Tom Stern's natural pearls

[DrTKStern]

A plate of 12-15mm naturals

A plate of 12-15mm naturals

Hi, Caitlin,

I'm trying to post photos again. IF successful, I've finally figured it out. These are a nice cluster of naturals of grade B+ and better. Oops! Where is my picture???

Tom Stern,MD

 

[DrTKStern]

Upload failed

Upload failed

It just gave message upload failed. Oh well, another day.

 

[Valeria101]

Sine the thread turned on clustered pearls, perhaps there's room here for a random find - THIS seemed a rather clever design to set a larger pearl cluster, leaving little chance of future regrets for its asymmetry... A modern jeweler might not insist on so much anatomical detail (teeth? ), just for the better.

 

[DrTKStern]

1900 Pin

1900 Pin

Hi, Valerie,

Despite the intimidating teeth, that is a beautiful piece of work. Thank you for sending. Do you know the size of that pearl?

In the world natural pearl marketplace, a tremendous premium is placed on spherical pearls, up to 10 times more than baroques. Creations such as the snake pendant demonstrate that irregular shapes actually invite more creativity from the artist than perfect spheres.

I hope attached is an irregular 20mm natural from Pinctada maxima, from which some creative jeweler could fabricate a masterpiece. To me, it looks like a sleeping bison on the Great Plains.

Tom Stern,MD

 

[barbie biggs]

It really does look like a sleeping bison! That's amazing.
This is the best Rorschach test ever!
Thanks Dr. Stern
barbie

 

[barbie biggs]

Anna:
I'm in love with your snake and egg pendant also. The only thing that could possibly be better (for me) would be a pendant that looked like that but was actually a dragon, preferably hatching out of it's egg.
Cool...
barbie

 

[DrTKStern]

The sleeping bison

The sleeping bison

It really does look like a sleeping bison! That's amazing.
This is the best Rorschach test ever!
Thanks Dr. Stern
barbie

Cloud watching, day dreaming. Please, other readers tell us what they see in that pearl's shape.

 

[barbie biggs]

An elephant shaking it's head.

 

[Caitlin]

I'll go with bison. It has the smooth simplicity of an Inuit carving-it would hardly need anything added except an eye.

PS Hi Tom
Make sure your pictures are sized to no higher than 400 pixels and 620 across. The one above is very nicely cropped. So crop first, then make a copy within pixel range specified. Be sure to "save as" a jpeg- if it isn't already a jpeg.

 

[Valeria101]

Hi, Valerie,

Do you know the size of that pearl?

Approximately 19 x 15 x 13 mm, which makes it somewhat smaller then then the one you have just posted.

 

[DrTKStern]

Marco Polo's Pearl?

Marco Polo's Pearl?

ABU DHABI (Reuters) - A 575-carat pearl which once belonged to Marco Polo was put up for auction on Thursday in the United Arab Emirates by its owner who hopes it will sell for $8 million.

The 3.1 inches long Arco Valley Pearl "is the biggest of this size outside a museum", said Abu Dhabi jeweler Khaled Ali al-Sayegh.

"It used to belong to Kublai Khan, a grandson of Genghis Khan, and he gave it to Marco Polo as a present ... I have the certificate," he said by telephone.

Sayegh said he bought the 2,301-grain or 575-carat pearl 12 days ago from a French person, but refused to say how much he paid for the white pearl with overtones of pink and brown.

Sayegh said the result of the auction -- which was launched on Thursday and is being held partly on the Internet -- would be announced in about a week, adding that he is looking for around $8 million.

The world's largest pearl on record is the Pearl of Allah, found by a Muslim diver in the Philippines on May 7, 1934, off the coast of Palawan Island. The pearl is 9.4 inches long.

 

[SteveM]

Very interesting! I see that Reuters report was dated May 03, 2007. What were the results? Why wasn't this big news last year?

 

[Caitlin]

Hi Steve.
It was. We have at least one thread with a photo when it went up for sale last year, about the same time as Marie Antoinette's pearls. I think is is called the Arco Valley Pearl for search purposes.

Just a note for newbies- the Pearl of Allah is not a pearl, but a calcareous concretion. It has no nacre, no iridescence as we are used to.

In this undated handout picture made available by Life Style Auctions on May 3, 2007, The "Arco Valley Pearl", 3.1 inches in length, will be up for bidding at Abu Dhabi's Emirates Palace and on the Internet, where it is estimated to fetch up to $8 million. The 575-carat pearl from 12th century Mongolia once belonged to Chinese emperors, Persian kings, the grandson of Genghis Khan and Marco Polo. (AP Photo/Life Style Auctions, HO)

 

[Caitlin]

https://www.pearl-guide.com/forum/search.php?searchid=279383

Above is the list of threads from :Arco Valley Pearl" search

 

[SteveM]

Thanks, yes now I recall. I even saved an image of the pearl in my 'noteworthy' file?

So the auction was postponed due to the death of the Sheik's son, (Sheik Jr.), with no further news. Meanwhile, the sinking dollar means that the original EUR5,9M estimate will now set back an American buyer $9.44M.

 

[DrTKStern]

Pinna Pearl

Pinna Pearl

This is a newly certified Pinna pearl...about 8mm. Nice shape, and the owner told me he believes it is 100 years old, which may explain those suspicious lines in the object. However, I have examined those cracks at 600 power and don't see any evidence of gaping or difference of height on the two sides. So my question is---Are those cracks or "Phenomena?"


Oops! Where is my photo? I'll try uploading again.
Tom Stern,MD

 

[DrTKStern]

Pinna

Pinna

Another try at photo upload

 

[J Marcus]

Cloud watching, day dreaming. Please, other readers tell us what they see in that pearl's shape.

I think you nailed it. When I first saw the picture, before I read what you saw in it, it hit me immediately as bison.

Marc
http://www.flyrodjewelry.com/home.html

 

[J Marcus]

Sine the thread turned on clustered pearls, perhaps there's room here for a random find - THIS seemed a rather clever design to set a larger pearl cluster, leaving little chance of future regrets for its asymmetry... A modern jeweler might not insist on so much anatomical detail (teeth? ), just for the better.

In spite of my arachniphobia (more just a dislike, actually) I do like snakes. I've owned a few in my youth and handled and admired many, but one that gnaws? Very interesting--just a little strange.

Marc
http://www.flyrodjewelry.com/home.html

 

[Valeria101]

So my question is---Are those cracks or "Phenomena?"

Would be surprised if anyone else would use this particular wording, but again... even 'flame' patterns on better known types of non-nacreous pearls aren't usually boxed among gem phenomena either. So there is room for linguistic innovation, much as I can tell.

The line appears too complex (i.e. crooked) to be a crack. Perhaps some growth pattern unrelated with the pearl's age? I've seen similar marks on small 'fresh' conch pearls too.