My Natural Pearl Collection

[Lagoon Island Pearls]

Whoops, no I didn't mean Dave was cruel to his molluscs! I meant maybe the reason for the great numbers of available seed pearls in the C18/19th was diseases within the molluscs...

I'm sure no one considered that you thought of me as indifferent to the welfare of mollusks. I certainly didn't.

I posted the picture of that specimen, because it was extraordinary. There will always be those who are squeamish or put off when seeing things from an anatomical perspective.

That specimen obviously had a blood or hormonal disorder (likely the latter), where for whatever reason developed pearl sacs spontaneously en mass in the bloodstream. I candled several of those pearls and they were highly translucent throughout, mononuclear and had no identifiable parasites (visible or microscopic). The pH of the blood was within normal ranges of otherwise normal mussels. It was equal in size and growth of other mussels within the bed, sexually active and thrived normally, seemingly unaffected by the affliction.

Remember, the intertidal zone of the temperate oceans are one of the harshest environments on the planet. The ecology of which only those specific mussels are able to endure. From hot summer days of blistering sunshine to near freezing temperatures during winter inversions. Unlike most fish and shellfish, California mussels are able to withstand huge hot to cold temperature shocks.

 

[MSC]

Dave, that reminds me of women who have polycystic ovary syndrome and produce too many egg sacs because of hormonal imbalance.

 

[MSC]

Next item!
Silver and pearl ring, Arts and Crafts (not sure about that one, need to reference books)
Hallmarked sterling on the back. Shank looks to have been resized a while ago.
Mystery Pearl is 8mmx6mm (River Tay pearl? Likely not as suggested by Dawn.)
Ring face is 23mmx12mm

YOU GUYS! I love the Strack book. Page 279, Fig 227b. Antilles pearls (Trochus niloticus) - NOT REAL PEARLS! According to the text they "...are made from the spindle of trochus shells."

 

[GemGeek]

I didn't go to look at it again because it did look very sick.

 

[hbyrne]

Thank you for your replies.
Dave, that is fascinating. It's only in understanding the molluscs that I'll ever be able to understand the pearls!

Reading your reply makes me think that maybe I was jumping to conclusions with my theory about some kind of managed 'sickness' of the oysters in the pearling industry in (what was then) Ceylon in the C19th. These tiny pearls are so, so common in English Victorian jewellery (are they found often in American jewellery of the period?) and yet don't seem to be around now. In my work, i see them every day and it's something I've been pondering on for years.

 

[Caitlin]

Helen, those are great ponderings. It was uncomfortable to read the article for it being tiny and blurry, but it appears to say the seed pearls are from young stock. If the stock is not tampered with, they- and their wards -continue to grow.

I am minded to say that the original meaning of disease is dis-ease. We are the ones who added the idea of pathogens being the almost only cause. Sometimes the translations pick the word in English that sounds best, but the meaning may not be conveyed. Dis-ease is not always describing the same thing from culture to culture. Dis-ease, can also mean controlled irritants, something uncomfortable- an owie! A wrinkle in your bedsheet, LOL.

What does actually cause all the little pearls to form? Is it really a pathogen or parasite if the oysters are 5-6 feet think in layers and in enormous beds? They are thriving like chickens in pens, in huge warehouses today, are thriving. Do you really think that if the pearl farmers knew how to cause all the little guys to form pearls, they would refrain from doing it for their commerce? Pearlers, meaning the owners of the boats, and their stakeholders, could be venture capitalists today. lol or scientists. They needed both on those boats. Plus grunts to do the work.

It sounds like they grew little pearls like crops. Like growing saplings to be cut down young, for paper. The pearl farmers did not give their secrets away, but if one forms that hypothesis, that they did know how to induce multiple tiny pearls in very young stock, I think there is already evidence to support it. It sure does look like there is more than meets eye going on. I had a vague idea something like that was going on from conversations, I really did not listen to at the time, but when this topic came in focus, I said what I thought I remembered and then, what you have said here, sounds like I had a clue- if not much more.

