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Yeah! Same symptoms, I guess ;) ... The article you brought up end with: "According to the new data, "the intrinsic properties of crystal growth aren't what's driving [the architecture]," says Adam Hitchcock of McMaster University in Canada. "Biology has a major role to play." That...

Well... yes... sure that. I've never thought of it before writing the previous post... but while at it, it became obvious that I could not claim that the style of jewelry was confined to some historic period, because ... I could always find some counter-examples! Sure, the form is best known...

I wonder if this is the kind of data that does / should support pearl identification after all. Looked into this kind of research when orient and the ID of nautilus pearls came up here... There seems to be a whole lot of data: more of nacre structure then functional histology (those 'flame'...

There must be an entire bestiary of baroque pearl mounts out there... The little monsters appear to have been a self-sustaining trickle of fashion all of their own since the 1500's. ['bet they're already in some coffee-table book; just haven't looked for it yet!] Always wondered why was that...

Thanks for that one: short and sweet! Now, imagine an idiot trying to dig up records of invertebrate life (and certain by-products) to match the fairly recent stages of that geological story. :mad: Not about to forget that one any time soon...

'Tad scary stuff: (Vogue Online) "Culture Club: Designers take a shine to pearls" The presentation misses the line that may have sprouted many of its items - the boules of Dries van Noten last summer. Not sure I can justify the editor's calling those things 'pearls'! Most of the...

Don't think there is such accreditation. Only the claim... GIA diplomas do not imply any further oversight on the holder's business practice; one does not have to be in the jewelry business at all to hold one. I believe that a significant proportion of GIA students are not involved in the...

True enough... and hard to accept it takes so long for such a 'market' to 'grow up'.

Thanks! Agreed that processing pearls is necessary - no misunderstanding there. It is nice to have the choice to get untreated ones though - could be that I am the only one to think so (although you said you had clients asking for untreated pearls, as well). I cannot say that I can even tell...

From the pictures these remind me of vintage costume jewelry, like the pearls in fashionable 50s labels and such. Always wanted to know what exactly makes the difference between these coatings - naturals included! (imagining some frightfully subtle technicalities, perfect for an afternoon read...

Anything particularly noteworthy among said pearls? Design? Haven't heard 'Tucson' and 'Basel' in the same sentence often at all... This strange year makes some comparison interesting, perhaps.

Perhaps there is no straightforward reason for anyone to want to recognize whether some pearls have been treated like you say or not. Still, is this possible? Lets take one extreme case: could you tell a treated pearls from untreated, given two pearls of the same color, shape and size? Would...

Common tragedy, since Aristotle (the oldest reference for this argument). How did / would you rate the odds of a Fair Trade label at solving that problem?

Hm... it does sound like there is an answer to the original question of the thread shaping up!

Not aware of accreditation for gemology laboratories (those could be 'accredited appraisers', or 'accredited gemologists' perhaps? - different story) To clarify what I was referring to throughput: Just thought of the group of more prominent gemological laboratories offering pearl reports...

You didn't! :o

Yikes! I think I can put up with Valli's pearls :) ... but that's about the limit. ;) ... those should have been pearls...

'Less informed'? You are in a generous mood ;) As long as the lab reports are based on public research - regardless of whether the technicals are accessible to potentially illiterate pearl buyers or not, got to give civilization some due - I'll admire that from a distance..., so to speak...

Those Tahitians! Would rather need an excuse FROM buying them, not TO buy! Beautiful ;) In any case, would feel better about the world if charity is not all of the tax-deductible kind. Just one possible take... Apparently, morals are getting more and more expensive. Darn! Just read the last...

I thought I was a pessimist... Wht do you mean by 'other reasons'?