What kind of pearls are these?

[michael6liu]

Hello,

I received these pearls from my grandma three years ago as a gift for my future wife. They come with a red box with a sign and some French letter as shown below. However, they do not have any certificate and I wasn't able to find any information from the web about the brand.



Until I found this forum, I decided to give it a try and see if anyone could help me. To answer the questions from the top thread:
1. These pearls are gritty when rubbing against each other.
2. Photos are linked at the bottom, including photos of imperfections and two X-ray photos. However, since no films are used in X-ray these days, I could only take a photo of what was displayed on the monitor. I'm not a radiologist so I do not have access to high resolution monitors.
3. I do not know any history about these pearls.
4. A photo of the clasp is also linked below.
5. The pears are slightly oval rather than completely round. The diameters range from 5.2mm from the smallest to 7.1mm the largest.

Any insight into the kind of pearls are appreciated. Thank you.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

They don't have a bead nucleus and the box looks in newish condition. Could they be freshwaters? The clasp appears fairly ordinary and with no marks could be base metal or gold filled.

On the other hand, that looks like it could be horsehair used in place of French wire (at the clasp) so it makes me wonder if they are older, natural pearls?

We need more opinions.

 

[GemGeek]

Yes, most freshwater pearls are solid nacre, so a regular x-ray will not help determine that it is natural. You need a lab with finer x-radiography to see if the center of the pearl has a void. The shape of the void and inner structure tell whether it was a tissue-nucleated freshwater pearl or a natural pearl. Pearl Dreams is right. They are confusing. I would say that they are most likely not naturals because of the typical freshwater shape and because they have low luster. Have you tried cleaning them? They might be more lustrous after a wipe with a warm washcloth.

It's very sweet of your Grandmother to pass down her necklace.

 

[Lagoon Island Pearls]

Freshwater pearls appear uniform when candled mainly because the tissue graft process is the same for each. Naturals usually appear with dark spots, streaks and patches because the initiating factors are often different.

 

[Caitlin]

That is a beautifully matched set of slightly rice shaped pearls. it took a lot of pearls to match the shapes so well, so a designer had a hand in your granny's necklace. It probably dates from the earliest freshwater pearl cultivation days when it was a sign of real quality to match the shapes so well. It was probably not a bargain necklace, but a good designer necklace. The pearls themselves are not rare anymore and thus no longer worth what they were in granny's day, when they were the hottest pearls available.

It is a nice vintage piece, highly wearable, but no commercial value unless it has a brand name box. Which yours does. We may not be able to help you right now, but this forum is beginning to attract more people who know about brand names. This seems to be a local French brand and if the comapany is no longer operating, it might not show up on the internet. It will require pre-internet methods of research, like finding someone in France that knows about old french brands. Or maybe, lol, there are pages in French on the internet. You can ask to get french results too, I think.

Don't quit, because they do look very designer and were probably cutting edge in their day.

 

[Caitlin]

PS Is that gimp horse hair or is it metal? Either way, it looks handmade, something which adds to the evidence of it being made by a designer. In France, I imagine a little shop in France with a wannabee Coco Chanel making these unique pieces from the newly on the market fat, smooth pearls- the most like the old style pearls that China has yet produced. Anyway, the owner or and employee sat down and put this piece together to represent the company whose box it is in. It may be a medium sized company, but it does the work by hand, making me think more boutique. Especially in the 70's and 80's there were a gazillion boutiques for everything handmade. This may be one that survived, it may not, but traces of it might still exist.

 

[lisa c]

OK, I'm on a tablet so I'm not sure - I seem to see a regular wave action displayed by the sizes of the pearls. I say wave because the pearls graduate to larger near the clasp on one side, then across the clasp for a bit, then get smaller, then larger again.

Anyone else see it, or is my need for new lenses getting desperate?

 

[Pearl Dreams]

I like your scenario, Caitlin. It's a plausible explanation for the perplexing inconsistencies.