Remember that Italian guy who wanted to make the Guinness book of records for his oyster with 80 pearls? I hope he reads this, if he has not already figured it out.

I am sure you are onto something!

 

[Caitlin]

LOVE these earrings and pendant! So interesting to see the construction of the earrings, too. Thanks much for sharing the results of your research, too.

Andrea, perhaps you've seen this before, the tiny pearls are drilled by hand, with the pearl against a stump of wood.

I just wanted to add that Kari has pulled out an enormous number of natural pearls for the season. They are gorgeous. You can click right through from the drilling page. I absolutely LOVE that no machine can drill those itsy bitsy pearls, but "stone age" technology can do it!!! Now, if modern day pearl farmers were to apply some of the tricks the old timers knew, then there would be billions of seed pearls in less than a decade. lol.

 

[GemGeek]

I absolutely LOVE that no machine can drill those itsy bitsy pearls, but "stone age" technology can do it!!! Now, if modern day pearl farmers were to apply some of the tricks the old timers knew, then there would be billions of seed pearls in less than a decade. lol.

Agreed! Amazing what people can do when there is a strong will to make it happen.

 

[juliebeth]

this thread is truly DA BOMB. ok, this isn't anything pearly, but Andrea, this is like your wrapped emeralds that IIRC you thought had been added or at least wrapped later...



AND ALSO OMG THOSE ARE THOSE PEARLS! andrea, you are a genius! i wondered why all those sterling pieces had the exact same pearls - yet people seem so convinced they're actual pearl, not some sort of imitation. awesome, thanks! now i need to get me a copy of strack, dangit...

 

[MSC]

oooh that necklace is delish! Those amethyst drops remind me of purple jelly beans And those wraps are pretty much the same as my earrings. I've seen this wrapping style a lot, some on pieces that are Murrle Bennett and Co. My own earrings aren't marked and the earwires were probably replaced at some point bc they're a lower gold karat than the rest of the earrings, but I've always wondered if they could be Murrle Bennett.

I was pretty shocked that those pearls were actually shells too! They look SO much like pearls...

 

[hbyrne]

Caitlin...thank you for all that info...really helpful, and i loved your analogy of the molluscs living like chickens in huge sheds do today. It makes sense that if they were ill in any way it would spread throughout the colony so easily. I'm like a dog with a bone with this one, now I've started to look at it.

I think this thread would be more at home in the 'pearl history' section...so I'm going to restart it there. Thank you again ) I'm constantly 'wowed' by the knowledge of the peeps on this forum.

 

[MSC]

I forgot about a couple of pieces, so I'm just going to lump them here.
Flower and diamond stud earrings, marked 14kt
Pearl and diamond snake ring (was likely a stick pin that was made into a ring since the band does not look original)
Both American river pearls.

 

[GemGeek]

Great photos! Both are fabulous. I love the texture of the earring pearls.

 

[MSC]

Thanks, Blair! I actually picked up those earrings for a measly $35 bucks

 

[KarinK]

Love that ring! I want a pearl ring!

- Karin

 

[MSC]

The holidays were lovely here: my dad came for a visit so I wouldn't be alone, I made a big sale from which I was able to pay some bills AND pick up a new pearl ring. I haven't gotten it yet, but here are the listing photos. I love the claw setting and I think the middle pearl maybe be a poe pipi. I'm definitely going to candle it when it comes in! All three pearls were listed as being 5mm.

 

[KarinK]

Nice!

- Karin

 

[GemGeek]

Thanks for sharing your good fortune with us. Of course, we'll need a hand-shot when you get it.

 

[MSC]

Thanks for sharing your good fortune with us. Of course, we'll need a hand-shot when you get it.

Naturally

 

[Sarah]

Andrea, I just wanted to say what a treat it's been to hear your stories and see your beautiful treasures. Simply amazing to say the very least! Thank you so much for sharing them with us. I cannot even begin to choose a favorite.