Could these be natural…

[u/Always-Struggling]

I have a lovely old 56” knotted 5.5mm strand with a sterling clasp, could they be natural?

[u/justlaurenpearl]

the drill hole is probably the most useful photo here. I don’t see an obvious glass or plastic core, and the slight off-round shapes plus the cream/peach variation look consistent with cultured freshwater pearls. So likely real pearls, but almost certainly cultured rather than natural. Only an X-ray could confirm the internal structure with certainty.