StarryPearl's thread

[StarryPearl]

Hello, everyone. It's been years since I last posted my pearls. Life hasn't been easy. Good news is — pearls, now I have many.

Today I want to start this thread with sharing a simple T pendant on leather necklace that I personally drilled and wrapped couple of days ago. I specifically designed this piece to complement the shape of the pearl, combining leather knotting with my gemstone wire wrapping expertise to give it a funky look.

This lovely pearl, due to its shape, was priced quite low for its size and color. I was glad to adopt an affordable pearl, but meanwhile I felt pity for it , so I promised it I would help to only showcase its best.

This pearl is now part of an adjustable necklace that can be anywhere from a choker to a long necklace that reaches upper belly. I was wearing it today. I think it's happy. : )

 

[CortezPearls]

Hello, everyone. It's been years since I last posted my pearls. Life hasn't been easy. Good news is — pearls, now I have many.

Today I want to start this thread with sharing a simple T pendant on leather necklace that I personally drilled and wrapped lately. I just finished it couple of days ago. I specifically designed this piece to complement the shape of the pearl, combining leather knotting with my gemstone wire wrapping expertise to give it a funky look.

This lovely pearl, due to its shape, was priced quite low for its size and color. I was glad to adopt an affordable pearl, but meanwhile I felt pity for it , so I promised it I would help to only showcase its best.

This pearl is now part of an adjustable necklace that can be anywhere from a choker to a long necklace that reaches upper belly. I was wearing it today. I think it's happy. : )

View attachment 470733

I really like it! This is something I would wear daily!

 

[BWeaves]

Oh, that's cool looking!

 

[StarryPearl]

Thanks, @CortezPearls and @BWeaves, for your kind comments.

Here’s a picture of me wearing it today at a mid-long length.

 

[StarryPearl]

Today, I strung a mixed-color CFW necklace. I don’t often work with this type of pearl, but when I saw their gentle, soft, and bright luster, along with the very feminine colors, I couldn’t resist buying a strand. Forgive my photographing.

temp strand:

One difference between this necklace and most of the others I’ve made is that I removed a couple of pearls — the “one-sided” and the misdrilled ones. I don’t usually take off blemished pearls because I've always loved them all and wanted to be inclusive. To my surprise, this removing made me feel a little weird, in a good way...

I didn’t find a special clasp for it, but I did use matching color thread.

finished necklace:

Very happy with the final look!

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Actually you have good photos! I find it hard to capture overtones with freshwater pearls. but I see them clearly in your photos.
Very nice job of knotting, too.

Those bean clasps are so easy to use! I restrung my husband's T necklace with one as he was having a hard time with the clasp it came with.

 

[CortezPearls]

I agree with @Pearl Dreams
Nice work on the strand AND photos...you captured their subtle beauty. These are very good looking pearls

 

[StarryPearl]

Thanks for your compliments, @Pearl Dreams and @CortezPearls . I often have this paranoid feel that my cell phone camera discounts the luster and overtones of pearls, especially on the freshwater.

Yes Douglas, they are good looking indeed, kinda like jelly beans with metallic luster. And they feel VERY sleek to the touch.

Last night I received two new pearls. Bother to take a guess what they are?

left: freshwater
right: Tahitian

Without melanin, Tahitian looks so much like WSS. I wonder if they are distinguishable in lab without knowing the answer beforehand.

This white Tahitian will go to a bracelet that I've been collecting pearls for.

 

[CortezPearls]

Yes, white pearls from so called "black pearls" are almost indistinguishable from SSPs.
I would love to see if there is indeed a way to tell them apart in a lab, but I believe it would be possible under the Ranman spectrum.
With white Cortez there is always a faint pink glow...so we know there is a unique porphyrin protein there, unique to Pteria genus.

