Inherited Pearls, unsure if they are real and/or have value?

[ottawapearl]

Inherited pearls, like many others on this forum. A relative left them to me; they were in their mid 90s and the box appears to be quite old.

94 pearls total are on the necklace. They are golden in color for the most part, save for 5 smaller ones that appear to be much whiter.





Clasp is marked with "STERLING S" on the back.

Box is brown, and marked with "McKinney's Toronto Winnipeg" inside.

Do these appear to be legitimate pearls? They are in good condition, slightly textured in some areas (ie not as smooth as a beard for example). Any advice appreciated

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Hi and welcome to Pearl-Guide!

I'm leaning toward saying they are imitation and that the white beads are where the pearlized coating has come off.

Do this: rub two of the pearls together gently. Do they glide smoothly over each other, or is there resistance? Smooth = imitation. (But accumulated grime can make the surface gummy and resistant, too.)

Examine the areas around the drill holes. This may not be easy if they are unknotted as they will be tighter together, but try to see if there is excess nacre-- like swirly bits of excess coating. Excess coating = imitation. (Not all imitation pearls have this, however.)

If it's still unclear from these tests if they are imitation or real, a few more in-focus close-up photos of the following may help us:

• Peeling nacre near a drill hole --or anywhere else on a pearl.
• Pearls that show a surface defect.
• A close up of the 4th pearl from the clasp where it looks like half the pearl's coating is gone.