Reading something online and have a question please

[icelover]

Hello. I am the lady whose pearls are the topic of discussion. I was just lurking in this forum and imagine my shock/surprise when I found this I HAD to register just to be able to reply. Would have been easier (and straight forward) if the original poster just posed the question on pricescope

1) yes the pearls are natural
2) some of you might disagree about the authenticity of the lab but you can google it. It's The only lab jewellers trust in India and it has been around for ages. I bought and exchanged several pearls locally based on that cert. I and several thousands of others won't be throwing their money away if the lab has even a hint if bad reputation. I will worry about a more universal certification if I ever want to sell my pearls outside India. Until then, this cer is as good as any for me.
3) pearl market is huuuge in India. And it only makes sense that India would at least have one reputed local lab?

Some people here ruled these out as cultured but for those who sounded skeptical - thank you.

And Caitlin : I never used the work "Basra" in my posts. Read a lot of discussion about the term on this forum

 

[icelover]

The dear lady is mistaken. The single strand maybe legit. IMHO

Marianne,

Pray tell me why you think I am mistaken. I must either be lying or been cheated if those are not naturals

 

[Caitlin]

Thank you for saying you don't use "Basra" as an adjective. I dislike the term, think of it as an eBay term. I have complained about the use over here in the past because it is not an accurate term. I feel I now have enough justification to drop it from my vocabulary.

Thank you for joining Pearl-Guide! Please post some photos over here, too. We love your pearls and we know very little about the pearl culture in India, except that it is ancient, and huge. The pearls you have shown us may be some of the best naturals we have seen out there because they are all so round, though not 100% round. The more I study those photos,, the more I fail to find anything that would make them any other kind of pearl.....it is possible to rule out each type of cultured pearl, just from the photos and knowing the sizes typical of each.

Westerners rarely see such round naturals so that roundness is enough to question them, but I suspect that most of the natural round pearls are already in India, which is why we need to see more of them on this forum, too.

 

[icelover]

Caitlin: I will definitely post more pictures tomorrow. I am a newbie here as you know....I don't kno why I can't see my posts here and yet you replied...help pls

 

[BAS]

I'm delighted you've popped up here!

I responded to a couple of your PS posts in June but never heard back. Your necklaces are incredible and I'd love to see more pictures and close-ups, if you are willing to post more pictures. They are drop-dead gorgeous and I've never seen anything like them.

Please share more with us -- I personally would be delighted to know a lot more about your collection. Thanks for joining the forum and speaking up!

 

[Lagoon Island Pearls]

I have not examined these pearls, nor do the photographs adequately represent their origin, so my comments are not specific to them. However, I have a number of concerns.

1) yes the pearls are natural
2) some of you might disagree about the authenticity of the lab but you can google it. It's The only lab jewellers trust in India and it has been around for ages. I bought and exchanged several pearls locally based on that cert. I and several thousands of others won't be throwing their money away if the lab has even a hint if bad reputation. I will worry about a more universal certification if I ever want to sell my pearls outside India. Until then, this cer is as good as any for me.
3) pearl market is huuuge in India. And it only makes sense that India would at least have one reputed local lab?

Some people here ruled these out as cultured but for those who sounded skeptical - thank you.

Labs are only useful for ruling out the obvious signatures of pearl culture. For example, bead nuclei or tissue graft signatures. The absence of cultural markers in the views does not by virtue automatically qualify a pearl as natural. Any lab lacks "control" when it examines pearls. Unless maintained under constant supervision during the entire growth period, there is no possible way even the most reputable lab can represent the origin of a pearl with one hundred percent certainty. At the end of the day, an educated guess is just a guess. Testing almost always invariably begins with a declaration of origin only and almost never with a bill of sale including species, time and location of harvest from the finder. Some have no history, a few have dubious history and many are premised on misrepresentation or outright fraud.

Even if authentic, many natural pearls are harvested illegally, unsustainably or at a pittance of their real value.

