I received as a gift four strands of beautiful pearls.  The friend who bought them (who is not a beader) said they are made of mother of pearl.  However, they're quite heavy and I wonder if they're Swarovski pearls.  A 16" strand contain 41 10mm pearls and the strand weights 2.2 ounces, or .0537 ounce each pearl.  Can anyone tell me what these are?  Thanks.

Can you provide a photo?  I have quite a few Swarovski pearls, which seem very light in weight in my opinion--though I have no way of actually measuring their weight.  But all of them have a tiny bit of a lip around the hole at one end.  I assume this is whatever they used for color, which 'pooched out' slightly during the drilling process.  

I would think a mother of pearl 'pearl' would have some color variation due to it's nature, but then again maybe not.  Sorry I could not be of more help, but I'm guessing there will be others who have more experience in this area.

Alice   

 They might be the man made variety called "Shell Pearls" that are said to be made from crushed/ground up MOP (Mother of Pearl) with a pearl like coating. They are available in a wide range of round sizes and look very much like genuine cultured pearls.

Again a photo would help.  These are heavier than yours, but are 8mm.

54.3 grams "South Sea Shell" Pearls 8mm  16 inch strand - these are more expensive than most pearls and are man made from pearls that were ground up and remade into perfect round beads.  I have the in  pink (resembles coffee with cream) and in grey.  Beautiful.  Maybe this will help you to decide what they are.  I was only able to get these sizes: 4mm, 8mm, and 14mm so maybe yours are not south sea pearls. 

Helen

Thanks for your replies.  Unfortunately, I don't have a photograph.  My son was supposed to take one with his digital camera but hasn't done so yet -- and I'm soooooooooooo 20th Century.  From the descriptions it sounds like these are shell pearls.  They do look a great deal like cultured pearls -- they're really beautiful.  Now I just have to figure out what to do with them!  I'd love to do a multi-strand choker but I just don't have the neck for it, so I'll probably do a continuous necklace.  Thanks to all.

Whenever I am not sure about a strand of beads, I put one into a small ziplock bag and tap it with a hammer til it breaks, then examine the pieces.  Freshwater pearls will break into hollow circular pieces, and you may see the round bit of plastic or glass that they used to "start" the pearl growing.  Swarovski will break into glass shards.  I would guess that the "constructed" pearls someone else mentioned, made of ground MOP, would not have a hollow in the center, but they wouldn't break like sharp glass either. 

recently I ordered some 4 mm faceted black onyx (from a reputable distributor I've dealt with for years) and was suspicious because the were VERY shiny.  so I broke one and discovered I had really dark purple glass.  Still pretty and they were cheap, but I won't be selling them as onyx!  BTW, I'm  guessing the seller I bought from got taken as well.  I sent him an e-mail to let him know, but I really don't think it was his fault.   

 Lori in NH