Hello, new to the forum but been collecting pearls for a while. Nothing serious. Wanted to share the find that started it all off. This tiny natural freshwater is only about 1.5mm. I found it in the bottom of my shell cleaning bucket after a day of shelling on the Rock River, a Mississippi tributary near my home (some mussels are protected here, because of overharvesting for the button trade, but we're always careful on what we pick up). Anyway, this little beauty is what hooked me. My taste in pearls is odd, I have a rather large collection of blister pearls in various clams and mussels, as well as some pretty cultured freshwaters, but I like unusual things. I am looking forward to expanding my collection. Recently, I've fallen in love with the tridacna pearls and having one of those is my next goal. Thank you all for this great resource on pearls! Amy Holder
My Freshwater Find
- Thread starter Amy in IL
- Start date
jshepherd
Pearl Paradise
- Joined
- Jun 22, 2004
- Messages
- 6,294
That's a nice, rare find for sure!
When I was visiting Justin Hunter's farm in Fiji, he brought out two pearls he had purchased from a local with one flip flop. Justin didn't think they were real pearls. I could tell right away they were Tridacna. I brought them back to the states and had a friend of mine sell them. One was exactly 88 carats and a perfect drop shape. I believe it went to a collector in China.
When I was visiting Justin Hunter's farm in Fiji, he brought out two pearls he had purchased from a local with one flip flop. Justin didn't think they were real pearls. I could tell right away they were Tridacna. I brought them back to the states and had a friend of mine sell them. One was exactly 88 carats and a perfect drop shape. I believe it went to a collector in China.
Thank you Jeremy, I was so excited! And holy cow, how excited would I have been to get two tridacna pearls from a local with one flip flop??!! I probably would've peed my pants and given it all away. LOL WOW!!! Thank you for the recommendation on the tridacna pearls. I am in contact with your friend. I'm looking forward to having one of those in my hands!
