Vintage Sterling Pearls

Any ideas on age, not even sure if they are real pearls definitely not plastic kinda heavy. there's a tiny mark after sterling.. anyone recognize it? tia

 

No matter how smooth they feel to your fingertips, pearls that were made by a mollusc will feel slightly gritty when rubbed against your teeth. (I sort of nibble at them gently.) Fakes will feel glassy. Good quality artificial pearls are not without value.

 

Some vintage glass pearls were coated on the outside with a substance derived from fish scales. I've had some of those beads, but never tried rubbing them against my tooth, so don't know how they would feel?

 

But they would taste fishy?

 

I don't know. Suspect they would also feel glassy. Although we think of fish scales as rough, by the time they have been reduced to a paste, imagine they make a smooth coating. When I was beading, once bought a strand of vintage beads that were supposed to be opalescent glass. They were. But on further examination, realized that spots here & there that seemed like foreign matter were really the remains of a coating that would have made them look like pearls. Test an inconspicuous spot & let us know! (Carefully.)

 

I was wondering that too.

 

Don't think so since they scales are mixed with other stuff to make it durable. But I'm not sure I want to test it to find out!

 

I've also had these beads with the coating partially deteriorated, and think mine were more like a white semi-translucent milky glass... don't remember mine being opalescent. Which is a shame 'cause I love opalescent beads.

 

Maybe they just smell fishy?

 

These look like Japanese glass to be. With any luck they smell like money.

In this case, the clues are a) no knots between beads and b) those corroded brass findings. If knots are present, the beads can still be artificial, but older real pearls are knotted. Those corroded knot covers are pretty well diagnostic for costume; in that era real ones would have precious metal findings.

 

@evelyb30
They appear knotted.

 

With the knots that small, I'd think the cords may be silk.

 

The good fish scale pearls aren't thin coated, they're layered and lacquered and don't wear. Perlas Majorica invented the process. They're smooth, heavy and very very high quality, often with silver or gold fitments. That clasp isn't Majorica.

 

I'm with obb, 'fish scale' pearls are smooth, and these are not Majorica. Real Majorica pearls are collectible btw.
But there are other fish scale pearls, those are smooth when gently rubbed against the teeth as well. Some fish scale pearl necklaces are knotted.
The thickness of the knots depends on the thickness of the thread and the knotting technique used, not on the material of the thread.

 

OP, check all the pearls --do you see any evidence of finish loss on any of them? If yes, you know there is some kind of coating. (Often the coating is on glass which would explain the weight.)

I've had many artificial strands that were hand knotted.

I think the mark after the word sterling is not a maker's mark but some kind of ding or manufacturing defect.

Take the suggestions above as well. (Tooth test, etc.)

 

they feel slightly gritty, no loss at all but the one bead close to brass connector is discolored maybe from patina obsorbed?

 

Real cultured pearls generally weigh less than costume ones made of glass. It's impossible to say from here, but given those corroded brass cord ends I'm still guessing they're not real. Makers in the 50s and 60s put sterling clasps on costume pearls, at least on the nicer ones. A big heavy double strand like that would have gold findings in all likelihood if they were real.