Nautilus pearl

[GemGeek]

Wow, Steve. I've been dreaming of owning ammolite for ages!

 

[pearlshooter]

Interesting looking at the picture above with the same pearl shot in 2 different ways. When I made the photograph on the left I was shooting many pearls for a tender , so the all had to be photographed in a uniformed way. More interesting I found is not what is possible from the one pearl but how different pearls look against each other. I'd love to see one of the 20mm Chinese pearls talked about photographed beside a nice South Sea pearl. I can tell so much when I photograph them just by if I can focus on the surface or not (a top pearl to me has a surface that is hard to define) and also by how the absorb or reflect the light. They constantly amaze me and I often find myself lost within.
Tim

 

[Valeria101]

Hello, Ammolite (could this be the beginning of a new relationship?)! And it's a biogenic gemstone (like pearls)?

The combination sounds extraordinary!

Amolite and abalone pearls may even have a few things in common even - in structure and colors. Don't think anyone has paired them yet.

 

[SteveM]

Interesting looking at the picture above with the same pearl shot in 2 different ways. When I made the photograph on the left I was shooting many pearls for a tender , so the all had to be photographed in a uniformed way. More interesting I found is not what is possible from the one pearl but how different pearls look against each other. I'd love to see one of the 20mm Chinese pearls talked about photographed beside a nice South Sea pearl. I can tell so much when I photograph them just by if I can focus on the surface or not (a top pearl to me has a surface that is hard to define) and also by how the absorb or reflect the light. They constantly amaze me and I often find myself lost within.

Super comments, your sensitivity to pearls is conveyed in your images. Hope to see more.

 

[SteveM]

The combination sounds extraordinary!

Don't get me started!

Amolite and abalone pearls may even have a few things in common - in structure and colors. Don't think anyone has paired them yet.

I've acquired a promising piece of rough ammolite for display (feng shui and all that). Will find a couple of our larger freeform/baroque abs and hope to post some "precedent-setting" photos soon on the Natural Combinations thread.

 

[Valeria101]

Don't get me started!

Looks like it is too late for that!

What is your impression of Grima's jewelry style? Some of the vintage opal pieces remind me of the combination of materials discussed here...

 

[SteveM]

What is your impression of Grima's jewelry style? Some of the vintage opal pieces remind me of the combination of materials discussed here...

First and foremost, thanks for pointing me to Grima, among the highlights of my many discoveries here at Pearl Guide. Fascinating, and tasteful. Use of fossils is evident, including ammonites. Pertinent to this thread, one of the objets d'art utilizes a Nautilus shell as a seagull with YG legs and diamond eyes!

Couldn't find any opal setting on Grima's site today (father or daughter?) but clearly fire Opal can rival ammolite for impact and three-dimensionality.

(?have to be careful not to deviate too far from the thread subject?a pre-publication draft of Mr. Scarratt's monologue might become obligatory?)

 

[SteveM]

…a promising piece of rough ammolite…a couple of our larger freeform/baroque abs…"precedent-setting" photos…

Posted here.

 

[pierrettedE]

I've enjoyed this thread. I haven't had a chance to read every message so I'm sorry if you know the following already. In 2007 I met a fellow french Canadian, Pierre Par? from western Canada that owns Korite International, ammolite mining to fine jewelry design. Very interesting story.

http://www.ujr.ca/EN/RDEE%20Canada/Laurier2007_BULLETIN-ANGLAIS.pdf [pg. 5 for Pierre... and, in you want to peek: pg. 10 for me ... ]

If any of you are only interested in single raw pieces, you may also find neat specimens at Canada Fossils: http://www.canadafossils.com/ammonites.html

Hope I added, not detracted, for my lack of fully reading the thread...

Pierrette

 

[pattye]

Pierrette,

Nice to have you post here again! Great links, too! Are you using the ammonites in your jewelry?

 

[SteveM]

Thanks, Pierrette. It's a small world, and I wouldn't be surprised if you have made many beautiful pieces using Korite's finished ammolite!

 

[pierrettedE]

Hi, I actually haven't had a chance to use any of theirs. I did have the intention, but I guess I never got around to it... oops. I spoke with Mr. Par? and I`m quite sure that I would have to be interested in a substantial amount to make it worth their time. They have a good thing going with grading, gold and silver pieces...

 

[Valeria101]

Couldn't find any opal setting on Grima's site...

One example

Your pictures are extremely tempting!

 

[SteveM]

One example

Some example! Interestingly, both boulder opal and ammolite are products of Cretaceous inland seas and are processed in much the same way from gem preparation to final application. Twins!

 

[pattye]

Valeria,

You do find the most extraordinary pieces to tempt us!! As does Steve----------

 

[DrTKStern]

Nautilus pearl, another image

Nautilus pearl, another image

Below is another image of a Nautilus pearl, which reminds me of a beautiful water planet orbiting some star. We're going to try against different backgrounds soon.

Tom

 

[SteveM]

Tom,

What color is the pearl under natural light? I'm remembering the prior Nautilus and the distinct coloration in the image by Pearl Shooter vs. yours. The bluish tone of your prior image is repeated in this case.

 

[DrTKStern]

Color

Color

Tom,

What color is the pearl under natural light? I'm remembering the prior Nautilus and the distinct coloration in the image by Pearl Shooter vs. yours. The bluish tone of your prior image is repeated in this case.

Hi, Steve,

It is white with opalescence. Whether taken by the Van Pelts for magazine articles, or by Yolanda, it comes out with blue/green hues.

Best regards,
Tom

 

[SteveM]

From the beginning, this thread has hinted at a certain calcareous/nacreous duality for Nautilus Pompilius, with its nacreous shell and calcareous, clam-like pearls?which may or may not reflect such duality in their composition.

Thanks to this thread, I have become aware of ammolite (fossilized nacre from ammonites, ancestors of the Nautilus) and have acquired a few Nautilus-related items such as osmena mab?s and the attached polished and luminous shell (in addition to a couple of nice ammolite specimens) in support of the nacreous side.

It has been indicated to me that GIA Bangkok's Tom Scarratt is revising his previously-published monograph on Nautilus pearls and their certification. Any word on if or when either version will be available for review?

 

[SteveM]

Getting into deep water again.

On another thread I have taken PGers on a little ride through the murky world of 'natural pearl' traders from Indonesia (my fate it seems, given an early curiosity regarding mustika objects). Now another collection has been offered to me including the three purported Nautilus pearls below.

Left: Round, 12mm, 12.2 carat. Looks like a clam pearl, albeit very nice.

Middle: Round, 2.7 carats. Measurement not provided. Looks like a Nautilus pearl according to Tom's description immediately above (white with opalescence, unfortunately a low resolution image).

Right: 5.55 carats, 'keshi' shape. Looks like Tridacna, nothing special. If Nautilus, the first out-of-round example to be shown here, which would actually be encouraging?

Based upon what we've learned to date, any comments?