SpaceNeedle
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Are these Kasumi pearls?
- Thread starter SpaceNeedle
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Yes, I think so. Not Kasumis. But what is it made of?
____________________
Susan
www.peacockpearl.com
____________________
Susan
www.peacockpearl.com
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Nerida
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pearlescence
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I think freshwater too - nice pearls but not up to that price (I have bigger though not quite so lustrous as these appear) The nacre effect I call cold custard skin.
Mind Sarah is the expert on Kasumis
(If these are not then this is a breach of the UK Trades Description Act. This might be a compare the photos error by a seller of a fair bit of antique jewellery - and all pearls are a bit pricey)
Sarahhhhhhhhhhh? Where are you
Mind Sarah is the expert on Kasumis
(If these are not then this is a breach of the UK Trades Description Act. This might be a compare the photos error by a seller of a fair bit of antique jewellery - and all pearls are a bit pricey)
Sarahhhhhhhhhhh? Where are you
Nerida
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Hi Susan, and BTW welcome to the forum!
Pondslime is just the name given to the phenomenon of the colour of the pearl not being so evenly distributed - it looks almost like an algae stain. As far as I know it occurs randomly. Apparently, these marks are very stable.. not easily bleached. As most Chinese growers would rather be selling beautiful evenly coloured pearls, they are usually fairly inexpensive, despite the fact that some pearl lovers actively seek these type of pearls.
Here is another strand that Sarah has on her site at the moment - much more realistically priced!!
Pondslime is just the name given to the phenomenon of the colour of the pearl not being so evenly distributed - it looks almost like an algae stain. As far as I know it occurs randomly. Apparently, these marks are very stable.. not easily bleached. As most Chinese growers would rather be selling beautiful evenly coloured pearls, they are usually fairly inexpensive, despite the fact that some pearl lovers actively seek these type of pearls.
Here is another strand that Sarah has on her site at the moment - much more realistically priced!!
pearlescence
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Looking at Sarah's (thanks Nerida) I did not realise that I've got some of these pondslimes too - some bigger (although not quite so perfectly round)
Nerida
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I had some before Christmas - all sold easily - they really are quite interesting looking pearls. Still have some now, but they are more baroque, and not such an appealing shape as the ones in this post, or Sarah's. The ones on the Kojima site look great.
Valeria101
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Joining the camp, Nerida.
Nerida
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I guess part of what I am saying is that these pearls don't even look (to me) like the so called "Chinese kasumis". Then the difference (between Chinese, and the real deal) would be much harder to discern.
Given that the ebay seller with this strand has great feedback, and some very nice looking pieces, I think the seller is more likely to be simply mistaken, not consciously scamming.
Given that the ebay seller with this strand has great feedback, and some very nice looking pieces, I think the seller is more likely to be simply mistaken, not consciously scamming.
SpaceNeedle
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Thank you all very much. Never heard of pondslime pearls before and I have been reading this forum for more than a year 
.
The word 'pondslime' just does not sound like a nice name for pearls. What do I know... English is my second language.
The strand on Sarah's site is beautiful indeed. Thank you for sharing.
.The word 'pondslime' just does not sound like a nice name for pearls. What do I know... English is my second language
.The strand on Sarah's site is beautiful indeed. Thank you for sharing
.
waimeamomi
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I like that better. I have a strand from Sarah that has pearls with those colorations, but in rosebud pearls. No pics, sorry. I'm still scrambling to get back to my pearl life.
waimeamomi
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They don't look that different to me than these: ??
http://cgi.ebay.com/STUNNING-22K-JA...h=item140241989883&_trksid=p4634.c0.m14.l1262
http://cgi.ebay.com/STUNNING-22K-JA...h=item140241989883&_trksid=p4634.c0.m14.l1262
kojimapearl
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Hello, I am here in Oakland, enjoying the quiet afternoon.. taking a break from drilling and stringing blue baroque tahitian pearls....mmmm!
