Some of my pearls . . .

[Incik Boncuk]

Here is something a little interesting. This is a handmade ring from the southeast of Turkey, my husband's home town. My mother-in-law gave me this ring along with a matching bracelet and earrings many years ago. It seems to me (as an outsider looking in) that Turkish women love pearls, but pearls always secondary to the gold, which is where the value is. Every time we go to Turkey, I always check out the jewelry shops in the bazaar and have yet to see top quality pearls. I don't think the pearls in this set are anything special but the gold work (22k) certainly is.

Also this type of setting - a head pin going all the way through the pearl - is very common there. I have other pieces my MIL has given me with the same setting.

To be honest, while I appreciate the hand work, these are not really my style and the head pin sticking out catches on things. So I never wear these, but thought it would be interesting to share. I will dig out the bracelet and earrings and post those separately.

 

[BWeaves]

Are the pearls low quality natural pearls?

The pearl in this ring looks like it could be a baroque Persian Gulf pearl maybe?

 

[Charlotta]

Such a pretty unusual ring.

 

[Incik Boncuk]

Are the pearls low quality natural pearls?

The pearl in this ring looks like it could be a baroque Persian Gulf pearl maybe?

Well, you know, now that I think about it . . . I don't really know! I have always assumed they were inexpensive FWP because they are so misshapen and the luster varies a lot from pearl to pearl - really evident in the bracelet which I will post next. But until I started reading this forum a couple months ago, I didn't even know that Persian Gulf pearls were a category! They didn't look special to me because I was only used to perfectly round, perfectly matched, perfectly lustrous Akoyas and SSP in fine jewelry, although I used FWP a lot in my own jewelry-making.

So, I have a LOT to learn! If anyone can tell me anything about these pearls, or about this type of traditional Middle Eastern jewelry, I would love to learn more.

 

[Incik Boncuk]

Such a pretty unusual ring.

Thank you, Charlotta!

 

[Incik Boncuk]

So here are the bracelet and earrings. I have worn the bracelet a couple times, although not in many years. But I have never worn the earrings - the posts are so thick that I can't even put them on. If this set strikes my fancy one day, I may have them converted into a drop style. But at the moment I prefer a much more minimalist style.

The shape and luster of these pearls varies a lot. A couple of them look pretty flat in terms of luster. I tried to take a close-up photo of the least lustrous - photo 3 - and my picture makes it look a lot better than it does in real life!

If you look closely, on each component you can see what looks like 2 jump rings in one corner. That is the end of the wire holding the pearl, which is wrapped on rather than glued.

 

[Charlotta]

I think that they are rather pretty. I have never seen natural persian gulf pearls in real life, but I wouldn't be surprised if they were.

 

[Incik Boncuk]

I think that they are rather pretty. I have never seen natural persian gulf pearls in real life, but I wouldn't be surprised if they were.

Hmm, interesting. I do like the bracelet a lot. But I don't like how the headpins catch on things, so I never wear it.

I will have to start reading up on Persian Gulf pearls.

 

[Incik Boncuk]

I'm going through old photos today . . .

Here's a piece I made several years ago when I was doing metal smithing. Sterling silver with a FWP.

 

[BWeaves]

Check out Kari Pearls. She sells natural pearls. Here's the link to her Basra pearl page. I think your pearls look very similar.

https://www.karipearls.com/catalog-natural-arabian-gulf-pearls.html

 

[CathyKeshi]

Oooh, those are really beautiful Turkish pieces! The headpin through the center was also common in older pieces; the gold work on yours is really pretty! I agree with BWeaves, that the pearls look like they could be Basra or something similar; how interesting! Thank you for sharing .

 

[Incik Boncuk]

BWeaves - thank you for the link. And CathyKeshi - thank you for the added information. I'm very curious now. I will have to remember to discuss this with my MIL next time I see her. Maybe she can tell me more about the pieces. When she gave them to me, I just remember her emphasizing that they were hand made from their region. But that is probably because she knows I love handmade things, and didn't know I liked pearls so much at the time.

 

[pattye]

IB, I love seeing the Turkish jewelry, thank you for sharing! High karat gold is so beautiful and eye-catching!

AND I love love love the design of your pearl pendant, with the dark, light, shiny, rounded! How awesome that you can do metalwork!

 

[Ann G]

Those gold pieces are intricate and pretty. And I agree with Pattye - your pendant is striking and much more interesting than the average pearl pendant.

 

[Incik Boncuk]

Pattye & Ann G - thank you! The gold is fantastic, isn't it? I also love the deep, rich color of the 22K.

And thanks for the compliments on the pendant! I actually made two of them - the other is exactly like this, but with a brushed finish. But I like this shiny one better.

 

[KarinK]

I adore 22k gold! Beautiful pieces!

I treated myself to some pieces of Indian gold jewelry for Christmas (no pearls) and talked to the store owner about the posts being so thick for pins. She said that they probably needed to be because the 22k is much softer. So if the post was any thinner, it would break.

- Karin

 

[Incik Boncuk]

I adore 22k gold! Beautiful pieces!

I treated myself to some pieces of Indian gold jewelry for Christmas (no pearls) and talked to the store owner about the posts being so thick for pins. She said that they probably needed to be because the 22k is much softer. So if the post was any thinner, it would break.

- Karin

Thank you, Karin! That makes sense about the posts. When (if) I ever have them re-made, I would get rid of the posts entirely and make them into a dangle. To me, those empty tubing pieces at each corner really need something to hang from them!