Please help me identify this!

[wild onion]

Hi - This is my first time posting here. I became interested in pearls after buying a Tahitian pearl pendant for my mom (and realized that I really wanted one for myself as well), and a little online research led me to Pearl-Guide. I've learned a lot from this forum, and I especially love (as I imagine most people here do) looking at the pictures everyone posts.
Since buying that pendant, I've acquired a few other pieces, including the one I need help identifying (unfortunately, I cannot figure out how to post pictures, so I've asked Caitlin to post them for me).
It is a mabe pendant, and the lady at the store didn't have any information about it, but it was too colorful to pass up. I wasn't able to find any pictures online that looked the same, so I'm hoping someone here can help me. Thanks in advance!

 

[PearlStruck.com]

If it is white it could be freshwater mussel mabe or South Sea oyster mabe, although the latter is unlikely.

If it is black or dark it could be Tahitian or Sea of Cortez. but the latter is unlikely otherwise the lady would have known what type of pearl it was.

If it is gray to silver gray it could be Pteria sterna. There is blister pearl production going on in China with P. sterna currently.

If it is blue it could be Eyris. But these are so highly priced (even wholesale) that again, the lady would know.

 

[Caitlin]

Hi W-O
Here is the first one:

 

[Caitlin]

My guess is pteria sterna Sea of Cortez pearls.

Anyway it is spectacular. Wear it, wear it, weari t!

The files need to be resized to a maximum of 400 pixels high and 620 wide. I didn't know how to do anything with the tif files. I tried to convert them to jpeg, but could not.

 

[GemGeek]

Wow! For someone new to pearls, you quickly branched out to a wonderful variation. Warning -- you can get addicted to that color-shifting quality. You might want to check out DruzyDesigns on eBay to see Care Ehret's Sea of Cortez earrings to match.

 

[pattye]

Wow! Spectacular, gotta be Sea of Cortez! Hope your mom will let you borrow it!

Pattye
so many pearls, so little time

 

[SteveM]

Quite a different approach from Druzy's unframed piece I've posted in recent days. Beautiful and supremely elegant, not overloaded in the slightest. Congratulations!

Edit: There does remain the slightest possibility this could be abalone, albeit not paua given the lack of blue. But almost certainly it is P. Sterna.

 

[Casey.R]

You have good taste

 

[wild onion]

Thanks for the compliment, Casey, and to everyone for all your input. I actually bought it (rather guiltily) for myself, but now I don't feel quite so guilty.

I had the same thought as Ann that if it were something as unusual as a Sea of Cortez mabe, the salesperson would know it (though their collection of mabe pearls was somewhat hidden - I guess there's not a huge amount of customer interest). The store had about a dozen of them, most of which were white or silver/blue (I thought those might be from the black-lipped oyster). I just wondered if it could be a particularly colorful Tahitian, since those seem to be the most popular/prevalent in Hawaii.

I suppose I shouldn't be as concerned with what it's called as I should with where I'm going to find matching earrings!

 

[SteveM]

As mentioned it need not be Sea of Cortez, given propagation of Pteria Sterna in China. In any case, despite 'native son' status for Tahitians, how appropriate for 'Rainbow lip' shell to be sold in the Rainbow State?

 

[barbie biggs]

Dear Wild Onion:
Love your moniker almost as much as your pearl! Best of luck with getting earrings to match. Hope you really enjoy wearing them. Do you know what the nacre thickness is on a mabe? They are so beautiful. Just curious.
barbie

 

[wild onion]

Dear Wild Onion:
Love your moniker almost as much as your pearl!

Thanks Barbie! It's a name I got from my hiking partner while hiking the John Muir Trail.

Do you know what the nacre thickness is on a mabe? They are so beautiful. Just curious.
barbie

Unfortunately, I don't know anything about mabe pearls. I'd like to learn more, though, so hopefully someone can enlighten us. The thing I like about them is that all their beauty is right out front to be enjoyed, if that makes sense.