Question: How do pearls 'barrel'

[Caitlin]

A couple of my Persian Gulf pearls have a distinct but slight, barrel shape.

 

[pattye]

Seems like lots of the tissue nucleated fwp have a distinctly barrel shape, lots of the cultured fw ringed pearls have that shape, too.

 

[GemGeek]

It is a fact that nacre can wear away in a tube shape, particularly if the wearer perspires a lot. It wears off the part of the pearl that has the most contact with the skin. So the roundest, or high point of the pearl comes off first and spreads as more of the pearl is exposed to the skin. The less round they are, the faster it can happen.

Some people have drier skin with a good Ph that simply can't hurt a pearl no matter how many years are involved and some people are caustic and can destroy a necklace in a couple of years.

This guy was right that it is mostly seen in old necklaces, but it certainly isn't universal.

 

[BeadersSecret]

I have seen this a few times with vintage pearls, mainly at the back where constant wear has eroded the pearls to this shape.

I had a repair job a few weeks ago like has been described in the first post (wish I had taken a photo), as just about all the pearls were this shape.

Remember going back to the sixties and before, the classic pearl necklace was all the rage and was often worn & worn & worn & worn & worn - til it became worn

 

[GemGeek]

Yes! Wasn't there a photo of a necklace brought in for stringing by Keshibelle that was worn to nothing?

 

[Mikeyy]

Given the amount of nacre on a akoya pearl I would think that by the time you noticed a significant barrel shape you would also be looking at the freshwater nucleus inside.

 

[BeadersSecret]

Good point Mikeyy, buy actually I have seen with and without nacre
In this shape, strange as it seems.

 

[Hanaleimom]

Some people have drier skin with a good Ph that simply can't hurt a pearl no matter how many years are involved and some people are caustic and can destroy a necklace in a couple of years.

How lucky for those people, if they are pearl-obsessed.

If memory serves, Josh said his cousin's pendant turned flat on one side within a month, but Josh's retains its shape.

 

[barbie biggs]

Josh said in one of his threads that he wears his pearl in the water every day so it's probably pretty well washed. I wonder if his cousin has a skin Ph that wears the pearl down or if the cousin is in the water a lot too?

On necklaces in the 60's and before: do you think people then, knew about cleaning their pearls before putting them away each night, and would that have made them wear any better or longer? Or is 60 years of wear on an akoya strand, 60 years of wear?

Just curious.

 

[AMc]

Even with a theory like that I wouldn't see how it would elongate them because it would be gravitational influence that would change the structure. In fact A theory like that would mean that ancient pearls would be flat as a pancake.

LOL! I was thinking about those ancient Roman pearl earrings even as I typed my hypothesis, but went ahead anyway just to get everyone's noodles movin in the right direction.

I think GemGeek nailed it spot on, at least her explanation makes the simplest sense out of anything that could have occurred. Mystery solved!

 

[jshepherd]

Do you mean worn on a leather cloth, or strung on a leather cord?
What is worse with leather, in your opinion (or would it be worse with Tahiti pearls) ?

I mean strung on a leather cord. I wore a 16 mm peacock for a few years (before leaving it in the locker room at my local gym) and it actually started to shrink a little bit.

I'm not sure I understand the second part of your question.

 

[CLICLASP]

Sorry, I was wondering if wearing a pearl on a leather string would damage the pearl more than worn in another way
Or if it was Tahiti pearls that would be less resistant.

 

[jshepherd]

I've seen no wear from the leather. Tahitians seem to be much more resilient than that.

 

[Mikeyy]

I mean strung on a leather cord. I wore a 16 mm peacock for a few years (before leaving it in the locker room at my local gym) and it actually started to shrink a little bit.

I'm not sure I understand the second part of your question.

You probably just thought it was smaller after putting on all that muscle at the gym. Happens to me all the time.

 

[jshepherd]

You know, now that I think about it...

 

[Bodecia]

More Barrel Pearls

More Barrel Pearls

Hi,

Here is an extreme example of pearls barrelling. Some of these pearls are almost squared off.

Most look okay but it makes me wonder just how much wear and tear this pearl necklace has had. Any it must be that the mother of pearl bead is wearing or altering too not just that the nacre has been worn off.

Dawn
eBay Seller ID dawncee333

 

[Caitlin]

It looks like it is missing all its nacre plus some of the shell!

 

[Kathleen Conway]

Caitlin's pic is IT!

Caitlin's pic is IT!

Yeah, that's the look, Caitlin. Can't post pics of my own b/c gave the pearls to one of my mother's friends... but that is exactly the effect. BTW appraiser is extremely well-regarded, used by GIA for historical pieces, so I doubt this is a myth.

Thanks to all for weighing in. Seems to be a "wear plus care" (or lack thereof) phenomenon.