my mom's pearl ring

[linda.wald]

I inherited this pearl ring from my mom. My grandfather was in the merchant marine and brought her back presents from all over the world, including this ring. He always took the piece out of the box and put it in his pocket to take it through customs so that it wouldn't look expensive. So, we don't know much of anything about it. My mom thought that is is a natural pearl. There are no marks on the ring, but it tests as 10k gold. I took the pictures against a white sheet of paper. The pearl feels gritty to the tooth. One of the pictures I took was with a flashlight shining through the pearl. If anyone has any ideas I would love to hear them. If the photos are not good enough, please tell me how to improve them. Thanks!

 

[Sanippy]

Beautiful ring and thanks for sharing its story! What a lovely family heirloom.

 

[LVLanghanke]

I'm a pearl newbie, so I'm not confident enough to give you my opinion on what the pearl is (although I have an idea, I'm going to wait until someone more knowledgeable posts and see if I was right). However, I just want to say that I am IN LOVE with that setting. I would love to see more pictures from the side and different angles.

 

[BWeaves]

It looks to me like a cultured akoya pearl. It's a real pearl, but it's not a "natural." The term "natural" refers to pearls that occur without human intervention in the mollusk. "Cultured" refers to pearls that are caused by inserting something into the mollusk to induce the creation of a pearl, and that pearl is later harvested. Your pearl looks very round. Only the most expensive naturals would be that perfectly round. Cultured pearls with a round bead nucleus are very round because of their nucleus.

It's a lovely heirloom. Enjoy its beauty and family history.

 

[juliebeth]

the pearl and the setting are beautiful! i, too, would love more photos of the ring showing off more of the setting from the side - it is just lovely! what a wonderful keepsake.

 

[MSC]

What a lovely ring and pearl! Yes, more photos, please!

 

[linda.wald]

Thank you! I've attached some more pictures. In one of them you can see the poor sizing -- it looks like they used the wrong karat gold when they sized the ring. Luckily, that doesn't show when I wear it! I included the picture with the light behind the pearl because it looked to me like it had a bead nucleus. Does it seem that way to you? The pearl is not really round -- I tried to get a picture to show that.

 

[GemGeek]

I love your ring!

 

[LVLanghanke]

That ring is stunning. I'm getting a little Golem-y about it! Looks like it needs a gentle cleaning around the setting, but it is so beautiful!

 

[MSC]

Gorgeous setting! I think the difference in gold color for the sizing is because they didn't remove the tarnish on the band. I love patina on old jewelry, but usually that amount of tarnish would get cleaned off before the soldering.

 

[pattye]

What a treasure! Thank you for sharing. Yes, I think that is a nucleus you are seeing with the light shining through, and quite thick nacre. Sometimes we feel "real" gold won't tarnish, but it can over time as we see here. It must have taken many hours for a goldsmith to make the setting, so pretty.

 

[JerseyPearl]

I agree, beautiful setting. I see also that the prongs look like they may have been redone? I agree that a gentle cleaning around the pearl would be a good idea...but do be careful because that close up shot shows that the prongs are not all aligned with the surface of the pearl. In other words, it looks like that one far right prong could snag on clothing. You may want to have them looked at and adjusted. The patina is lovely on this, so you definitely don't want to over clean or polish...unless you want a bright gold.

 

[linda.wald]

Thank you for your compliments! There is quite a bit of dirt in the setting; how would you suggest that I clean it? I have a jewelry cleaner that works very well, and is supposed to be OK for pearls, but I have been reluctant to use it. It is called Jewelbrite, and has no ammonia, acid, or alcohol. I love the patina, so I don't want to polish it, but cleaning it is another thing. The cleaner I have won't hurt the patina. It's true that pure gold won't tarnish, but the other metals used will, and this is only 10k (42% gold). No cleaning or adjusting has been done in my memory. My mother stopped wearing rings when I was pretty young. I will get the prongs checked, by a jeweler I can trust not to over polish it -- I have a squash blossom necklace with a beautiful patina that the jeweler wanted to dip in the cleaner and make it nice and shiny again. I yelled NO! a bit over loudly

 

[JerseyPearl]

I know exactly what you mean about jewelers' desire to over polish! But do have the prongs checked.

 

[MSC]

Good instincts! I always make sure to specifically instruct my jeweler to not remove the patina if I don't want it removed. I would use something like unscented dr. bronners soap in warm water with a soft toothbrush to clean off the setting. Looking forward to seeing it all cleaned up! Arts and crafts jewelry is my absolutely favorite