I've never heard of this, have you?

[Caitlin]

LINK
This is from a member who learned a lot about pearls from this forum,but I don't think she got this idea from us!

When people say, a string of pearls is perfectly matched, they think the pearls are matched for size and shape. Any jeweler's boy can match a pearl for size and shape. This is called, mathematics. The secret is that you match Natural Pearls so that all the pearls in the string of pearls age at the same rate. That is not easy, if one pearl changes color before the rest, it decreases the value of the pearl necklace. Matching pearls is not a science but an art

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[jshepherd]

It sounds logical, but I've never heard of it.

 

[pattye]

Check out some of the statements on this website, a combination of fact and fiction, unfortunately. (I do see whose website it is.)

How could anyone possibly predict how a pearl will age?

The best pearls are those that come from an oyster that dies after the pearl is removed. Oysters that do not die after the pearl has been extracted produce what are referred to as “Biwa” pearls. Generally but not always, Biwa pearls fetch a lower price.

Akoya pearls and Mikimoto cultured pearls are the specialty of Japanese pearl farms.

When it comes to cultured pearls, MIKIMOTO Pearls is the industry benchmark when it comes to Pearl Grading.

Identifying Freshwater pearls, (which are not fakes) from cultured pearls on the other hand is much more difficult because freshwater pearls are non-nucleated (which means they are not cultured in the same way as cultured pearls like the Akoya) and to further complicate the process of identifying cultured pearls, the Chinese, have perfected the art of culturing pearls in fresh water mussels.

That's enough for me!

 

[lisa c]

Say What?!?!

The thought of aging and color change is intriguing, in particular I wonder about the Freshwaters because I've had my 'Biwa' (still haven't had them confirmed by you guys, since no camera yet) for over 20 yrs and I don't see a change...

I know I've read posts about other pearls darkening, and getting 'creamy' looking.

 

[pearlescence]

I've marked law stuff like that in the past, where some of the stuff is sort of right in a tangled up sort of way and it takes forever to work out what the student is doing, what they have got right, what they have misunderstood and what they have just blindly cobbled together and is a load of rubbish. All possibly in the same sentence, as here.

 

[pattye]

Wendy,

You've got it exactly right!

Lisa,

I wouldn't worry about your Biwas. If I recall correctly, it's akoyas that exhibit those kind of color changes.

 

[Ash]

After reading that "theory"

Ouch!! My head hurts trying to wrap my brain around that.

Though I have to admit due to the content of a thread or two here of late has me baffled on some things.

Cheers

Ash

 

[Caitlin]

Thanks everybody!

Pattye
That was great!

Lisa
I think it is akoyas that change color too. My natural radiata pearls have slight color variations in the whites. They always have. They are now about 70 years old with no visible changes from before, except a bit of wear around the drill holes.

 

[jacques.christophe]

LINK
This is from a member who learned a lot about pearls from this forum,but I don't think she got this idea from us!
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LINK
This is from a member who learned a lot about pearls from this forum,but I don't think she got this idea from us!
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LINK
This is from a member who learned a lot about pearls from this forum,but I don't think she got this idea from us!
.

In our company we have been matching natural color south sea pearl strands for years. It is true that size and shape are relatively easier to match when dealing with round or oval pearls, however it becomes more challenging with off shape pearls. Next criteria to match is the skin purity (imperfections on the surface of the pearl). By far the hardest part of matching a strand is calibrating the color, luster and orient of the pearls, this is where the expertise and years of experience as a pearl grader comes in. Some gem quality strands can take up to 10 years to complete, waiting for the next perfect pearl from each harvest to complete the strand. It is the consistency of the quality of pearls used in the strand that would determine how the pearls would age. However, it is quite impossible to "know" how the pearl will age and match accordingly as there are many external factors that can affect the aging of pearl (e.g. perfume, make-up, acidity of skin). However I do agree that matching pearls is definitely an art!

For more information you can browse the pearl resources section of our website:
http://www.jewelmer.com/LM/pearlres...Pearl_value_factors_grading_and_matching.html

The strand below did take ten years to finish and it is a gem quality 14-17mm Opera length Golden South Sea Pearl Strand.

http://www.jewelmer.com/LM/collections/cid-1274686332465/Les_Essentielles.html

 

[pattye]

Jacques,

Welcome! We certainly appreciate your expert opinion here, and look forward to more photos of the amazing Jewelmer Golden South Sea Pearls!