Another Fake giant clam pearl

[Nick_Abdusalam]

how much could I sell this 18kgs giant clam pearl?

 

[albingreat01]

GOOD DAY;

NICK, MAY I KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR POSTED GIANT PEARL PLEASE?

I DO HAVE HERE IN PHILIPPINES AND DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO ON THIS.

ANYONE HERE WHO CAN GIVE A GREAT ADVICE ON WHAT’S THE BEST THING TO DO ON THIS PEARL PLEASE?

THANKS

 

[jshepherd]

The original poster learned in another thread this is not a pearl.

What you have is not a pearl. It is a piece of shell it has no value.

As you can see here at the following link, many people have come here with pieces of shells like this promoting them as pearls.

PSA - Fake Giant Clam Pearls | Tridacna Gigas

Over the past few years, we've been inundated with images of claims of supposed giant clam pearls, almost all of which come from the Philippines. This is likely due to a story about a supposed 75-pound pearl (34 kilo) a Filipino fisherman had kept under his bed for a decade. The story was...

www.pearl-guide.com

 

[CortezPearls]

Getting tired of these "Giant Clam Pearl" posts. I mean...it's just so darn easy to discern a true pearl from a piece of shell.

 

[SteveM]

WHO CAN GIVE A GREAT ADVICE ON WHAT’S THE BEST THING TO DO

We all can, and it's been given before: Doorstop, bookend, shot-put.

 

[albingreat01]

THANKS FOR YOUR GREAT REPLIES.

JUST WANT TO KNOW THE REAL VALUE ON THIS BECAUSE IT’S A LOT OF SCENARIOS BEING TOLD REGARDING THIS CLAM PEARL.

 

[KarinK]

That is not a pearl. No value.

 

[SteveM]

Let's be fair, as a door stop it has some value. A typical one at Amazon goes for $18.99.

 

[jshepherd]

THANKS FOR YOUR GREAT REPLIES.

JUST WANT TO KNOW THE REAL VALUE ON THIS BECAUSE IT’S A LOT OF SCENARIOS BEING TOLD REGARDING THIS CLAM PEARL.

I have seen giant clam shells for sale at stores. They are usually used for display in homes, offices, etc. The piece you have is nicely polished, so I imagine it might retail for $200 to $300.

 

[SteveM]

Need to keep in mind that all Tridacna species are endangered (CITES convention), making the international trade in their shells irresponsible at best. That's probably the most important reason for discouraging these inquiries.

 

[jshepherd]

Need to keep in mind that all Tridacna species are endangered (CITES convention), making the international trade in their shells irresponsible at best. That's probably the most important reason for discouraging these inquiries.

Yes, you wouldn't want to ship the shell overseas. It's protected by CITES.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

@Jeremy,
The giant clam shells you saw for sale in stores, was that in the USA? I remember seeing one at the Smithsonian Natural History museum when I was 10 years old, but never anywhere else. I recall being amazed at its size.

 

[jshepherd]

I've seen large clam shells at furniture stores, but they are much more prevalent in Asia. There's an area in China where they farm tridacna for the shell, so there are a lot of different things made from it there. I've never been in the market for one though so I haven't spent much time with them.

 

[SteveM]

I've seen them as baptismal basins in Spanish churches, of course predating CITES by hundreds of years. Farming is good news.

Regarding the phenomenal symmetrical pearls attributed to Tridacna (for which the alternative name 'Kima' has been proposed here), room exists for doubt that such fine pearls would originate in a shell whose microstructure lacks organization, having evolved for brut strength.

 

[albingreat01]

Let's be fair, as a door stop it has some value. A typical one at Amazon goes for $18.99.

Thanks for being fair, you have a great soul, fairness nowadays is almost impossible. You are one of a kind hearted person.

 

[albingreat01]

I have seen giant clam shells for sale at stores. They are usually used for display in homes, offices, etc. The piece you have is nicely polished, so I imagine it might retail for $200 to $300.

DEEPLY APPRECIATED YOUR GREAT REPLY.

IT’S MY PLEASURE TO SEE YOURS? CAN YOU SEND IT TO ME OR EVEN HERE PLEASE?

THANK YOU SO MUCH

 

[albingreat01]

Need to keep in mind that all Tridacna species are endangered (CITES convention), making the international trade in their shells irresponsible at best. That's probably the most important reason for discouraging these inquiries.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR KIND CONSIDERATION ON YOUR REPLY SIR STEVE.

 

[Lagoon Island Pearls]

These charlatans sometimes go to great length to put a lustrous polish on the shell. Little do they realize it's not what experts look for. Most often these are cut from the thickest part of the shell, which is called the umbo. Each and every one seen by me to date reveal bisected growth fronts, as opposed to elegantly layered and terminated ones reveal a cut shell, nonetheless.

The saddest part of this sham being a genuine pearl may slip through the cracks or otherwise create a nightmare for the finder whether by legality, CITES or public opinion.

 

[SteveM]

a genuine pearl may slip through the cracks

Science is eventually going to find a way to extract enough DNA from non-nacreous (prismatic) shell material to ID the pearls, and my wishful thinking is that the flamed symmetrical ones we've been calling Tridacna are anything but.

As for these sham inquiries, P-G should try to find a way to filter them out. Would be a worthwhile application of AI.

 

[CortezPearls]

Science is eventually going to find a way to extract enough DNA from non-nacreous (prismatic) shell material to ID the pearls, and my wishful thinking is that the flamed symmetrical ones we've been calling Tridacna are anything but.

As for these sham inquiries, P-G should try to find a way to filter them out. Would be a worthwhile application of AI.

I think I will just do this with the next ones: DELETE them.

But these posts are also valuable in case some unsuspecting person -potential buyer- looks for info about a "ginormous pearl" they are being offered and then they find our threads and Bazinga! they become informed and avoid the scam. At least that is how I envision it.