This post brings us full circle to the most momentous pearl purchase we've ever made. The natural and keshi 18KYG ring in the upper left below represents our first discovery of
poe pipi, and our first purchase. We were informed about natural pearls vs. black and admired the pearl's and the ring's simplicity and perfection. But we stood outside taking pictures of rainbows for about 30 minutes before deciding to acquire it. Later that same afternoon, we walked into
Te Poe.
The ring immediately became my wife's favorite, the most complementary piece of jewelry she's ever had on her hand. But it was not the best benchwork, as the pearl went missing within a few months, later found in the bottom of a briefcase where she had reached for something with her ring hand. So it was triumphantly re-glued. Weeks later, the pearl went missing again—this time irretrievably—in the streets of Old Madrid!
Ben Bergman took pity on us and found a fairly nice pearl to replace it (bottom left, sorry for low quality photo), but it was about .5mm smaller, and not nearly as gold or lustrous, and ring was not worn.
Now to my
recent post following our most recent visit to Rarotonga, where we spied a loose pearl that I thought would be perfect for the ring. Problem: We hadn't brought the ring with us and the seller didn't have a functioning caliper, so I was forced to guess. (In any case, a very nice pearl and we'd certainly find something to do with it.)
The new pearl, fully 6.0mm, nearly round and the finest deep gold, has now been installed, with a longer peg and the proper glue (keshis reglued as well). Unbelievably, considering these are natural pearls of increasing rarity, we have not only found a perfect replacement, but the pearl is actually a bit larger and bit more intense than the original.
(Important note: photo is of my fat little finger, not my wife's delicate digits!)
If knowledge and experience gained here at Pearl-Guide has served for anything, it could not have been more useful than in this successful outcome!
