Featured Pacific Coral Necklace ?

Hello,

I am new to the forum and have some questions regarding this coral necklace. It has been in my family for years and was given to me years ago. It was believed to be purchased in the 1930's. When it was given to me years ago, I was told that it was real coral.

I have done some research on the internet in regards to where I can get this necklace possibly appraised to get an idea of its value, authenticity, etc., but all I have been able to come up with is that I would need a gemologist and from my research on this, the closest one to me is 5-6 hours away.

I would appreciate any and all suggestions and/or ideas regarding how to go about this, and also what the value may be on this necklace.

Thanking you in advance.

I just edited my post to add 2 more pictures which I took outside that show its true color better.

 

https://www.rubylane.com/jewelry?ca...ded Necklaces&f_color=Orange&q=coral necklace

maybe you can look and compare here

 

I.m not seeing coral......

 

I think if you know the name of this type of closure and you search coral bead necklace knotten between beads ...... closure, you will find some similars. But I can't say what is real or fake coral. not an expert.

 

Looks like an older fish hook clasp.

 

The clasp says "GOLD FLD." Gold filled? Some of the research I have done makes me think it's possible that it's Pacific coral, but I keep hitting road blocks, even on Ruby Lane and other sites because I can never find one that has similar clasp, and also the same color as this necklace. The color is kind of a dark peach/orange color but no matter what light I try to take the pictures in, it always tends to look red in the pictures but it's far from red.

Edited post to say that I do find coral necklaces with similar clasps but they are always 14K gold or something like that, none that have the GOLD FLD like this one, but the clasps can be changed, can't they? The reason I wonder is because that is many times the only difference that I can see that's obvious, is that the clasps are 14K gold versus GOLD FLD.

 

Here is a couple of pictures I just took outside which better show its true colors.

 

Looks like real coral to me.

 

Thanks! While doing Google research, I took an eye loupe that has a light on it and looked at the necklace closely and followed along with what it said to look for and those quick checks, to the best of my ability, matched up with the real coral versus fake. I would like to figure out where to take something like this to have it professionally looked at?

 

someone who sells it....antique store...jeweler....
even if found to be authentic coral....not dyed... it still will not be worth a lot of money..

 

https://www.crystal-life.com/product/red-coral-necklaces-high-energy/

 

Thanks for your posts!

The necklace I have was purchased in 1937 and still has its original box. It weighs 43 grams and is only about 16 inches long which in comparison to others I've found, a lot of them are only this heavy when they are a lot longer, so these things have made the searches more difficult when looking at others for comparison. Thanks again for your replies.

 

Oh how cool! I'd wanted to have seen the original box too!

 

What led you to think they are Pacific coral? I don't know that they're not, just wondering what evidence there is.

The size of the individual beads is also a factor in value. Sixteen inches of 3mm beads are not worth as much as 16" of 10mm beads. These look pretty large. You need to know the diameter to search for similar.

 

When my grandma gave them to me years ago, she told me that if she remembered correctly, they were Pacific coral, but I do not know that for sure.

 

The colour is right for Pacific coral, with that hint of orange in the red. But I can't see enough detail to tell if it is actually coral or another stone.
What you could do, is put a drop of lemon juice on one of the beads. If it starts to bubble, it is coral.

The clasp was used in the 30s, but not only then. But I have no reason to believe it couldn't date from the 30s.

 

I'd like to see some well-focused close-up photos... right now, they look like glass to me...

 

This is just some miscellaneous information that may or may not be helpful.

I noticed on eBay that Pacific coral beads similar in color to yours are referred to as Pacific Momo Coral Red Salmon Color and are priced starting at $180 for a single bead! (though none are shown in the “sold” listings), and I couldn’t find much other information online about Pacific “Momo” Coral, except for a website in Taiwan that mentions "momo" coral.

eBay shows only two Pacific Coral necklaces that sold and look similar to yours except they’re the typical angelskin color, so the sold prices are probably not relevant.

I recently sold some vintage Mediterranean coral bead necklaces, one of which I posted here and received helpful advice. I didn’t have anyone in my area who could authenticate them as natural undyed coral, so I tried the lemon juice test, but couldn’t see bubbles with just a drop of lemon juice, so I partially immersed a bead into a small dish of fresh squeezed lemon juice and then using a magnifying glass I could see teeny bubbles forming on the surface of the bead. I quickly rinsed off the lemon juice and dried with a soft cloth. I was afraid to use acetone to test if they were dyed, so I read that you can rub coral on a piece of raw peeled turmeric root and if the turmeric turns red, the coral is dyed. Without a gemologist's opinion, these tests could at least confirm that your beads are undyed coral--or not.

If you plan to sell the necklace online, you’ll need well-focused, close-up photos--very close up (as bluumz mentioned) so knowledgeable buyers can judge the authenticity and quality for themselves.

 

Thanks for the information! Here's some close-up photos that I took. (The best I could do).