 

[SteveM]

Yes, white pearls from so called "black pearls" are almost indistinguishable from SSPs.
I would love to see if there is indeed a way to tell them apart in a lab, but I believe it would be possible under the Ranman spectrum.
With white Cortez there is always a faint pink glow...so we know there is a unique porphyrin protein there, unique to Pteria genus.

DNA Fingerprinting of nacreous shell species has been around for about 10 years, so given sufficient economic or other motivation it is possible to confirm natural or cultured non-porphyrinic (!!) nacreous pearl species origin without any room for doubt.

Douglas, does the pink glow extend to all Pteria species, i.e. Pteria Penguin? I hadn't known that.

Non-nacreous pearls (Tridacna clam, most gastropod shells, even in the case of non-nacreous pearls from nacreous shells) remain a dilemma given their extremely low and diffuse protein content. As natural pearls, their ID relies almost entirely on anecdote ("the fisherman says").

 

[StarryPearl]

@CortezPearls
Yea I suspect some white Tahitians might get sold as WSS, intentionally or unintentionally, so it's always important to buy from reputable vendors, isn't it? I only have a few white Tahitians. They all look kind of silver/platinum, instead of pure white. Kinda similar to silver-overtoned WSS. I'm not sure if they all happen to look that way, or do white Tahitians really tend to look silver-ish?

@SteveM
Thanks very much for sharing this info and the paper! It's a little late tonight to read a paper but I will definitely read it through carefully in the next couple of days. Really excited there's a paper for it!

"...does the pink glow extend to all Pteria species, i.e. Pteria Penguin?..." Thank you for asking out this question! I wanted to ask this exact question every time when I saw Douglas mentioning Cortez's pink glow under UV or saw his video on Youtube. I was lazy but so glad to see it finally asked out!

Also, it was very interesting to learn your last paragraph. Thanks for sharing these insights.

 

[CortezPearls]

I agree @SteveM : DNA testing is finally here...but might be expensive! Would not mind using it on a valuable natural pearl, but maybe not on a commercial grade cultured pearl.
And YES: those porphyrins are unique to genus Pteria so the UV fluorescence does extend to all members of the genus, except in some peculiar cases such as:
1. very white pearls - less protein there, thus the glow may become very faint and unidentifiable by eyesight
2. Golden color will interfere!

In the above photo you can see 3 shells stacked....and all are displaying the pink-red glow typical of Pteria pearls. The deeper colors are found on the Rainbow lip of course, since it has always had a deeper color than the others.

 

[SteveM]

I agree @SteveM : DNA testing is finally here...but might be expensive! Would not mind using it on a valuable natural pearl, but maybe not on a commercial grade cultured pearl.
And YES: those porphyrins are unique to genus Pteria so the UV fluorescence does extend to all members of the genus, except in some peculiar cases such as:
1. very white pearls - less protein there, thus the glow may become very faint and unidentifiable by eyesight
2. Golden color will interfere!

View attachment 470767
In the above photo you can see 3 shells stacked....and all are displaying the pink-red glow typical of Pteria pearls. The deeper colors are found on the Rainbow lip of course, since it has always had a deeper color than the others.

Great shot of the Pteria shells under UV!

The DNA technology would minimally serve to put to rest any lingering insecurity regarding Tahitian/SSP pearl substitutions.

Another thought was how similar a recent posting of golden SS keshi looked to baroque Poe Pipi. If ever it became an issue...

 

[StarryPearl]

@CortezPearls What a marvelous picture!! Mystry finally solved. Thank you, Douglas! If I understand correctly, those big mabe pearls from P. penguin in Japan should also look pink (but fainter) under UV, right?

I've never seen Pteria colymbus pearls, and P. penguin is only cultured for Mabe pearls? No wonder only Cortez pearl is frequently mentioned for this feature. Btw, I always wanted to ask another question: Why we often see those big shiny mabe pearls from Mabe Gai but rarely if ever whole pearls? Those shells are large, the the luster is unbeatable, is there anything with the soft tissue that makes it unfeasible for implanting?

