Nautilus pearl

[DrTKStern]

Jim Grahl

Jim Grahl

Is this the Grahl that designed the carousel egg? Dona Dirlam told me that I had to see it, so I made a special trip to GIA Carlsbad while it was on display. It should be in the Smithsonian. On a workmanship level it's incredible, beautiful indeed, but it's also endearing and very very clever.

Yes, his work is in the center of GIA Carlsbad, and his new one contains T. Stern natural pearls.

Tom

 

[SteveM]

Steve, I hope you can afford to keep those lovely monsters. You know they might become an incredible investment once the public learns about nautilus pearls.

As if I needed another argument!

But I will be sure to show your encouraging words to my wife.

 

[SteveM]

Steve,
Tom Hainschweig at GemLab is hereby invited to dinner when the Discoverer's Trophy gets awarded, along with Ken Scarratt.

I'm just interloping in Tucson, so don't have the what/when/where to advise Hainschweig. Details?
No doubt he'll be honored.

 

[GemGeek]

Yes, his work is in the center of GIA Carlsbad, and his new one contains T. Stern natural pearls.

Tom

A new one with natural pearls? OUTSTANDING!

 

[SteveM]

Cooked!

Cooked!

Even to one fixated on this subject (maniacally, as I'm sure it appears…) developments are coming a bit on the fast side of late. It does seem as though the weeks and months of intense inquiry—'spreading the net' as it were—are yielding their 'harvest.'

Here is something that this thread has not seen before. A cooked Nautilus pearl. it was acquired yesterday from an elderly gentleman on a small island (I have his name, age and address) who caught the Nautilus, cooked it and found this pearl while eating the meat 10 years ago.

There is an inevitable crack and slightly degraded area from the heat, upper left.

11.75 carats. It is also a reasonable match for a 12.05 carat pearl I am considering. Nautilus earrings, anyone?

 

[GemGeek]

Great story Steve.

 

[Caitlin]

My fix for the day!!!

 

[SteveM]

A storm is brewing…the PERFECT storm?

Additional support for this hypothesis. "Typhoon" from the Java Sea.

 

[SteveM]

…the PERFECT storm?

Never saw the movie, but from Warner Bros. website here is the real-life satellite image of The Perfect Storm as it was actually brewing at the end of hurricane season 1991. I flipped the pearl image from my prior post and lo and behold…

 

[pattye]

Extraordinary!

 

[Caitlin]

Indeed. There seems to be quite a collection of those spirals in Nature. I wonder if the all have to do with the spinning of the earth?

 

[SteveM]

Indeed. There seems to be quite a collection of those spirals in Nature. I wonder if the all have to do with the spinning of the earth?

Nautilus anatomy and ontogeny (growth and development) do offer reasonable explanations for the swirl that are no less amazing and miraculous than the shell itself. Putting together a sufficient number of examples of known origin in order to determine hemispheric influence on swirl direction is more of a stretch, however!

While this thread retains a degree of interest this would be the time and place to put out an urgent APB to all natural pearl experts everywhere to offer their testimony and images of pearls with positive ID and known origin, other than Nautilus, that display this swirl/spiral characteristic.

The clock is ticking?

 

[SteveM]

Last weekend I received an unsolicited message from an Indonesian diver who had heard about my quest. He attached some photos from which the swirl in my most recent posts was extracted. With some need for translation, he made me understand that his family's fishing boat had capsized in a storm. He needed to raise some cash to buy a new boat, and was offering his family's natural pearl collection. Upon checking, the mentioned storms had indeed taken place.

The pearl in question was his pearl of last resort. The Spirit of Nautilus had protected his family since his grandfather discovered this pearl in a deceased, floating Nautilus in the Java Sea a half century ago.

Given progress to date on this thread, I had no doubt about the authenticity of the pearl and immediately concluded a mutually-satisfactory purchase. We have assured the diver that we will take good care of the pearl, and that its powers will only increase with exposure and it should continue to protect both his family and ours.

The pearl has arrived today and is one of the most wondrous things I've ever seen, a perfectly symmetrical 'flying saucer' shape (couldn't call it a button), 15mm round by 11.2mm at its widest point, 17.5 carats. It gently rocks in all directions when placed on a table, causing the swirling chatoyance to flutter from side to side. If I were to establish a Nautilus pearl grading scale from 0 to 10 with 10 as the highest, this might be 9.5+, missing a 10 only as the chatoyance is not a particularly intense shade of blue.

I've named it?

Badai Sempuma
(The Perfect Storm)​

 

[pattye]

Words fail--hope to see this one some day. That's some provenance for sure.

 

[Caitlin]

I would like to see other views. This is an incredible pearl. It radiates benevolence. It seems to beg to be held. And I bet the blood pressure comes down when you hold it.....

 

[SteveM]

Pattye, hope to see you again soon in Seattle. Caitlin and the other PGers, in Tucson on Thursday after Strack!

 

[DrTKStern]

The Perfect Storm

The Perfect Storm

Last weekend I received an unsolicited message from an Indonesian diver who had heard about my quest. He attached some photos from which the swirl in my most recent posts was extracted. With some need for translation, he made me understand that his family's fishing boat had capsized in a storm. He needed to raise some cash to buy a new boat, and was offering his family's natural pearl collection. Upon checking, the mentioned storms had indeed taken place.

The pearl in question was his pearl of last resort. The Spirit of Nautilus had protected his family since his grandfather discovered this pearl in a deceased, floating Nautilus in the Java Sea a half century ago.

Given progress to date on this thread, I had no doubt about the authenticity of the pearl and immediately concluded a mutually-satisfactory purchase. We have assured the diver that we will take good care of the pearl, and that its powers will only increase with exposure and it should continue to protect both his family and ours.

The pearl has arrived today and is one of the most wondrous things I've ever seen, a perfectly symmetrical 'flying saucer' shape (couldn't call it a button), 15mm round by 11.2mm at its widest point, 17.5 carats. It gently rocks in all directions when placed on a table, causing the swirling chatoyance to flutter from side to side. If I were to establish a Nautilus pearl grading scale from 0 to 10 with 10 as the highest, this might be 9.5+, missing a 10 only as the chatoyance is not a particularly intense shade of blue.

I've named it?

Badai Sempuma
(The Perfect Storm)​

Yes, Steve!

Most books incorrectly state a Nautilus pearl carries danger; but I believe the original source of that mistake simply misunderstood the dialect. In fact, a Nautilus pearl is only good luck, and protects its owner from all evil. According to those lucky enough to own one, the pearl enables an occult faculty in a warrior they call something like, "A Body Scanner" which allows that person to detect danger coming from any direction; so that the owner can protect himself in battle.

They do NOT attribute this supernatural power to any other type of pearl.
Best regards,
Tom

 

[Chameleon]

Extraordinary! I can almost see that the pearl is full with chatoyance. And the swirl so strong, it looks like I could feel the crater under my fingers if I touched it. But it is smooth, isn't it?
The saucer shape feels just perfect! It is an amazing find!

Maria

 

[Hanaleimom]

That's incredible.

 

[GemGeek]

A pearl worthy of romantic praise!