Abalone pearls?

[cyndayco]

Hi! I saw this interesting piece, but I wondered if l got her pearl classification wrong.

Is it abalone pearl, biwa, or just plain FW stick pearls?

 

[Marianne]

Looks like dyed FW stick pearls to me…

 

[Lagoon Island Pearls]

Yes, dyed FW pieces/sticks.

 

[Hanaleimom]

You've gotten responses from the experts. From what I've seen abalone is extremely expensive because they are not cultured.

 

[Lagoon Island Pearls]

You've gotten responses from the experts. From what I've seen abalone is extremely expensive because they are not cultured.

There are a few abalone farms in the world, but target food, not pearls. They'll occasionally yield incidental pearls, but certainly not in any volume. Japanese abalone is a common name for Haliotis discus hannai (aka Ezo awabi), but they are generally marketed at 25 grams (average). That seems too small and young to produce the type of pearls in the linked piece.

I thought perhaps cut/polished/treated abalone shell, but the color appears too blue/silver. So even at best, low grade.

Abalone normally presents with vibrant combinations of red, green, blue and gold.

 

[Hanaleimom]

There are a few abalone farms in the world, but target food, not pearls.

That's good to know. I've eaten them but didn't know they were farmed goods. And they are not cultured for pearls because they are hemophiliacs? I think I've read it somewhere here in this forum.

 

[Lagoon Island Pearls]

And they are not cultured for pearls because they are hemophiliacs? I think I've read it somewhere here in this forum.

That's correct. Alternatively, mabes produced in Canada during the 80's were done by drilling through the shell into the adductor muscle as to avoid bleeding. They also had to be fed regularly. Nice pearls, but too labor intensive to be viable.

Link: Dr. Peter Fankboner

 

[GemGeek]

Of course, Dr. Fankboner was a pioneer in mabe pearl culturing in abalone. Don't forget Eyris:

GIA Pearl Tour - Eyris Blue Pearls - New Zealand

Here is part two of my three part GIA Pearl Tour diary. I'll be posting it in sections, so read on. We arrived in Christchurch, New Zealand late morning after a fifteen hour flight delay. After taking a vote, we agreed to have lunch and proceed with our activities in whatever way they could...

www.pearl-guide.com

 

[Lagoon Island Pearls]

Don't forget Eyris

Yeah, I was remiss. Especially after reading this paper only a few days ago.

The Story of the New Zealand Eyris Blue Pearl.pdf

Long term loss of short term memory, I guess

 

[GemGeek]

I hear you, bro!

 

[GemGeek]

Another terrific article! Thanks, Dave.

 

[cyndayco]

Given the degree of difficulty and the high price of the Eyris, are they still in business?