Recent content by A Breaker

Laughing...I agree with BWeaves. I prefer "Girl Dragon" who wears her pearls to show them off.

Often there is the word "Japan" on the hook. Look at Ebay or Etsy and you will see Mikimoto's M inside a shell on all Mikimoto jewelry. The box is newer than the necklace.

AI and google lens are helpful for some pearl things...it can spot Faux pearls in a photo about 30% of the time. But that means it is wrong 70% of the time. It is hopeless with freshwater vs Saltwater because AI & Google lens use information from dealers, sellers and influencers. Enough of...

Since this seems to be a USPS and a USA problem originally, I will add there is a new scam and it hits EBay in particular. USPS by law...from way back, must use the name and address on the package. Tracking is new and if it comes with an on-line label...eBay or the USPS website... a seller can...

If you even knitted or did any sort of hand sewing or many other hobbies with thread and knots, including fly tieing....It is the same ideas a few tricks, but mostly can be done watching a show that you have seen before, once you start and can remember to stop and move the knot into the correct...

Thank you!

You have great photos!!!! Near the biggest pearl, you can see that there is some paint build up around the "drill" holes. I will bet if you look at the surface with your phone 10X...you will see what looks like spray paint. Often those vintage glass pearls do have really gold clasps and tend...

Yes! It is a similar shell to Mikimoto, but with a T inside.

If the other jeweler can't test for diamonds...Ennui is right about the diamond testers...but I have never seen a diamond in a silver clasp...unless the clasp is very new (lab-grown diamonds in silver is from the last 15-20 years). I have to caution you about jewelers and pearls. I...

What a great example!!!! Are these freshwater or saltwater? Does that make any difference? I know that someone (might have been BWeaves) that blue akoyas can fade too. Is that the same reason?

Pearls As One course gives you a really good idea why there were so many very, very high quality Faux Pearls. Until Mikimoto perfected his culturing tech. ... Pearls were "found". To match and get a string was very, very hard and $$$$! Add to that Pearls came mostly from Saltwater oysters...

I am just the opposite to Bweaves..my fingers feel more than my eyes see...but The feel (2 pearls rubbed for grit) +10x the surface (can use a phone to get 10x) + looking at the drill holes...(Paint build up or loss for faux)....Then I can tell. I need all 3 to feel 100% sure. Freshwater...

How did you do this????

Many "Big Box" or mall jewelers will clean any ring for free. In fact, when they first started doing that...they had people standing out front asking to clean rings. It was to get people in the store, but it was nice for my grandmother, because as they cleaned her rings, she would ask them to...

Those Mikimoto pearls are AMAZING! The Flintstone ones just make me laugh...more Pearl-like spheres!