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Hi guys, thanks for the info on these pieces, I'm thinking the wive's (mine and the buyer's) quality barometers were superior to their husband's!

Recently I was shown the pic below of a suite of baroque pearls, a necklace, bracelet and earrings. Sorry they're not readily accessible, so I cannot easily get more pics, measurements, or tooth test info etc. Apparently the owner's husband bought them on a business trip to the Philippines...

The gallery you linked to above shows the operations of Jewelmer, the leading producer of rare golden Palawan South Sea pearls (in the Philippines). Those golden SSP's (South Sea Pearls) sell for hundreds of dollars for each pearl, strands of the quality shown in those pics are well into the...

Hi there, Unfortunately that is not a Mikimoto clasp. Mikimoto always stamped their clasps with the "M in a clamshell" logo on the back of the clasp, not on the "fish-hook". The clasp looks to be a generic style produced in the millions since the 1930's to present day, and from the little I...

Conch Pearls at Bonhams Conch Pearls at Bonhams Here's a useful link I've made to past natural pearl necklace auctions at Bonhams: Click for Bonhams Natural Necklaces It's sorted by price (high to low), and there's a number of conch pearl necklaces that are right up there in price, including...

Hi Dawn - smashing pearls, "destructive testing" takes on a whole new meaning! I'd love to see any naturals you've got. In New Zealand we get very few chances to see them. Even on this forum they're a fairly rare treat. So please, start a thread! Then of course there is the question of how to...

Hi Dawn, maybe all you need to improve your pics is a tripod? With enlarged close-ups it's almost impossible to hold a camera steady just with your hands. I agree, if the setting is silver it will be Victorian, and there's little doubt it is a natural pearl. It certainly is a magnificent old...

Hi Dawn, interesting ring, I would be guessing maybe sometime between 1920's and 1940's? Gold and Platinum? I think you need to stump up for a better camera with good macro, I recently bought a second hand Panasonic Lumix FZ35 for $200. It transformed my pics, and the other secret to...

Hey Dawn, I see you pulled it from eBay, good, I think it is an interesting little piece and far too good to let go for USD$225.00! It definitely has remodeling potential, maybe a pendant or enhancer? Love to see what you end up doing with it.

Hi again Dawn, I took another look at your listings on eBay Australia. I regularly browse the Aussi vintage jewellery and your pieces often come up in my searches. Seems to me you might have your own pipi pearl in that golden pearl on the top of this little tie pin...

Hi Dawn, I've seen your listings on eBay Australia, love your pearls, and you have amazing old clasps on some of them. After getting the pipi ring back, I've sent off our (presumed) naturals (the ones in this link: https://www.pearl-guide.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7810). Happy to share the...

hi Pattye, yes while he was not as well recognised as Archibald Knox, Bernard Cuzner was a master silversmith, jeweller and designer. He was head of the department of metalwork at the Birmingham School of Art from 1910 to 1942, quite a career! He also published a couple books reprinted many...

Hi Whicker, sure happy to show pics of the backs, will be a few days until I get to them again. "entwining stems" is a great description, and as Dr Stephen Martin says in his monograph (link above), the "gold designs were handcrafted throughout", so the pieces were hand fabricated and...

Burnard Cuzner Burnard Cuzner So I'm getting near the end of our 'Art' pieces that have pearls or MOP etc. It's noticeable that our collection is largely based around British pieces, particularly those from Liberty & Co. Simple explanation, we live in New Zealand, a former British colony...

Hi all, so I got the ring back today by secure courier, but the Lab is putting the analysis in the post to me. (I hadn't paid them, because they didn't know the total cost until completing the job, so now I've paid and they'll post me the x-ray and report). However they did confirm over the...

Archibald Knox For Liberty & Co. - Model 500-36 Archibald Knox For Liberty & Co. - Model 500-36 This is another design by Archibald Knox for Liberty & Co, and quite a rare and important piece due to the impressive opal. It is recorded as model 500/36 and also as 500/58 in the jewellery...

Liberty & Co. and Archibald Knox Liberty & Co. and Archibald Knox Liberty & Co is a luxury goods department store that opened in Regent Street, London in 1875, and is still trading. From the late 1890's they were extremely successful in promoting Arts & Crafts and Art Nouveau styles in...

Whoa, so you're saying that a pearl family tree is under development? A kind of "Origin of Species" for pearl oysters that links in to Continental Drift? That's mind-boggling, and it begs us to remember that pearls are an organic material, the product of an "animal" life-force, and of...

I have a preliminary verbal report on this presumed pipi pearl and it has come back as a natural. From what they told me on the phone the lab has come to a conclusion on its origin but I'll have to wait and see their report. It is on its way back to me and I'll have the full report and x-ray...

Hi Dave, it did cross my mind they could be naturals and I tried the L.E.D. booklight trick I used on our pipi pearl. Quite difficult on the big pearl because of the way it's set, half enclosed in silver. A bit easier with the earrings. All three pearls look to be more or less perfectly round...