Any chance these pearls are real?

And please, please, don't tell me to rub them on my teeth.
That only works if one still has their real teeth.

The clasp is marked sterling, but no other marks.

I have checked the holes, but really can't tell. It looks to be strung with silk thread, but I notice the last few on each end are not knotted.

 

Good possibility with a sterling clasp.
If you can't rub them on your teeth is there anyone else in the house who could try it?

Only other thing I can think of is a magnifying glass. Look where the holes are drilled. You might be able to see some flaking where the shell coating is starting to chip off.

 

I'm by no means an expert, but can share the little I know...

-- It's a good sign, but not definitive, that the cord is knotted between the beads.

-- If the cord is knotted in the little bead tips (the part between the last bead and the clasp), and then strung back through the last beads rather than being cut off at the bead tip, that may also be a good sign.

-- I started using very similar sterling clasps in the early 70s, and they're still made today. I don't know when they were first made.

-- To my eye, the surface looks like they may be genuine pearls. But there are glass pearls coated with a natural substance that look very similar. If I remember correctly, the coating is made from fish scales -- I know, weird!

 

Try rubbing 2 pearls against one another. If they are smooth with no friction, likely not real. If they have a bit of roughness, and develop a powdery substance with the friction, they probably are real.
Last year I got a pearl necklace for a dollar at a yard sale. The clasp was 18k, so I thought they had to be real. But they weren't. When I rubbed them together the coating came off, revealing a plastic underneath.
I hope yours are real

 

I used the same clasp with many different materials, including glass, so unfortunately it may not be an indication.

 

Thanks for responding!
It does not appear to me that the cord is strung back through the last beads. It looks like it was just knotted at the bead tip. pooh.

Fish scales sort of make sense to me, because they might add that luminescence to the beads . . . maybe. LOL

 

tyeldom, and Pat, Thanks to you as well!

Doing what tyeldom said, I'm pretty sure these are not real. sigh . . . heehee

Oh well - they are still pretty.
Since they are not real, could I clean them in something like dish soap? They look kinda grody to me.

 

True, but as you pointed out and I forgot to mention, they are knotted in between. Also, they appear to be perfectly matched.

Pearls were more popular up to what mid 1980s? Long before there was a craze by beaders. And really not what most would spend the time to string.

 

Do you see little cut ends on the cord in the bead tip?

I was thinking it might be strung back since I can't think of another reason the cord wouldn't be knotted between the last two beads.

 

Messi, if they're glass pearls with a coating, I think washing them would destroy the coating.

 

I wish I had a real one around to compare them too.
I used to, but it was a big honkin one in a 14K gold stickpin, and I broke down and sold it. Needed the money. Life's like that sometimes.

 

Weirdly, I was rubbing pearl necklaces on my teeth this past Thursday. Two necklaces: one was smooth feeling and the other was definitely rougher as I slid it across my teeth. So, I figure one of them is real!

If I'm not too tired tonight (going to an antique/collectibles show today and babysitting my 2 beloved GDs by myself!) I will post pix of the pearls and other assorted goodies.

 

I have washed pearls in soapy water.

 

None of the holes have any chipping, which is one reason I thought that perhaps they were real.
I will probably just stick them back into the bag.

 

Ah, but there was an earlier beading craze in the late 60s-70s, which is when I was making jewelry the most.

One of the trends at the time was delicate, feminine, older-looking pieces. These were my favorites to make and they always sold well. I used faux pearls on some necklaces, although usually mixed them with faceted glass beads, and I did knotting between the beads sometimes.

Even commercial necklaces sometimes have knotting between beads that aren't genuine pearls or stones.

I'm not meaning to be contrary, just sharing my experience from when I made beaded jewelry for a living for a while.

 

Does real mean cultured pearls or natural pearls. Cultured pearls have had the touch of the oyster but really they are just organic factory made. Jewellers look inside the holes, you can see there how thick the coating of nacre is over the 'seed', the thicker the better.

Without the cachet of a well known name like Mikimoto I don't count even cultured pearls as all that big a deal, for selling.
But what do I know, pearls and a twin set are not my natural costume.

 

LOL! Aw, Af, but pearls and a twin set are so... so.... Oh, nevermind.

I think we're talking about cultured pearls as opposed to beads that look like pearls but are made of glass or plastic.

 

As I recall, pearls, even the plastic ones, began to be knotted in the 60's. In the fifties, every female over wore them -- graduated sizes, and hitting one just below the collar bone. The plethora of dance mishaps leading to rock and rollers skidding dangerously across the floor on accidentally unstrung beads may have been a reason for that.

Most young ladies were hoping at some time or other to be given cultured pearls. Personally, I wanted Queen Alexandra's.

Actually, I still do.

 

Hi Silver,
Alexandra's are really really nice but The Vanderbilt women were famous for their pearls. VanCleef had a Vanderbilt set in their window in the 90s. 5 strand stomacher lenght of 700 matched blush pearls. Matching earrings and two bracelets. Price was 6 million. Every year at Christmas time when decorating the tree I had a dozen pearl garlands. I had them draped around my neck as I put them on the tree I would remember and say "Vanderbilt were known for their pearls."
greg

 

LOL - I'm right behind you.
I was going around the flea markets in the early 70s picking up costume pearls that had the enamel flaking off. I was specifically looking for the French opalescent glass beads that they coated. Mostly found the clambroth glass. Found a couple of coated onyx. Still have those. Also picked up a lot of antique glass beads that I used for stringing, and mixing with the opalescents.

One time I put all the costume pearls in an ammonia, detergent soak and left them over night. Came in the next morning to find one strand that just had the string left. Real pearls apparently do not with stand an ammonia bath.

I wasn't trying to be contrary either.