Featured help identifying pearl necklaces?

Discussion in 'Jewelry' started by Frances Bailey, Sep 15, 2018.

  1. Frances Bailey

    Frances Bailey New Member

    hey, newbie here. made an account because i'm trying to identify these pearls i received from my grandmother a while back and if they're real. she told me they are, but i know absolutely nothing about these nor anything about antiques in general and i figure you guys do, so i appreciate help! thanks!
    pics below, i can provide more or videos of them as well:

    first necklace
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    second one:
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    thank you in advance, again i have no idea what i'm doing haha i appreciate any help!
     
    judy, kyratango and scoutshouse like this.
  2. kyratango

    kyratango Bug jewellery addiction!

  3. scoutshouse

    scoutshouse Well-Known Member

    Hi, @Frances Bailey - welcome!

    Even in their most over-the-top jewelry, like those below, Monet uses only faux pearls, so the top one is faux...

    [​IMG]

    Can you read the mark on the second piece? The catch looks like it may be sterling - it may be marked along the side of the filigree piece, kind of hidden.

    There are lots of jewlies on this site, hopefully they can advise :)
     
  4. Frances Bailey

    Frances Bailey New Member

  5. Houseful

    Houseful Well-Known Member

    I have my doubts about the Monet as the pearls aren’t knotted, ie they are rubbing against each other unlike the second set. I think of Monet as more of a costume jewellery company. Test them by rubbing them gently across your teeth, if they are gritty then they are real pearls. Any marks on the second clasp? Good quality pearls will usually have a precious metal clasp.
     
  6. scoutshouse

    scoutshouse Well-Known Member

    Perhaps grandpa was the liar, hmmm?
     
  7. Frances Bailey

    Frances Bailey New Member

    Oof... perhaps you're right lol
     
  8. scoutshouse

    scoutshouse Well-Known Member

    DANG! my grandma is a liar :( thank you for your help!

    Made me laugh!
     
  9. Bronwen

    Bronwen Well-Known Member

    Welcome, Frances. Kyratango has already nailed it. If my grandfather had not given them to her, I think my mother was ready to do murder for her mother's princess length strand of pearls. No murder had to be done & then they came to me. When I took them with me to find matching pearl stud earrings, the clerk no sooner had them in her hands than she declared them fake. She taught me the 'tooth test' Houseful just told you about. No matter how smooth they feel to your fingertips, genuine pearls feel amazingly gritty to your teeth. I have found this useful in distinguishing between other natural materials & their imitators, such as coral.

    Real pearls of any quality will be knotted; the presence of knots is no guarantee the pearls are real. I have a number of strands of artificial pearls from my mother's wardrobe of the 40's & 50s that are faux, with knots. A sterling clasp also does [NOT] mean anything beyond good quality costume.
     
    Last edited: Sep 15, 2018
  10. Frances Bailey

    Frances Bailey New Member

    ive been straining my eyes to try and see, there's some sort of marking on the side of the clasp but i can't make it out... i feel like it starts with an S but i have bad eyes lol
     
    kyratango, scoutshouse and judy like this.
  11. Frances Bailey

    Frances Bailey New Member

    thank you for the thorough answer!! :shame: felt a bit silly rubbing them against my teeth, but they don't feel very gritty. thank you for the help!
     
    kyratango, judy and Bronwen like this.
  12. Bronwen

    Bronwen Well-Known Member

    We never knew my grandmother to wear the strand of pearls my mother wanted so badly. Their existence was known because she is wearing them in what we think is an engagement photo & the conclusion was that they were an engagement gift from my grandfather. I don't know who knew what. My mother, for some unfounded reason, was making the assumption that this princess-length graduated strand of good sized pearls, if real, could have been afforded by her father in those days, or ever. They did come in one of those lovely burgundy velveteen boxes with the MOP button for the latch. The store clerk did say they were good quality fake. I imagine it was only my mother who was deluded, that both her parents knew perfectly well what they were.

    Speaking of good quality fakes & beautiful boxes, has anyone else ever seen one of the 'boxes' made for La Tausca Pearls? Veritable jewel caskets.
     
    kyratango and judy like this.
  13. scoutshouse

    scoutshouse Well-Known Member

    @Frances Bailey

    @Bronwen and @Houseful got it right. The ridiculously easy hack is to rub them on your teeth!

    If they feel gritty, then the catch is likely marked sterling but not the other way around (sterling catches don't guarantee real pearls)
     
    Last edited: Sep 15, 2018
  14. Bronwen

    Bronwen Well-Known Member

    Not as silly at home as you will at a flea market, charity shop, etc., doing it furtively.
     
  15. scoutshouse

    scoutshouse Well-Known Member

    ... ready to do murder

    My dad gave our mom a really sweet set of pierced ruby earrings for Christmas eve - mom didn't have pierced ears.

    My sister went out Christmas morning and had hers pierced by her friend (using ice, a safety pin and a potato (it was 1965)), effectively taking full possession of them.

    Mom got her ears pierced eventually, but never got them back.
     
    Jivvy, kyratango and judy like this.
  16. Marie Forjan

    Marie Forjan Well-Known Member

    The second set probably has a sterling clasp and they may be cultured pearls. I have had costume pearls that were knotted and had a sterling clasp so can you take them to someone to have them checked?
     
    kyratango, scoutshouse and judy like this.
  17. Hollyblue

    Hollyblue Well-Known Member

    judy likes this.
Draft saved Draft deleted
Similar Threads: help identifying
Forum Title Date
Jewelry Help identifying hallmarks of this gold ring! Feb 17, 2024
Jewelry Help identifying the maker's mark on 14K Four Leaf Clover Pendant Jan 20, 2024
Jewelry Please help with identifying makers mark on sterling silver Jan 20, 2024
Jewelry Help identifying this bead bracelet, is it antique? Jan 11, 2024
Jewelry Need help identifying Dec 17, 2023

Share This Page