TOTALLY non-bunny related! Know anything about pearls??

[Lara]

Hi, folks, This sure is a shot in the dark, but I’m wondering if anybody knows anything about pearls? Why, you ask?

Well, I bought several strands of pearls when I was in Zhuji, China, which is known as the “hometown of pearls”. Anyway, they’ve just been sitting in a box in my closet for years, aside from the ones I gave away as gifts. I have ten (temporary) strands, that I’m looking at selling. Does anybody have ANY idea how much I should sell them for? Each strand has 60-75 small to medium size symmetrical (but not quite round) pearls. I have three white strands, two black strands and five peachy-coloured strands. They really are beautiful, but I don’t use them and I need the cash.

Any ballpark figure would be great. I’m really not a jewellery person, so I’m at a complete loss!  Thanks for any ideas at all!

[KytKattin]

How much did you pay for them when you got them? I really don’t have a clue how the price on pearls holds up long term. They sound pretty, but I am not a jewelry person either.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

I’d check Ebay and look for similar items maybe.

I *heart* pearls-got a pink necklace a few years ago, but I really love black pearls But I really know nothing about them

[Lintini]

You could try going to a jewelry store and getting them appraised. I make jewelry and I love making things with pearls but they aren’t super good quality ones. The ones I buy are like 20$ a strand at most and they are man made or err…man helped? I don’t know what you would call the kind that people place into the oyster. Okay they aren’t natural hows that lol?

[RabbitPam]

The biggest difference is between “fresh water pearls” and “cultured” pearls. That means the fresh water are actually made by the oyster and are taken for a strand. Those are VERY expensive and valuable. The are a bit rough to the touch, not smooth. (You’ll see in the movies a guy rub a strand on his teeth to feel if it’s smooth or not.) Cultured means forced by someone with a farm that grows oysters and inserts the sand to get it made. Those are the most commonly sold, moderately expensive (like at Macy’s) and considered very nice to have. You could price those out at a department store.

Finally, they could be completely fake. That’s when they are perfectly round, smooth, any size but all matching exactly. Maybe a color. Those are manufactured by machine and really cheap. Not even called pearls actually. You’ll see those in stores for less than $20.

I’m betting yours are cultured. I’d compare them to strands in your local department store. Or take them to a jeweler, or an antique store where jewelry is sold, ask for an appraisal, and see if the vintage or antique store wants to buy them to resell. Ebay will get you less if you can’t prove they are real.

[Sage Cat]

Ditto on what Rabbit Pam said.

A lot of “antique store where jewelry is sold” will buy items if they like them. Therefore you might want to have them appraised at a different store. Pearls, both “fresh water pearls” and “cultured”, tend o hold there value quite well.
If its something you don’t use – then don’t feel bad about selling them. I have done the same thing.

[Author]

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