There is no question that the pearls pictured at the beginning of this thread are not Japan Kasumi pearls (they are Chinese fresh water pearls). Then there is the question about "pondslime" pearls. This is a term that Fuji Voll coined some years back (it is obviously not a market wide vocabulary term). At first I fought him tooth and nail about using this description, but I must say that now it has kind of caught on, and our customers for the most part have gotten past the initial shock, and now ask for them by name. (Personally, I find it a little refreshing when a product is described honestly, as opposed to glossed up to seem better than another)... So what we mean when we describe a pearl as being "pondslime" is when there is a mix of natural fresh water colors and often with a sort of golden green veneer coating the surface to add to it's luster or depth of color. It is an effect that is completely natural, no pearl processor would waste their time to dye a pearl these colors.
Here are four photos of some of the pearls I have here. I hope this helps.
The first photo: JAPAN KASUMI PEARLS (always bead nucleated) (fresh water pearls from Lake Kasumi-ga-ura). You can see that the two loose drops on the right have a sort of "pondslime" effect.
The second photo: BEAD NUCLEATED CHINESE FRESH WATER PEARLS
The third photo: BEAD NUCLEATED CHINESE FRESH WATER PEARLS, the texture of these pearls, is often compared to the texture of Japan Kasumi pearls, and thus it is common to find other dealers selling them as either "kasumi" or "chinese kasumi" pearls. I have even had other dealers try to sell them to me as that (and these are people who we have exhibited next to us for years, who have come and looked on in amazement as customers clammered for our *baroque japan fresh water pearls*).
The fourth photo: TISSUE NUCLEATED CHINESE FRESH WATER PEARLS, these are a great example of "pondslime". We realize neither the name nor the look of them is for everyone, but if they were, we wouldn't like them anyway! (he he).
So in the end a name is just a name.
Buy only what you love, that way you can be happy with it no matter what people call it.
Sorry to be late to chime in here, I got scared off by the "ethical consumer" thread. Too much to say to that, so I have been drilling and stringing the pearls that I love!
Enjoy and I hope this helps!
Cheers Sarah
There is no question that the pearls pictured at the beginning of this thread are not Japan Kasumi pearls (they are Chinese fresh water pearls). Then there is the question about "pondslime" pearls. This is a term that Fuji Voll coined some years back (it is obviously not a market wide vocabulary term). At first I fought him tooth and nail about using this description, but I must say that now it has kind of caught on, and our customers for the most part have gotten past the initial shock, and now ask for them by name. (Personally, I find it a little refreshing when a product is described honestly, as opposed to glossed up to seem better than another)... So what we mean when we describe a pearl as being "pondslime" is when there is a mix of natural fresh water colors and often with a sort of golden green veneer coating the surface to add to it's luster or depth of color. It is an effect that is completely natural, no pearl processor would waste their time to dye a pearl these colors.
Here are four photos of some of the pearls I have here. I hope this helps.
The first photo: JAPAN KASUMI PEARLS (always bead nucleated) (fresh water pearls from Lake Kasumi-ga-ura). You can see that the two loose drops on the right have a sort of "pondslime" effect.
The second photo: BEAD NUCLEATED CHINESE FRESH WATER PEARLS
The third photo: BEAD NUCLEATED CHINESE FRESH WATER PEARLS, the texture of these pearls, is often compared to the texture of Japan Kasumi pearls, and thus it is common to find other dealers selling them as either "kasumi" or "chinese kasumi" pearls. I have even had other dealers try to sell them to me as that (and these are people who we have exhibited next to us for years, who have come and looked on in amazement as customers clammered for our *baroque japan fresh water pearls*).
The fourth photo: TISSUE NUCLEATED CHINESE FRESH WATER PEARLS, these are a great example of "pondslime". We realize neither the name nor the look of them is for everyone, but if they were, we wouldn't like them anyway! (he he).
So in the end a name is just a name.
Buy only what you love, that way you can be happy with it no matter what people call it.
Sorry to be late to chime in here, I got scared off by the "ethical consumer" thread. Too much to say to that, so I have been drilling and stringing the pearls that I love!
Enjoy and I hope this helps!
Cheers Sarah
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