"Pearl" or shell?

[jshepherd]

Whole pearls would never be called mabe, but the pendant in the first picture appears to have been cut on the back, so most likely cut out of the shell. That would make it a blister pearl as it doesn't appear to be a worked mabe.

 

[Mikeyy]

Fits with some, but how about the clearly not mabe-ish fully round ones like my pix, Mikeyy?
It can't be a mabe if it is free can it?

Not if it's free but I don't think the piece is free lose pearls. I think it's blisters cut out of a shell like the ones I posted and they added a peice of shell to the back to give it a finished look. Just cutting the blisters out would still leave the back unfinished so the appear to have added the shiny side of some shell to give it a nicer appearance.

 

[Mikeyy]

Whole pearls would never be called mabe, but the pendant in the first picture appears to have been cut on the back, so most likely cut out of the shell. That would make it a blister pearl as it doesn't appear to be a worked mabe.

Ah, Ya beat me to it.

 

[pearlescence]

I'm fairly certain the two in my pic are not cut and shuts

 

[Mikeyy]

I'm fairly certain the two in my pic are not cut and shuts

I agree. Yours are pearls. They look like Polliwogs.

 

[Marianne]

Pollywog Pearls.... maybe a new line of jewelry for boys?

 

[pearlescence]

okay, so how do they get to be that shape? They have a small bead and a long tail. lustrous and thick custardy nacre...that sort of poured on look. They appeared suddenly in hugh numbers, cheap. and have disappeared again.
Could they be something to do with development of Edisons?

 

[Marianne]

Wonder if the clue is there in Mikeyy's photos? Round nucleus and tails for sure.

 

[Lagoon Island Pearls]

Imagine sand dunes or snow drifts, if you will. They make both wind and light shadows. Pearls make shadows of a kind as well.

You'll notice the tails extend (distally) towards the outer edge. These are all tissue grafted beads. Most were loose, but given they graft so many, they often become fused to the shell. The pearl sac developed in an elongated pattern (as does the shell) as opposed to a discrete sphere. This is the natural process and the grafters in China give the graft a "special twist" which improves the likelyhood of a round pearl.

We didn't mean to suggest Wendy's were mabes too, but only that some are ground away from the shells to be otherwise saleable.

 

[Lagoon Island Pearls]

Draw a line along each of their lengths, they all point to the heart.

 

[Lagoon Island Pearls]

Imagine two basketballs. Each dangling on a thin string in a deep freeze.

On the first ball, start pouring a stream of chilled water, enough to allow a few drips to fall from the bottom. On the second, I apply only enough water to allow surface tension enough time to freeze the water. In a perfect scenario, the latter would eventually close up at the bottom. (the nucleus will be slightly offset) The former would form a frozen tail. If you did enough of them, some might stick to each other or the walls.

 

[Mikeyy]

Draw a line along each of their lengths, they all point to the heart.

Now that's some poetic stuff there Dave. "All lines lead to the heart" Sounds like the title to something.

 

[Lagoon Island Pearls]

Now that's some poetic stuff there Dave. "All lines lead to the heart" Sounds like the title to something.

I've often heard the saying "see the water in the pearl" and believe it. When my dad first taught me the electron theory, he made it easy by making me ask myself "what would water do?"