'Other' non-calcareous?

Very interesting! Our Nagasari Tree pearl continues to fascinate, even comfort, when we get around to looking at it.

I requote below the communication from Indonesia from earlier in the thread indicating that scientific studies are ongoing:


"We have just visited the forum--we thank-you for the exposure. These strange 'pearls' should be brought to the attention of the mainstream pearl community. Gemologists in their labs in Thailand have been scratching their heads over them."

Additionally, upon receipt of my copy of the authoritative 'Pearls' by Elizabeth Strack, I see she includes quite a detailed commentary on Coconut Pearls, of which the Indonesian source has an amazing variety, with substantiation.

Mainstream nacreous pearls are in themselves magical and mystical, a point in no further need of illustration than the rapturous devotion they inspire on Pearl-Guide.com!

It seems there is very little black and white in this world, no matter how we humans might wish it otherwise…


Steve
Seattle
 
In researching tridacna clam pearls, I found the following:

Vegetable Ivory


Saving Elephants & The Rain Forest


Several tropical American palms are known to produce vegetable ivory, but one of the most important is Phytelephas aequatorialis, also known as the ivory-nut palm. The generic name Phytelephas literally means "elephant plant." It is derived from the Greek words phyton (plant) and elephas (elephant).
Click to expand...


I These could be called "elephant pearls, doncha think?

Be sure to isit this page. These plants and their nuts or whatever you may call them are fantastic, mystical.
 
Odd that substitute ivory should appear so circuitously in a thread I began (being an erstewhile piano merchant with numerous posts on the 'Mother of Pearl' thread regarding alternate keytop coverings!).

Although I'm sure tagua nut size/shape would dictate grinding and reforming the vegetable ivory material (for moulding as a composite rather than cutting the shapes), it just may be worth mentioning to a piano manufacturer or two to see if it's been considered. As a player, anything is better than the ubiquitous plastic (Rubinstein famously asked his tuner to spray the plastic keys with hairspray before a concert to ameliorate the artificial feel).

The jewelry/carving executions look very nice, and I would certainly be on the lookout for such pieces on any future visit to Bolivia, Ecuador or Per?.

Steve
Seattle
 
Commentary was solicited from the Indonesian source of mystical pearls:

It is good to know that vegetable ivory stones are found in the Americas--these may be considered as mustika-pearls only if the plants produce the stones as an anomaly. The plant in question may not exist in Indonesia, though. The elephant-pearls that shamans offer here in Indonesia do actually come from elephants--the Hindu scripture, "Garuda Purana" mentions a category of "other pearls"--this includes pearls from actual elephants.
 
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