Could this be a Pipi Pearl from Tongareva?

[kiwipaul]

I recently acquired this most unusual 9ct gold ring set with a 9.75mm diameter button shaped golden pearl.

No provenance other than previous owner bought it from an estate sale several years ago.

The ring looks to me like it is Arts & Crafts period, parts of it are assembled, and the engraving on the leaf pattern shoulders is different on each, suggesting these may be hand done rather than churned out of a lost wax mold.

If I saw this ring with say an Opal in it, I would confidently call it as pre-1940's.

The pearl is gritty to the tooth, I've handled lots of Miki's and some naturals, little doubt it is a real pearl.

Under a 30x loupe and very bright light the rim of the button (thinest part of the pearl) is translucent. I can see depth in it.
It also appears that the light shines right through the pearl, almost illuminating it, although this is a little hard to tell in the setting, which has a post as well as the claws.

Now this is strange, at three places around the rim, looking into the pearl I can make what looks like a tiny flake of a lighter material.
Hard to describe, but they are like a tiny fleck sized leaf under the surface, maybe 1/100 size of a matchhead.
These don't disturb the integrity or colour of the exterior, I can only see them when looking "in".
They're a bit like an inclusion in a gemstone.

Bear in mind I live in New Zealand. The Cook Islands including Tongareva was administered by our country until 1965, and we have a larger population of Cooks people living in NZ than actually live in the Islands.

Could this be a vintage Pipi Pearl ring?
Do the "inclusions" I describe make any sense in a natural pearl?

Sorry my pics haven't come out so well, the forum is resizing some of them down a bit, I'll try and post some better asap.
The pearl is actually a bit lighter in colour, and more "silvery" than the pictures depict.
Thanks in advance
Paul
Auckland, New Zealand

 

[pattye]

Paul,

Whatever it is, it's a rare beauty! The size would be extremely large for a pipi, but still possible, and the color fits. Very cool that you can see a translucent edge under magnification. Wonder if there were golden South Sea pearls being found back then?

 

[dmj]

would be a lot more likely to be pinctada maxima i have quite some keshi in this shape and what makes the poe so nice is how super round they can be but most of the time they are quite small think the one laurens posted this week with 9... mm is one of the largest in the world already but you never knowwwwwww

 

[pattye]

Daniel,

Steve Metzler posted in another thread about his collection of pipi's, which include a drop of 9.6mm x 13mm by 8mm. Otherwise I would not have thought such a large size possible.

 

[dmj]

just saying what is most likely its interesting to get it tested for sure

not sure if i can post the pictures but some months ago i had a seller with thousands poe pipi one of the biggest collections i have seen with sizes up to 9 mm think someone here bought them

 

[kiwipaul]

OK, have done some quick Googling. In the 1932 book "ETHNOLOGY OF TONGAREVA" there is brief mention of pipi pearl diving, trading, and the following on pipi pearls given as gifts given to visitors .....
"They have so few material goods with which to express their feelings that the giving of pipi pearls, which they can secure by diving, has become their method of expressing friendship to the visitor who sojourns among them."
http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-BucTong-t1-body-d1-d1.html

So it is possible, I'd even say likely, that if a visitor to the island was given a pipi pearl, they would later have it set in a ring.

I've come up with a way to better illuminate the ring. My daughter has a book light, little clip on gadget with goose neck and very bright LED bulb.
By positioning the ring over the LED I've been able to shine a bright focused light down into the pearl.
The whole pearl lights up a with an orange glow.

I'm beginning to think I might have struck gold!

There is a lab in Wellington (400 miles from me), New Zealand with X-Ray testing for natural pearls.
Looks like a costly analysis is the next step, if it proves to be a natural, then it may very likely be a pipi.

I'll take some better pics before I send it away, and keep the forum posted.

 

[GemGeek]

If you want to determine the type, as well as if it is natural, you might prefer to send the pearl to the GIA lab in Bangkok. Good job finding it!

 

[kiwipaul]

OK here's some better pics (I hope). The size reading in the pic is 9.79mm, the colors in the last three are fairly accurate.

 

[kiwipaul]

In the main Pipi Pearl thread there is mention of a 9mm+ button as follows:
"But the most outstanding pieces were 3 discs, topped by this one with a 9+mm button as centerpiece. We were offered this as a loose pearl for $5K"
https://www.pearl-guide.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1300&page=6

So I guess a button shape is quite feasible.

 

[Lagoon Island Pearls]

The candled photo presents a translucency consistent in natural pearls.

 

[pattye]

The candled photo presents a translucency consistent in natural pearls.

What a fabulous example of candling! Glad you were able to improvise and take that photo! The additional photos are all excellent; we look forward to your report of the lab findings.

 

[LitGeek]

What an amazing find and such a beautiful pearl ring! The color of the pearl is gorgeous! Great photos too. Fingers crossed it is a Pipi pearl

 

[Caitlin]

I am no expert on pipi pearls; every one I have ever seen has been through Pearl-Guide.com and Steve M's pearls in person, but that orangey tone to the pearl is more like pipi than maxima to me. This one is worth testing or being seen by an expert. It is so beautiful as a ring!

Have you looked at the poe pipi thread we have going? There is a diver dedicated to finding these little guys and then posts them here. The colors are more varied and brilliant than almost any other kind of natural pearl. https://www.pearl-guide.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7217&highlight=pipi

 

[kiwipaul]

Hi Caitin, here's hoping, it goes to the Gem Lab for X-rays on Monday, hopefully I'll know the result within a week.
The Lab owner is familiar with what he called "Penrhyn Pearls" so that gives me some confidence in their ability to test it.

I must say this Forum is the only reason I'd even heard of pipi pearls, and that was only in the last few weeks.

After I showed our "presumed naturals" to the Forum a month ago I started browsing the threads and read about pipis.

How crazy are the odds to stumble across (a possible) pipi within weeks of first learning about them?

Thank-you to www.pearl-guide.com, what superb resource!

 

[GemGeek]

Yes, Penrhyn has Pipis! Small world, eh? I just love that you are finding all these treasures and sharing them with everyone.

 

[kiwipaul]

From my research Penrhyn and Tongareva are just different names for the same atoll.

Penrhyn was the early European name, from one of the first ships to land there, while Tongareva is the local Maori name, and it's now the correct name, it means "Floating Tonga".

 

[GemGeek]

Sarah's Post#101 in Steve's pipi thread is an all-time favorite. If people could imbue pearls with added beauty, surely, the native people of the region add luster to the pearls.

 

[kiwipaul]

I have a preliminary verbal report on this presumed pipi pearl and it has come back as a natural.

From what they told me on the phone the lab has come to a conclusion on its origin but I'll have to wait and see their report.

It is on its way back to me and I'll have the full report and x-ray slides in a couple of days and will update the Forum then.

Looks like a good result!

 

[GemGeek]

Congratulations!

 

[LitGeek]

So happy to hear that it is a natural pearl What a find!