Featured help identifying pearl necklaces?

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





second one:



thank you in advance, again i have no idea what i'm doing haha i appreciate any help!

 

Hi, welcome on Antiquers boards
Monet was a costume jewellery firm... your pearls aren't genuine natural nor cultured pearls
See there an example:
https://m.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-MONE...sid=p2349624.m43663.l10137#vi__app-cvip-panel

 

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...



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

 

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

 

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.

 

Perhaps grandpa was the liar, hmmm?

 

Oof... perhaps you're right lol

 

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

Made me laugh!

 

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.

 

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

 

thank you for the thorough answer!! felt a bit silly rubbing them against my teeth, but they don't feel very gritty. thank you for the help!

 

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.

 

@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)

 

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

 

... 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.

 

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?

 

Fish hook clasp are hard to date and fairly inexpensive today... https://www.firemountaingems.com/itemdetails/h20b1115fn