Help - What kind of Pearl?

[Curious11]

Hi everyone,

First off - thank you for lending your expertise to individuals like myself here on the internet. I understand that nuanced knowledge/advice is hard to come by and often not “free”, so finding a forum like this where it’s given generously and so enthusiastically is truly refreshing.


About the Pearl: I purchased this seemingly vintage ring from an individual who found it at some surplus shop. He gave it to his wife, but I suppose his wife didn’t like it as much as he thought she would.

My observation: Just by looking at the Pearl, it seems to me that the luster is great. I can see my own reflection, and at times can see the color of my shirt and even the features of my face. Having also tested its surface by lightly rubbing it against my teeth, I can feel a very slight coarseness of its texture that’s perhaps indicative of it being a “real” Pearl. Unfortunately, my knowledge ends there.


TL;DR:
What kind of Pearl do you think this is?
Can you tell which company has this makers mark?


Thanks for all your help!

 

[CortezPearls]

Hello Curious11 and welcome to our pearl loving forum!
Hope you're having a wonderful weekend.
About the pearl...it looks small (maybe 5 mm?) and the prongs are quite large which -in my experience- usually means the pearl could be a "Natural Pearl": I would never have a natural pearl sitting justo on a prong and risk losing it.

Without being able to examine the pearl up close it just looks like a white saltwater pearl, because of the size it seems to me to be either a small Akoya pearl or a Natural pearl from Mexico, Australia or even the Persian Gulf. But all of this is merely speculative without being able to examine up close.

 

[Curious11]

Thank you so much for your feedback, CortezPearls!

Indeed, it is roughly ~5mm. After further observation, I did notice that it is not “perfectly” round, as it has a very subtle flat-ish surface (see #1 photo newly attached) I’m assuming this may be indicative of it being “natural”? I must admit that I don’t know the aesthetic differences between cultured vs natural pearls…

Another interesting thing I noticed about this ring is that the prongs are actually silver/white gold (see #2 photo)! It seems that while the band itself is gold, the silver/white gold prongs may have been deliberately fused on to it? There’s a clear delineation indicating so. It’s an interesting style, but perhaps it could provide a clue of the origin of the pearl and the age of the ring?

Once again, thank you for my providing all of your insights!

 

[CortezPearls]

The shape is indeed not round, symmetrical yes. Many natural pearls grow next to the shell so they have a flattened side. So, it might be natural.
The color variation on the ring is interesting. Perhaps they repurposed a ring to fit the pearl and added a different alloy, hence the color difference.
But not much can be gleaned just by looks. You need to find a thread that will lead you to a story behind your pearl ring.