The pearls have few dotted teeth kind of marks on them which is the only way anyone can tell these are natural.

"A few dotted teeth kind of marks" is hardly a scientific term, no less an exclusive identifier. I'm sorry, but that wording and claim adds nothing convincing to accurately describe the origin of your pearls, but instead serves to demerit them.

I will submit the only way to positively identify pearls as natural is to harvest them yourself.

 

[lisa c]

Actually, small point though it is, IceLover you did use the descriptor Basra when you were responding to diadiva's question on PS about your source. I think at post 9.

I think many of us have just become philosophical about the use of 'Basra' as a catch-all term for pearls that circulate through there. The use of "Natural" makes just as many of us uneasy, because Natural pearls are not common.

There are a lot of unknowns, and people do get cheated, so caution, and questioning labs and sources is a Good thing, not an insult

 

[Marianne]

Your few dotted teeth kind of marks is what caused me to doubt. Those markings can be found on many types of cultured pearls.

 

[GemGeek]

Icelover, if you only knew how much lying and cheating goes on with natural pearls, you would understand our reaction. Only a small percentage of pearls sold as natural are not misrepresented. And we have had a long history of people trying to shill on the forum, although we usually catch them before their posts are approved.

Welcome to Pearl Guide and please do post some photos here. We want to see them.

 

[lisa c]

May I ask what type of camera you used to photograph the pearls? Cell phone? Dedicated camera?
I'm always wondering what posters are using to achieve their pics. TIA

 

[icelover]

I have not examined these pearls, nor do the photographs adequately represent their origin, so my comments are not specific to them. However, I have a number of concerns.


"A few dotted teeth kind of marks" is hardly a scientific term, no less an exclusive identifier. I'm sorry, but that wording and claim adds nothing convincing to accurately describe the origin of your pearls, but instead serves to demerit them.

I agree it's not a scientific term but I did not claim to be an expert either. I was merely explaining what I see. And I'm not trying to convince anybody. I was just trying to show them off in a place where ppl don't get jealous or judge me. I am just telling everyone my reasoning whether people agree with it or not. As long As I am able to sell my pearls and get a reasonable price (based on the cert), that's good enough for me. After all the several people who examined my pearls ( who are in the business for years) can't be wrong. I always make it a point to get few other jewellers' opinion before I buy the pearls just to be safe. If harvesting the pearls ourselves is the only way to be sure, then most of us won't end up owning even a single pearl

 

[icelover]

Lol. My apologies. Years of calling them basras can't be changed overnight. Force of habit. Didn't even notice it until you pointed it out.

 

[CathyKeshi]

I would love to see more photos of your pearls, Icelover

 

[icelover]

I use my cell phone.

 

[icelover]

I just took a few pictures on my phone. Did the best I can. I still own all the necklaces I posted in pricescope (I made changes to a couple) and I added somemore to my collection. Not all pieces from before are with me right now. So got pictures of what ever I have with me.

 

[icelover]

Pics1

Pics1

This is my newest acquisition. 10.5mm biggest pearl and 5mm smallest pearl. Love the luster and it has very very few blemishes. Color is called white here but I think In the western world it will be classified as off white

 

[icelover]

Help

Help

I was able to attach 3 pictures in one post (without dragging them into the empty space below in the file manager page) been trying to post more and it says I need to drag the files. I am using an iPhone to post the pics and it would not let me drag th files on touch screen any ideas? I have a dozen more pics

 

[icelover]

The necklace with rubies is more for the size of the pearls than its uniformity in shape and color. The biggest pearl is 13.5mm and the smallest is 5.5mm

The other two pictures are of the same necklace. 8mm to 4mm

 

[icelover]

I have posted this beauty on pricescope earlier. This was and still is the best necklace I own. Haven't come across anything this good in a decent price. 10mm-4.5mm

 

[icelover]

Cream colored. 10mm-4.5mm