Identifying

[Agata1973]

Hello,


I recently purchased three pieces of pearl jewellery from Q Pearl & Jewelry in Nha Trang, Vietnam:


● one ring,


● one pair of large pearl earrings,


● one pair of smaller pearl earrings.


The salesperson told me that the pearls were Japanese. However, the certificates only contain item numbers and a general statement of authenticity. They do not specify the pearl type, origin, size, grade, treatments, metal fineness or the type and weight of the accent stones. The original price tags were retained by the store.


The displayed prices were approximately:


● 16,000,000 VND for the ring,


● 19,000,000 VND for the large earrings,


● 3–4,000,000 VND for the smaller earrings.


I paid a total of 31,000,000 VND.


The large violet-grey pearls are dome-shaped and strongly iridescent. Do they appear to be cultured mabé pearls, Japanese Kasumi pearls or something else? Do the smaller dark pearls look like Tahitian pearls or possibly dyed freshwater pearls?


Unfortunately, while I was removing one of the large earrings normally after wearing it for the first time, the post completely separated from the body of the earring. I have included photographs of the broken earring and its reverse side.


I would be very grateful for your opinions on:


1. Whether these appear to be genuine cultured pearls.


2. The most likely pearl types.


3. Whether Japanese origin can be reasonably inferred.


4. Whether the prices appear reasonable, depending on the likely materials.


5. Any concerns you notice regarding the jewellery, certificates or workmanship.


Thank you very much for your help.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

I converted the currencies into US dollars for those of us not familiar with Vietnamese currency.
Ring-- 16 million VND = USD 612.91
Large earrings -- 19 million VND = USD 727.83
Small earrings (no photos?) 3 million and 4 million VND = USD 114.92 and 153.23

Questions:
1. You didn't say what the metal is on these pieces. Gold is very high now and if any part of that is gold, it would account for a large part of the price. Silver is also higher than before. What metal marks are there?

2. Also, the paperwork says genuine stones, but it doesn't say what the stones are. (There are white stones that are not diamonds). If they are diamonds, that could also account for the price.
I can't tell whether there are stones in the setting of the large earrings or if that is just metalwork made to resemble stones.

3. The large earrings are not Tahitian pearls. They could be dyed akoyas or they could be dyed freshwaters.
Are they perfectly round or are they a bit flattened? If perfectly round (or if the back is cut off), they are likely dyed akoyas. If akoyas, then they are probably of Japanese origin-- but then again, Vietnam does produce akoyas also. If a flattened shape, I would say they are dyed freshwaters, from China. But they look more like dyed akoyas.

4. The mabe pearl ring doesn't look like Tahitian, akoya or freshwater. There are oysters used for making mabe pearls (not of Japanese origin). The material used to fill the mabe (after the implanted form over which the oyster lays the nacre is removed) may be dyed to make that color appear through the nacre, which itself is transparent.
There is a great series about mabe pearls here which you may like to read. It begins here:

Thread 'I. Introduction to Blister and Mabe Pearls - Ultimate Guide'

Jul 9, 2021

I. Introduction​

• Blister pearls -and Mabe pearls, their modern equivalent- have been coveted, enjoyed, and worn for Centuries. But these products are not equivalent to actual pearls. Most pearl farmers consider Mabe pearls (also known as “Half-Pearls”) as a side-product, used to supplement their yearly income.
• These pearls can be considered as “Pearls-on-a-Shell”, since they will be attached to the mollusk’s inner shell, either as an accident (as in the case of natural blister pearls) or induced (as in cultured Mabe pearls). Due to their origin -always being...

• CortezPearls
• Replies: 0
• Forum: Pearl Education

And this section discusses color, including artificial color:

Thread 'Grading Mabe Pearls - 3) Colors'

Aug 23, 2021

Mabe pearl color is highly dependent on the species of mollusk that is producing the blisters, and even within each species you will be able to find a great variation of all-natural colors, but many Mabe are also dyed to produce an artificial coloration. Although we will not go in great detail on this subject, we will quickly cover some of the ways these pearls are given these artificial colors.

We have already covered the different natural colorations we can find in the different species that are commonly employed for Mabe pearl production, but we will again have them here for easier...

• CortezPearls
• Replies: 0
• Forum: Pearl Education

• 

As to the earring that has come unglued, that can be fixed with 2 part epoxy.
But you didn't post photos of the small earrings. If you post photos we can tell you what they appear to be. I will say that if they are dark and round and small, they may be dyed akoyas. (Neither akoyas not freshwaters are naturally dark colors).