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I've a new pretty to ponder over, and wondered if anyone could say what their hunch is with the Pearl? It is perhaps a bit worn and has low lustre, but I love it's gentle bouton shape. It's an antique ring, probably made around a hundred years ago. Nice old hand-cut Diamonds. I haven't had it...

Exciting!! I LOVE this kind of project.

Wow...lovely piece! I'm feeling a little 'green-eyed-monster' over this one. The combination of angular shapes and the gorgeous little golden pearls will be divine. Be sure to post when it's done.

Oooh!!! They ARE nice! Thank you for sharing these beauties. I hope your friend decides to keep them. I'd agree on the auction prices building (in the same way that diamond prices per carat do) with increases in size. A 6.5-7mm largest bead in a natural string of this type is quite 'usual' (if...

I'd agree with Gemgeek there...cultured pearls, and they look a nice size :-)

What a glorious way to RIP!!

Mmmmmm...delicious colours, and what lustre they have too!!

Hmm...It's interesting. I agree that there are factors that can discolour pearls over time, but I wouldn't say it commonly happens. Are both of your strands evenly coloured/discoloured, BWeaves and ckrickett? I've handled many strands of vintage cultureds and the yellowy shades aren't something...

What a fun thread! These pieces are amazing, a joy to see :-) Such creative and talented people around here!

Thank you for your comments and appreciation :-) I don't think the colour is age related as there's no dry or brittleness apparent on the surface, BWeaves. But I take the point, PearlDreams, that the yellow shades aren't so popular. I guess they don't suit everyone. I'm pleased with them as...

Hello there! I have a new find...some pretty graduated cultureds. They go from 6-9mm and are markedly yellow in tone. I'm thinking they're 1950's maybe, and wondering, as I've seen others similarly coloured and this age, was this a popular colour for pearls at the time, or an indication of the...

It's an interesting piece anyway, but now I think it will always say to me; 'Don't take things at face value. There are possibilities you haven't imagined.' It's a valuable lesson, and I can see I've lots to learn, so the quest for pearl wisdom continues ;-)

Well, today I showed said specimen to our jeweller (a man with 40 plus years of experience in the trade), and he said, nope, not a pearl but a piece of cave stalactite (calcite/ aragonite). They do look quite similar.....I'm slightly embarrassed, but it has added to the knowledge bank...thank...

Dmj, Dave thank you so much for your observations. I think I might try and file an edge to see if it is powdery as pearls are when filed? Going to bed thinking of molluscs and shells, and other minerals made of compressed shells got me dreaming....Have any of you read Patrick Suskinds book...

Oh yes!! dmj, this looks familiar...thank you for taking the time to search it out. It's a big piece. Would it be classed as a pearl? Mine has a slight translucency to it, and a kind of bubbly look to the formation.

Hmmm...I'm stumped! JerseyPearl, I take your view...all is definitely not as I first thought! its got a peculiar kind of bobbly textured surface which doesn't really show in the photos too well. I'm going to have to reassess!! Dave, thank you for your thoughts. I'm obviously going to have to...

Thank you dmj, that's along the lines of what I'd guessed, with my v limited knowledge. I'm thinking from the manufacture, Indian subcontinent, as would have been under English rule at the time when 15ct gold was used. I bought it from a dealer here in the UK for ?35, so it's not broken the...

Thank you Pattye and Marianne, Hmmm...I hadn't thought that it could be something other than a pearl. Thank you for your thoughts. The flat base and sides have been filed to shape I think. I've taken a pic of it sat atop my torch.

Hello Pearlfriends! I've got a curious new find... What I think I have here is a non-nacreous pearl. What this pearl resembles most closely is a lump of dried candle wax, or a very small petrified ghost, but I'm pretty sure some of you knowledgeable peeps here will be able to tell me what this...

Thanks for that Dave. It sounds like an interesting research area for someone like me who sells older pearls. I really don't feel I know enough about the subject, and knowledge about older pearls and the history of pearling seems to be pretty thin on the ground amongst jewellers in general.