Question about natural blue baroque akoya
- Thread starter hopepaua
- Start date
barbie biggs
Well-known member
- Joined
- Aug 6, 2007
- Messages
- 808
One of the vendors here can answer this question but if I am not mistaken, any pearl can 'fade' if left in direct sunlight for a period of time. Allowing them to dry out does not help either.
Pearl plated beads, which is what most akoya are, only have their color in the layer that is built up on top of the bead (nacre). If that layer is not thick, it can degrade over time. Conversations here have led me to believe that white akoya can yellow during your lifetime, even when well cared for. Once faded or yellowed, the white or blue color cannot be recovered. Of course taking excellent care of them will delay the process of degredation for high quality pearls a long time.
baribe
Pearl plated beads, which is what most akoya are, only have their color in the layer that is built up on top of the bead (nacre). If that layer is not thick, it can degrade over time. Conversations here have led me to believe that white akoya can yellow during your lifetime, even when well cared for. Once faded or yellowed, the white or blue color cannot be recovered. Of course taking excellent care of them will delay the process of degredation for high quality pearls a long time.
baribe
Caitlin
Well-known member
- Joined
- Dec 11, 2004
- Messages
- 8,502
That is an excellent answer! Thanks Barbie! Some akoyas have thicker nacre nowadays, especially the hanadama types, which I think are about equal to the Tahitians. I think they are producing some very fine akoyas in the last few years, but go to high quality sellers to get high quality product.
Thank you, barbie biggs and Caitlin. The pearls (strand about 100 pearls) are more than 60years old, it has still nice ruster though maybe 10 of them are discolored in yellowish. Kept it in good condition but may have some effect from many possible source for time to time.(Has been in good cared since I received about 30 years ago) When I received it I didn't think was natural blue but I've read about how to easy to identify from natural blue and colored, it's indicate possible natural blue. I thought before take it to lab, I'd like to know the possibility of discoloration of natural color. Some people said that natural blue never faded. It makes sense depends on thickness of nacre makes color faded.
Hi hopepaua,
I have not found any problem with blue akoya pearls or at the very least no more than any other akoyas. As they are not treated in any way I believe they would handle up to normal wearing conditions more than most. I would not worry about them losing colour unless your mistreat them in a serious way. The pearls you mentioned that have dis-coloured are they by any chance near to the neck. Many stands are effected by the use of perfume around the neck area. Pearls should always be wiped off after wearing. Best to put perfume on a few minutes befoe putting on pearls so that they do not pick up spray or residue from perfume or sprays of any kind.
Within the last week I have sold 3 items of blue pearls and they went only hours after I listed them. Some vintage and some modern but blue akoyas are never easy to come across. Maybe I had them under-priced but I feel I got a fair price, not high but I try to keep my prices to a reasonable level, even when re-stringing which can take ages as many of you know, especially when a kitten jumps on you just as you are cutting the extra thread and as such you cut the main thread. UGG.
From what I have observed and seen any pearl can become discoloured if treated badly i.e. sun, airconditioning or perfumes and sprays. Normal wear and a gentle wipe after wearing should keep them fresh and clean,
There are also ways to clean, re-hydrate and in all ways to just liven them up and take years off their lives. Care of pearls is all important and it is not hard.
Dawn - Bodecia
eBay Seller ID dawncee333 - natural pearl collector and all round pearl lover.
I have not found any problem with blue akoya pearls or at the very least no more than any other akoyas. As they are not treated in any way I believe they would handle up to normal wearing conditions more than most. I would not worry about them losing colour unless your mistreat them in a serious way. The pearls you mentioned that have dis-coloured are they by any chance near to the neck. Many stands are effected by the use of perfume around the neck area. Pearls should always be wiped off after wearing. Best to put perfume on a few minutes befoe putting on pearls so that they do not pick up spray or residue from perfume or sprays of any kind.
Within the last week I have sold 3 items of blue pearls and they went only hours after I listed them. Some vintage and some modern but blue akoyas are never easy to come across. Maybe I had them under-priced but I feel I got a fair price, not high but I try to keep my prices to a reasonable level, even when re-stringing which can take ages as many of you know, especially when a kitten jumps on you just as you are cutting the extra thread and as such you cut the main thread. UGG.
From what I have observed and seen any pearl can become discoloured if treated badly i.e. sun, airconditioning or perfumes and sprays. Normal wear and a gentle wipe after wearing should keep them fresh and clean,
There are also ways to clean, re-hydrate and in all ways to just liven them up and take years off their lives. Care of pearls is all important and it is not hard.
Dawn - Bodecia
eBay Seller ID dawncee333 - natural pearl collector and all round pearl lover.
SteveM
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jan 29, 2007
- Messages
- 1,932
At the AGA conference Elisabeth Strack provided details regarding the crossing of P. fucata/martensii/chemnitzi (akoya gai) with P. Radiata (Persian Gulf), for oyster size, nacre thickness and of course color range. If Strack mentioned volume obtained from this new hybrid I didn't write it down.
Reminded me of a scientific article I chanced upon regarding natural hybridization of P. Fucata with P. Maculata. That would seem an interesting idea for followup, poe pipi gold color would certainly be nice in 10mm!
