Fireballs

[EileenK]

Hi, I want to buy these fireballs but am not sure if the colours are natural or if the quality if good. I would appreciate an opinion.

Many thanks

Eileen

 

[jshepherd]

The color looks natural but it also looks like you can see the bead. Some people like the "pond slime" look too, which I can see. But you asked about quality and pond slime is blemishing.

 

[jshepherd]

Pardon the camera phone shot. I'm at home and it's 6:30 a.m.

This is a fireball with thin nacre and the bead up against the edge. This is why it's an important quality factor.

 

[CeciliaW]

Jeremy,

Is the bead the white section showing on the middle/center bead in the photo that looks so smooth, right next to where the color starts on the left side of the bead?

Cecilia

 

[jshepherd]

The nacre is very close to invisible on the edge. I washed it off and planned to bring it with me this morning to take a better photo but forgot it on the counter. With a macro shot you will be able to see exactly what the nacre looks like. The color is just a red pen line on the outside of it in order to line it up with the bandsaw.

 

[CeciliaW]

I see it on your photo. What about the strand in the first photo, the center pearl where the smooth white is showing. Is that the bead?

 

[EileenK]

How about these ones?

 

[EileenK]

Or these ones?



I have this craving for fireballs.

 

[EileenK]

Does that mean the first pictures of those pretty pondslimes are lousy pearls? Ok, I will steer clear.

I do like pondslime. They have this odd glow. How about the other two I posted?

I have this craving for fireballs. Thing is, everyone that I ask say they have the best ones. I am not quite sure. I just want to pay a fair price for the quality that I buy. I don't want cheap pearls, but then again, I don't want to over pay for poor quality and good selling techniques.

Thank you for your opinion on the first strand. I won't buy. Although, they are pretty.

 

[EileenK]

Oh, and I forgot, what do you mean by you can see the bead? I can only see pearls. Where is the bead in the first picture?

 

[jshepherd]

Take a look at the image below. You can see how there is discoloration where the bead is almost pushing through the nacre. This discoloration is the bead. The nacre is razor thin there. You can see this on some of the white too but not as pronounced. The loose pearls seem to be the best. They aren't fine quality but definitely better than the others. They appear to be large, probably in the 30+mm range.

You can also see some holes in the nacre on the right photo which is a good thing and a bad thing. The holes show that the nacre is a lot thicker, but these are blemishes. The hole that appears to be a line on the far right pearl isn't a natural blemish. That looks like a poor drilling job. It means the thread is going to be visible when it is strung because the hole is a product of the drilling.

 

[EileenK]

Wow! Jeremy, you're really great! Last one. I promise.



Thank you for your time. I think, I shall wait for pearl paradise to have another lot for sale. I am not going to waste my time on these ones. Although I would like an opinion on this last picture. This is because seller was very confident these were top quality.

 

[EileenK]

Here is a bigger picture of the last strand of fireballs. What do you think? Maybe nacre is thick. I don't know. I am beginning to feel like this with the pearls I see online:

 

[pearlescence]

Those last ones look ill-defined and blobby. At least the shapes in the first strand were crisp and the skirts well defined. Those last ones,to me, just look like lumps of nacre.

 

[EileenK]

Hehe about the blobs of nacre.

Hello Wendy. I shall call you about this other strand I love, on your site. Wendy has supplied me with a huge perfect Edison and has never let me down. I don't know why I don't just buy from you instead....oh, I recall why....I always have too many questions and that drives anyone to distraction.

 

[jshepherd]

The one with the dime definitely looks like the best. Good luck!

 

[jshepherd]

I brought the sliced fireball in and shot it with a macro lense in my office this morning after cleaning it up a little bit.

As you can see in the first photo, the nacre is so thin you really can't even see it with the naked eye even under magnification.

The second photo is the other side of the sliced pearl. The rear looks fine, but you can see the discoloration on the rounded part where the nacre is almost non-existent. This is what you can see in the OP's photos, which is indicative to extremely thin nacre and what you want to stay away from.

 

[pearlescence]

Not just fireballs - I think I already posted this pic of a bead nucleated round with great satin metallic lustre (I know that is contradictory but you know what I mean)
The large are two halves of the round and the smaller are an akoya
From the outside there's no clue, at least with the big one. It's even got a lovely pink overtone (sigh)

 

[JerseyPearl]

So helpful to see these pictures and to know exactly what to look for!