When I was searching, I found this cool article by Douglas, and got the anwer! Let me put its link here in case someone has the same question and wants to read for more about the Pteria genus: https://www.pearl-guide.com/threads/the-genus-pteria-scoppoli-1777.454303/

 

[StarryPearl]

I am still digesting the DNA Fingerprinting paper and have got a lot questions.

But I want to quickly share a gorgeous brooch first, which I just received from a Japanese vendor-friend last Friday.

 

[CortezPearls]

@CortezPearls What a marvelous picture!! Mystry finally solved. Thank you, Douglas! If I understand correctly, those big mabe pearls from P. penguin in Japan should also look pink (but fainter) under UV, right?

I've never seen Pteria colymbus pearls, and P. penguin is only cultured for Mabe pearls? No wonder only Cortez pearl is frequently mentioned for this feature. Btw, I always wanted to ask another question: Why we often see those big shiny mabe pearls from Mabe Gai but rarely if ever whole pearls? Those shells are large, the the luster is unbeatable, is there anything with the soft tissue that makes it unplausible for implanting?

When I was searching, I found this cool article by Douglas, and got the anwer! Let me put its link here in case someone has the same question and wants to read for more about the Pteria genus: https://www.pearl-guide.com/threads/the-genus-pteria-scoppoli-1777.454303/

My pleasure @StarryPearl
Yes, they should display a very light pink glow, unless they are very white and thinly coated...then you will not discern it with your eyes, but will be picked up with lab equipment.

I've seen Pteria colymbus natural pearls and Mabe pearls. Too small!
P. penguin is indeed used mainly for Mabe pearls, but some years ago Sarah Cannizaro of Kojima pearl fame, got her hands on a beautiful strand of cultured/beaded pearls from this species. It was sold to our own dear friend @CathyKeshi !

Yes, the shell is amazing...but the distance from the edge of the shell, down to the oyster's anatomy is a challenge, the internal anatomy is also smaller than that of the Pinctada species and the "pearl sac" is miserably small! It's quite a challenge to operate on these creatures.

Glad you found the articles and have been studying these

 

[CortezPearls]

I am still digesting the DNA Fingerprinting paper and have got a lot questions.

But I want to quickly share a gorgeous brooch first, which I just received from a Japanese vendor-friend last Friday.

View attachment 470817

Nice pearl & setting! White gold?
The pearl has a very unique coloration. What did they tell you it is?

 

[StarryPearl]

Nice pearl & setting! White gold?
The pearl has a very unique coloration. What did they tell you it is?

Thank you! Sterling silver. It does look expensive, doesn't it? Must be the beautiful pearl doing its magic.

That Japanese vendor-friend is a dedicated pearl farmer and he exclusively deals with akoya pearls. So this is a natural color blue akoya. I was mesmerized by this brooch at the first sight.

 

[StarryPearl]

My pleasure @StarryPearl
Yes, they should display a very light pink glow, unless they are very white and thinly coated...then you will not discern it with your eyes, but will be picked up with lab equipment.

I've seen Pteria colymbus natural pearls and Mabe pearls. Too small!
P. penguin is indeed used mainly for Mabe pearls, but some years ago Sarah Cannizaro of Kojima pearl fame, got her hands on a beautiful strand of cultured/beaded pearls from this species. It was sold to our own dear friend @CathyKeshi !

Yes, the shell is amazing...but the distance from the edge of the shell, down to the oyster's anatomy is a challenge, the internal anatomy is also smaller than that of the Pinctada species and the "pearl sac" is miserably small! It's quite a challenge to operate on these creatures.

Glad you found the articles and have been studying these

I wish there is a picture to see the P. Penguin strand.

Thanks for the further explanation.

 

[CortezPearls]

I wish there is a picture to see the P. Penguin strand.

Thanks for the further explanation.

Should be there in a thread in the forum...lemme look for it!
Here it is
https://www.pearl-guide.com/threads/cultured-pteria-penguin-pearls.8761/