Well Dang! Black Pearls

by Sharalyn Zander
(Jacksonville, AL 36265)

The local jeweler offered me $300.00 on the spot for my strand of natural black pearls. He said they were authentic. He said I could possibly sell them for $600.00 because they were "used". He said a NEW strand of black pearls would sell for about a thousand dollars. But mine were "used" so thy weren't worth as much. And he said there was no difference between cultured pearls and natural pearls.

Mine are over 100 years old. I have 69 natural pearls, all approx. 3 centimeters. They are very lustrous, black, with a distinct green and purple cast when held in the sunlight. I think the guy was trying to rip me off. So where does one get an accurate appraisal for such a strand in the Deep South?