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Hi Dave, thanks for this fascinating technique. I've tried it on a vintage Mikimoto brooch, probably circa 1960's to 1970's. Interesting how Mikimoto colors have changed over the years. The vintage Mikis certainly have more color than their current fashion for very white pearls. Photoshop 7...

If you scroll down towards bottom of first page in this thread you'll see the concentric rings in a cultured freshwater someone smashed open https://www.pearl-guide.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8045

Based on your family history and their appearance these will certainly be Japanese Akoya cultured pearls. If the clasp does not have the Mikimoto "M is a clamshell" logo in the middle on the back it will be difficult to confirm they are Mikimoto. There are lots of ways the original clasp could...

Vintage Art Deco Estate J E Caldwell Platinum Diamond Clasp Pearl Necklace I was stalking these on eBay, pretty bad listing although he did have the words "Natural Pearls" in the listing. They came up on one of my Art Nouveau searches, listed at $400 no reserve. 3 mins before auction end...

A quick GOOGLE suggests that Victor's Pearls was on the fifth floor of the Yuraka Building and had a shop in the International Arcade behind the Imperial Hotel circa 1970's. These are probably mid-quality Akoya cultured pearls catering to the tourist market at a lower price point than...

Amazing story, I once had some Russian silver spoons hallmarked in Harbin, it was the end of the trans-Siberian railway and White Russians used to congregate there before heading across the Pacific, to locations like Japan, Australia and USA. There were many jewelry businesses in Harbin, trading...

I love golden pearls and the Jewelmer story is a triumph of will over adversity. I'm convinced that in 100 years Jewelmer will still be the Mikimoto of Golden Pearls. Fascinating that they're positioning their 2014 collection as "Joaillerie". I've just finished re-reading the Christies book...

Hi whicker, I'm not really qualified to talk about tiaras, I've only seen them in books and a few times on the UK version of Antiques Roadshow. The comments on the Roadshow suggested they were so out of fashion that unless they have a particular association with royalty or a famous person...

Hi whicker, well there is certainly lots of movement in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd pieces with their pearl "dangles". Interesting that pearls have been chosen for that role. Of course they're still in the period (1900-1905) when cultured pearls were unknown and all pearls were naturals, and...

Back views of the Liberty & Co pieces Back views of the Liberty & Co pieces So this is for whicker, who asked the to see the backs of our Liberty & Co pieces, to understand more about the construction. Good question, and these back views show these items were individually fabricated, rather...

I wish we had more to show, however that is about it for our "Art" pieces with pearls. I have the feeling Liberty & Co. did use Tay River/Scottish pearls, although I've never seen it previously suggested by the experts. The following Archibald Knox Liberty & Co. pendant is one of their...

Hi there, all your pieces are fabulous antique items, and I would think several are natural pearls. Maybe the GIA course will help you identify these, or you could try the candling method in this thread https://www.pearl-guide.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5558. Will be interested to hear any...

Very cool pics and thanks for tips on how they were done. For those challenged by wiring up an LED, a goose neck book light may be an alternative, something like this: http://www.amazon.com/Multi-Flex-Clip-Gooseneck-Light/dp/B002XHOCVQ

If you review this thread https://www.pearl-guide.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3592 from 2009 you'll see that La Tausca was a line of high quality faux pearls. Faux pearls have no commercial value these days unless the clasp has a gold content and is stamped 14k or 10k or similar. If the clasp...

Well for what it is worth they are sitting in a box by by R.&S. Garrard, appointed by Queen Victoria as the Crown Jewellers in 1843. The company dealt with a number of famous jewels, for example in 1852 Garrard were given the responsibility of re-cutting the famous Koh-i-Noor diamond into a...

Hi Dawn, just noticed your post above about your most unpleasant experience with condescending know-it-all (know nothing) jewellers. I also came across your post from a couple of years ago asking if anyone can refer a good manufacturing /repair jeweller in Aust. Here's a tip: Find out which...

I often browse the jewelry on Rubylane.com and a seller called Annie Popes always had dozens of great vintage to newer Mikimoto pieces. She seemed to do a roaring trade, her items sold regularly for quite strong prices, and her listings were a great resource for checking ages and values of...

Hi Dawn, looks like a great result, now the anxious wait for it to arrive. Will be interested to see how your ring re-modelling turns out, and keen to see more of your naturals as discussed.

So finally I have the report back on the pipi pearl ring discussed in this thread, and I'll load a copy below. It clearly states it is a "Natural 'South Seas' type" and while it says "Origin: unknown" it goes on to say, "Resembles a type found in Penrhyn (Tongareva) atoll in the Cook Islands-...

So finally I have the report back on the double string of natural pearls discussed in this thread, and I'll load a copy below. It clearly states they are natural pearls and I do have the original x-rays. These are only about the size of a large postage stamp. Naively I expected the x-rays to be...