GemGeek
Pearlista
- Joined
- Sep 20, 2006
- Messages
- 9,196
ennui
Well-known member
- Joined
- Oct 15, 2009
- Messages
- 257
Out of curiosity, what is the best way to keep pearls hydrated?
Caitlin
Well-known member
- Joined
- Dec 11, 2004
- Messages
- 8,502
I wonder how that really old natural pearl they found buried in the desert near the Persian Gulf stayed hydrated? It was 5,300 years old and didn't look bad. I have only seen copyrighted photos of it in a book, so I can't put it up over here. There must have been the correct amount of humidity, because we know pearls in safes can dry out....or do we? Or is it cultured pearls in safes that dry out?
Caitlin
Well-known member
- Joined
- Dec 11, 2004
- Messages
- 8,502
No. that is not the one, though please tell more about that one. The one I am talking about is actually 5300 BC, so it is 7,000 years old from al-subbiyah archeological site in Kuwait. It is 5mm and drilled. Very gold colored and very lustrous. It is reported in "Sea of Pearls" by Robert A Carter om page 3. There are several other caches of pearls almost as old and further inland.
pearlescence
purveyor of pearls UK/EU
- Joined
- Aug 18, 2007
- Messages
- 4,113
Or is pearls drying out just one more myth?
Caitlin
Well-known member
- Joined
- Dec 11, 2004
- Messages
- 8,502
Time for a scientific experiment? It could take a long time to finish up, though, LOL! I am sure that some of those really cheap akoya that were around 10 years ago are probably cracked by now, They had a layer of nacre a couple of microns thick. Conversely, I wonder how much humidity is safe? A lot of those ancient American freshwater pearls buried in mounds along the Mississippi river valley were destroyed by humidity over a period of centuries.
Maybe we should start a thread, "Show us your cracked pearls" and see what shows up....
Maybe we should start a thread, "Show us your cracked pearls" and see what shows up....
BlackPearlDudeDC
Well-known member
- Joined
- Apr 17, 2015
- Messages
- 1,594
Im all about the data? Did the pearl "trial" work? Did anyone test natural blues for fading? Or Safe dried & cracked akoyas?
Time for a scientific experiment? It could take a long time to finish up, though, LOL! I am sure that some of those really cheap akoya that were around 10 years ago are probably cracked by now, They had a layer of nacre a couple of microns thick. Conversely, I wonder how much humidity is safe? A lot of those ancient American freshwater pearls buried in mounds along the Mississippi river valley were destroyed by humidity over a period of centuries.
Maybe we should start a thread, "Show us your cracked pearls" and see what shows up....
amti
Well-known member
- Joined
- May 26, 2014
- Messages
- 1,840
Not to change the topic, but I have a question regarding natural blue akoyas, My mom purchased this strand in a military base PX in Japan in the 70s or 80s. She still has the receipt as well as the box. They said the pearls were natural. However, the color seems darker than most blue akoyas I see, so I'm wondering if there is a chance they could have been dyed. I don't think she's ever worn the strand as it was still in the box it was purchased in. She stores her jewelry in an old cedar box lined with tin, called a cha-bako since these boxes were used to store green tea.
KarinK
Well-known member
- Joined
- Sep 7, 2010
- Messages
- 1,963
They are very dark compared to my two strands of naturally blue akoya. Do they seem to have other overtones when you move them in the light?
I seem to recall that with dyed SSP, you can tell by checking for collected dye in dimples and such.
- Karin
I seem to recall that with dyed SSP, you can tell by checking for collected dye in dimples and such.
- Karin
pattye
Pearl Scholar
- Joined
- Dec 26, 2005
- Messages
- 11,472
amti,
These pretty pearls need to be shown off and worn! It's possible they were called natural to differentiate from imitation pearls, which were common back then. Akoya pearls are dyed or otherwise treated to make them gray/silver or "black." These do seem dark, so I would check them with a loupe or magnifying glass, looking for traces of dye around the blemishes and nacre drips. If you decide to restring them a peek down the drill hole will be interesting. If the silk is 35 or 40 years old, it may have degraded, though it doesn't appear stretched out. The french wire is a bit tarnished, too. The clasp is beautiful!
These pretty pearls need to be shown off and worn! It's possible they were called natural to differentiate from imitation pearls, which were common back then. Akoya pearls are dyed or otherwise treated to make them gray/silver or "black." These do seem dark, so I would check them with a loupe or magnifying glass, looking for traces of dye around the blemishes and nacre drips. If you decide to restring them a peek down the drill hole will be interesting. If the silk is 35 or 40 years old, it may have degraded, though it doesn't appear stretched out. The french wire is a bit tarnished, too. The clasp is beautiful!
amti
Well-known member
- Joined
- May 26, 2014
- Messages
- 1,840
I'll see about getting better pictures and looking closer at the ridges next time I am at mom's and we play jewelry shop. I've got a few other photos, but the lighting is all the same since they were taken at the same time. I'll be sure to take a photo of the receipt and box too. The clasp is sterling, as were a lot of pearls back then (in Japan). I also wondered if the 'natural' implied the pearls were of a natural shape, not necessarily meaning a natural color. Thanks for the suggestions.
