Thrift Pearls

[Jess_Nachos]

Was hoping to get some insight on these pearls I purchased at my local thrift. I am a lifelong lover of pearls and wanted to experiment on these to get an idea of cultured versus natural pearls. I used my dremel to sand open one of them and I did not expect to see the striations which appear to go all the way through indicating that these are not cultured pearls. If they aren't cultured, I expect that they are freshwater but im having a hard time determining that compared to the saltwater ones. I plan to try out some stringing methods and make a bracelet to match the rest of my jewelry.

 

[jshepherd]

They are cultured pearls. They are cultured freshwater pearls

 

[Jess_Nachos]

They are cultured pearls. They are cultured freshwater pearls

Thank you so much for the reply! Im sure years of looking at pearls has sharpened your eye to the differences, but any advice on how to tell freshwater from saltwater? These ones seemed very metallic under a flash and in person I would describe it as a rainbow oil slick sort of coloring. These will make a great medium to practice with before restringing some other strands I have!

 

[Pearl Dreams]

It is immediately obvious to anyone who has studied pearls. The eggy shapes and circles are very typical of freshwater pearls but not akoyas. The size is typical of freshwaters but not south sea. The bands of low luster are often seen in lower quality freshwaters.

Also, cultured saltwater pearls have a bead nucleus (except for keshi, which are relatively scarce, but these do not look anything like saltwater keshi).

Would you enjoy taking the "Pearls As One" course offered by the CPAA? You would learn a great deal about pearls. This is the website; I'll message you a code to take it for free.

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