne! It has just enough weight to not feel cheap but is very comfortable on the wrist. I almost feel bad about the deal I got on it. When I got it home and actually saw it for what it was (she said it was a fake pearl with rhinestones set in sterling)... $20 felt like a steal! Some people just don't understand how wonderful Grandma's jewelry can be.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

...Some people just don't understand how wonderful Grandma's jewelry can be.

So true!!!

 

[pattye]

Annette Rene,

Great to see your treasures and hear their stories! You've come to the right place to learn about pearls!

 

[Annette Rene]

I have learned so much from all the posts in here it's amazing! I am so glad I found this forum.