Reading something online and have a question please

[newberry]

Thank you for sharing your treasures with us. It is a treat getting to see these.

 

[GemGeek]

What a wonderful treat to see your pearls and gems! More photos, please! I can see why you adore them.

 

[pattye]

Icelover,

Your earring collection is absolutely splendid! And you wear all your pearls so beautifully. You've been incredibly generous in sharing your photos and information; we are captivated! Thank you! Thank you!

 

[icelover]

Thanks everyone. The pleasure is all mine. I typed out a long reply quoting Caitlin and when I tried to post it this thing kept saying my message is too short. I think the website decided to get sarcastic. So copying and pasting the entire message here.

Icelover! Let me add my thanks for sharing your photos!! Each photo is an education in what naturals can look like.

I know that the old pearl-selling families selling these pearls never did have labs, they just had their reputations. In India, any given pearl can be hundreds of years old. Round pearls are highly prized and have been for thousands of years. India has always had a voracious appetite for pearls and has gobbled up most of the production from the Persian Gulf for millennia. The rest of the world -like European royalty -got most of their pearls from the New World while the "pearl rush" was on, or from intrepid travelers like Tavernier who managed to get some local rajas to sell him some really fancy pearls which he then sold in Europe.

I think logically speaking, most of the round pearls in the world are already in India, and the round ones not already there are going to end up there. And, India may be the only place in the world where real pearls are worth as much or more on resale.

I agree with this Caitlin. There is so much discussion on these forums about how hard it is to find good natural pearls. I understand that out side Asia the best and the only way? To find great pieces (I'm talking about several strand necklaces of great quality) is through auction houses and premium jewelry lines. But in India we can find natural pearls with several jewellers. Some of these have unbelievable antique collections. I'm talking in millions of dollars. That must surely mean that we are pearl crazy? Lol

IceLover, I feel as though we now have a kind of informant who can share her pearls from an Indian POV. Like, when do you wear one of those multistranded sets? A wedding? To the theater? They are really formal. Do you have any fun strands you can wear?

No theatre in India but weddings and parties are very VERY extravagant affairs and jewellery and showing it off is an integral part of them. Although I own a lot of nice things, I end up being conservative because I'm not a fan of being the subject of discussion. Owing them and admiring them is good enough for me. India is big into collecting jewellery for the future generations. Let's just say I'm hoarding for my daughter and any future children I might have. My daughter is only 9 months old and I am a typical indian mommy. So imagine how much planning goes into jewellery for kids. I know my mom started collecting jewellery for my sister and I ever since we turned one.
I also have a question. What family do the sellers you trust come from? A name I have seen crop up outside of India, in the Persian Gulf, and other areas of the world such as Monterrey Mexico is some variation on the name Javari. The spelling varies, Jharvari, Javerri, and at least one other variation I can't recall at the moment. They may sell other gems as well, but wherever they are in the world, they seem to have natural pearls. Have you heard the name in connection with pearls? Does that name Javari have a meaning?Is it based on a word?
I have heard of the name jhaveri/zhaveri is connection to jewellery In General..not pearls particularly. Then again each city has its own popular pearl dealers. I stick to the 4-5 dealers I know and they sometimes get pieces from other jewellers. May be I bought something from the jhaveris after all but don't know about it.
The dealers I deal with have been in the business for close to a century (their families) and they have un heard of collections sitting with them. Sometimes they refuse to sell if they think that piece is hard for them to replace. I met this guy once who had at least 7 different necklaces with him and the cheapest was a million $.......one good thing though is that there is intense competition between dealers so that can work towards the customer's advantage

I know I am asking a lot, but India is "da bomb" when it comes to pearls! Do you have any folklore or historical knowledge about pearls in India? Are there any pearl scholars, so to speak in India? Are there articles on the ancient pearls and pearl beds of India anywhere? At the moment, pearls in India is a subject we westerners know virtually nothing about, yet India is the biggest nation of pearl lovers in the world.

 

[SunSeeker]

icelover, your collection is outstanding! Enjoy your treasures and thank you for sharing!

 

[CathyKeshi]

Icelover, thank you for the glimpses into your culture as well as your pearls and jewels

 

[lisa c]

Yep, I always remember our member, TangoJhaveri. I used to wonder if he was a pilot, because of the 'Tango'. He hasn't posted for a while.

 

[Icyjade]

Am I the only one that wished my mum hoarded jewellery for me too? What a great custom! You really have a fantastic collection of tdf jewellery. Thank you for sharing all your wonderful pieces.

 

[hbyrne]

Welcome, Icelover!

I'm particularly happy to meet a new member who loves natural pearls. Thank you for sharing these wonderful pieces with us. I'm almost speechless with pearl-lust! Are these older pieces, and if so, do you know anything of their provenance?