a question of color....

[theseventhsphinx]

What is going on with 'pondslime' being an official pearl color?

What is that about?

Who did that?

The first few times I saw it, I thought it was a joke. A little pearl deprecation. It isn't a joke, though, is it.

 

[pearlescence]

who is saying pondslime is an official colour?
btw I am describing every pearl possible as chocolate to stop that tsilly rademark attempt

 

[pattye]

The first few times I saw it, I thought it was a joke. A little pearl deprecation. It isn't a joke, though, is it.

I think of it more as a term of endearment~like a nickname,perhaps~don't know anything about the term being official though~

 

[theseventhsphinx]

Well, not official, official. I mean, semi-official. Like, when someone uses it, you have a specific idea of what they mean, right? And it seems pretty widely used. I see it in eBay and Etsy descriptions, too.

Ahhh. I just want it to be a prettier word.

 

[BAS]

But it does look like pond slime. It always reminds me of the pond scum we tried drinking for a brief period due to its health benefits (Blue-Green Algae and Spirulina ). At some point our batch went a little "off" and I could stomach it no longer. Some like it, and some don't... I think it's an apt description for the splotches of green.

 

[theseventhsphinx]

That's true, BAS. It is evocative.

Oh! That's my real question - is there an technical/industry jargon name for it?

 

[pattye]

Recalling that I first read the term on PacificPearls.us website, and referenced in this thread by Pearl Dreams: https://www.pearl-guide.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3256&highlight=pondslime

Here's the reference: http://pacificpearls.us/rosebud-and-pondslime-effects/

Pacific Pearls (Fuji Voll) and Kojima Pearl (Sarah Canizzaro) are partner companies.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

I don't care for the color effect very much, but I do think the name is apt, if inelegant.

 

[KAC]

must say I'm not a fan of the color or the name but then again I'm not the target audience and I know some do them.

 

[Hanaleimom]

I am not a fan either. Some of them remind me of burn victim skin.

 

[GemGeek]

It's a film on the surface, almost like scum on the surface of a pond. It adds a golden color to the base color of the pearl that many people find attactive.

I only thought the name was disgusting....

 

[pattye]

Seems to me the term gets peeps attention! Personally I do like the colors~a lot! Generally the pearls have great overtones, even the cheap ones with the more satiny luster. I always prefer baroque, funky, more unusual pearls.

 

[Caitlin]

Sarah of Kojima is definitely the source for that term. I bought some from her at the GJX show in 2005- my first purchase ever from her! I still have a bracelet I made- and a few unused pearls from the 4 strands I bought. They are rosebuds, very beige toned with gold. Hints of pink and green. I always thought it was an affectionate term. At least, Sarah uses the term with great affection, LOL!

 

[lisa c]

I love 'em, too! For interest and variety in color on one pearl, you can't beat them, outside of PPs color shifters.

Patty's had some gorgeous ones (some years ago) that actually showed colors that reminded me of pale macintosh apples. I couldn't afford them at the time but I saved pics of them, and when I get a computer again I'll try to post them off the memory stick.

 

[Lagoon Island Pearls]

It's a film on the surface, almost like scum on the surface of a pond.

Are you sure about that? Is this a post harvest treatment or are you suggesting a discrete change in epithelial behavior during the last phase of growth?

I'm curious because my work with Pododesmus macrochisma investigates this behavior. It was long believed the green color was caused by algae growth within the shells, but since I discovered green colored natural pearls in this species, that theory has been debunked. Simply put, there is just no possible way photosynthetics take place within a closed metabolic process.

From http://www.wallawalla.edu/academics...reoida/Anomiidae/Pododesmus_macroschisma.html

This unique bivalve species has thin valves, nearly circular in outline. The right valve is permanently cemented to the substrate (rock, wood, abalone shells, or plastic). The right valve has a large hole in it near the hinge, through which byssal material cements the bivalve to the rock (photo). The left valve has a dark muscle scar opposite the perforation in the right shell, and is otherwise polished inside and often bright iridescent green (probably from algae living within the shell). Flesh is bright orange. Diameter to 10 cm.

 

[GemGeek]

I'm guessing that it is a proteinaceous layer laid down late in growth. They used to toss these pearls out because it is almost impossible to remove the "pondslime" layer without destroying the pearl. These are great bad examples, probably tumbled in polishing compound. They are ugly when they are just layered with opaque brown (upper left), but where the layer is flaked off (upper right), you can see it is the more desirable transparent gold.

This transparent gold layer, when laid over colors such as lavender, create a pleasing bronzing effect. Or, pleasing to some!

 

[GemGeek]

Are you sure about that? Is this a post harvest treatment or are you suggesting a discrete change in epithelial behavior during the last phase of growth?

I'm curious because my work with Pododesmus macrochisma investigates this behavior. It was long believed the green color was caused by algae growth within the shells, but since I discovered green colored natural pearls in this species, that theory has been debunked. Simply put, there is just no possible way photosynthetics take place within a closed metabolic process.

From http://www.wallawalla.edu/academics...reoida/Anomiidae/Pododesmus_macroschisma.html

I would agree that algae can't grow in the closed environment of the shell. You see how little we know that we have to guess about a lot of these things, but that didn't make sense. Those little green pearls are a turn-on! I wish they were bigger!

 

[Lagoon Island Pearls]

Those little green pearls are a turn-on! I wish they were bigger!

Me too!, mind you I've been studying young adults for the most part. In old growth specimens I might find something bigger eventually.

I see what you meant in the image you posted, on one pearl with part of the layer missing, I see a marked difference in the outer layer. It's not typical for a mollusk to change that radically in such a short time without intervention.

Perhaps a graft or re-graft using a pearl instead of a bead?

I really like the greens and golds in those pearls. I also like the wrinkled surfaces. Kasumi pearls and their like are among of my favorite cultured pearls.

 

[pattye]

Great examples, GG, Dave; I too love the little green pearls! Thanks to you both for the scientific interpretations~

 

[GemGeek]

Thanks, Pattye. I bow to Dave's pure science!