I also think it will have lots more luster when the pearls are cleaned. You can clean it as is, still strung, by soaking it for 5 minutes or so in warm, soapy water. Use a mild soap, not detergent. Gently wipe the pearls clean with a soft cloth. Rinse and wrap them in a towel to dry slowly, so as to avoid stretching the silk.

Or, you may choose to restring them after cleaning them. This may be wise; silk does weaken with time and wear, and as these are not knotted between the pearls, if the silk breaks you risk losing pearls. If you decide to restring them yourself, we have a tutorial stickied on the Lowly Beader's Club.

 

[lisa c]

Nope. Not my eyesight. It shows in the xray image as well. On the fish-side of the necklace large pearls near the clasp, on the hook side noticeably smaller. Makes for an intriguing look. I like it.

I wonder if was meant to have a showy-clasp, worn-on-the-side instead of the back look.

 

[michael6liu]

Thank you so much for all the inputs! I didn't expect this and I really appreciated it.

First thing first and please don't laugh, I didn't know pearls need cleaning until now So I'll look into that.
I think lisa c is right about the pearls on one side of clasp noticeably larger than those on the other side.
The gimp seems to be metal and not horse hair. However, Caitlin might be onto something as I realized I missed something important during the photo session. I thought it was just a dent on the back of hook, but after taking life size macro on that no more than 0.5mm x 0.5mm dent, it revealed something unique as shown in the photo below:

 

[Bodecia]

Can you ask your Grandmother how old they are. She may remember to the decade at least. I can't read the marks on the clasp but they look French which would match the box. That is a pity to my mind as it indicates it is the original clasp which is very ordinary and that indicates freshwater pearls unless they were restrung in France at some time in the past.
Ask your grandmother to make sure about that. I would clean them using a salt sludge. As they are all nacre this can only enhance them not damage as long as done gently.

Dawn - Bodecia
http://www.ebay.com/sch/dawncee333/m.html
eBay Seller ID dawncee333 Natural pearl collector & seller. And all round pearl lover.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Closeup the gimp now looks like ordinary gimp that has tarnished. The mark doesn't indicate gold or silver; you might look at the side of the oval part of the clasp; I have seen marks there.

About cleaning, yes, there can be quite a buildup of oil/grime from the skin. Even if I haven't worn my pearls a lot and am just restringing them because I want to rearrange them, I wipe the drill hole area with a damp microfiber cloth before restringing them. Grime particularly collects between the pearls, not being so accessible to the cloth I use to wipe them after each wearing. On older strands you will often see the knots are quite darkened as the silk absorbs oils and grime. This weakens the silk. But silk is also weakened when wet, so take care.

Here's an older thread about a cleaning product called The Pearl Doctor-- is anyone using it? https://www.pearl-guide.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2206

Edit: I thought I'd satisfy my curiosity and buy The Pearl Doctor pearl care kit.

 

[pattye]

All very interesting! I think the gold colored "letter" inside the lid is Greek~omega? (No sororities where I went to college.) But when I searched omega pearls nothing came up.

 

[Lagoon Island Pearls]

Freshwater pearls appear uniform when candled mainly because the tissue graft process is the same for each. Naturals usually appear with dark spots, streaks and patches because the initiating factors are often different.

Candled Natural Pearls

This thread is a good example of natural pearls from the same size, shape and species of mussel, but with markedly different nuclei.

Cultured freshwater pearls have some variations, but (undrilled) most look like automotive light bulbs to me.

 

[Marianne]

Thanks for the thread bump, Dave. Those photos are amazing!

 

[FrenchPearl]

Hi all,
Adding my 2 cents on the brand (for once I can contribute some expertise ). The text in French on the box is not very.... French. My first thought was it was a knock-off box made by someone wanting to make it looks French.
The way the apostrophes are positioned in the sentences are incorrect, just don't exist in French language unless it's some type of abbreviated slang. (C'Net / Mont')
The only C'Net I could find was a laundry service (c'est net = it's clean).


The pearl are very nice though !

Best,
FrenchPearl

 

[Caitlin]

Thanks! Nothing like some fake French to add a little cachet! Tee Hee.

 

[GemGeek]

Oooh La La!