Flaws in natural pearls

[Johanna1]

Can any one tell me are there types of flaws that are specific to natural pearls. By this I mean some types of flaws that are only found in natural pearls and not other types of pearls.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

I'm not sure why natural pearls would have flaws not found in other pearls...either way, nacre is being laid down by the mussel or oyster.

 

[pattye]

I don't know of any.

 

[Johanna1]

The reason I am asking this question is because on one of my old pearl necklaces I have spotted when looking through a loop 2 of the pearls have tiny black things in them, near the outside of them. At first I thought it was dirt, but when I looked closer at them I realised that there was nacre covering it. The black things are near the drill hole and there is an indent in one of the pearls near the black thing. It is like the black thing was originally bigger and had been pulled away leaving an indent where it would have been with a little bit of the black thing still on the pearl where the nacre had covered it more thickly. I do not know if the necklace is natural or akoya, but I have not seen anything like this on any of my other different types of pearls that I have. the black thing is not deep in the pearls but more towards the outside of the pearls. a bit of the black thing is standing proud of the pearl and I was trying to get it off the pearl until I saw the nacre covering part of the black thing. I am puzzled by this. This is not something you can see with the eye but can be seen with a loop. I have a x20 loop so the black things is very small.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Sounds like a bit of something found its way into the shell during the time that nacre was being laid down and got covered over with more nacre. Kind of like if something gets on the wall while you are painting and gets coated with more paint. I don't see why that would be indicative of natural pearls, though, or why it couldn't happen to a cultured pearl.

If you can manage a close up shot it might be interesting to have a look.

 

[Johanna1]

I will try to take some photos of this at the weekend in natural daylight, although it may be too small to photograph, it is very strange.

 

[Johanna1]

Photo's of the flaw.

Photo's of the flaw.

Hi there

Here are the photos of the one of the black flaws, that I was talking about.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Interesting...

The photo on the right is still a bit fuzzy but I get the general idea. I have a long strand of cheapo metallic CFWP that I am planning to shorten in order to remove a few pearls that have black spots not much different from that.

 

[cenkbaba]

It is a defect seen in natural pearls, I estimated it to be 150-200 years old, but I think our beauty is much older.