Lady_Disdain
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Those are beautiful! Lovely treasures indeed.
What are these?
- Thread starter pearlescence
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jshepherd
Pearl Paradise
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On the original photo:
I know they are not keshi.
The pearls are a mix of dark (what the Chinese call) strange color aka exotics and normal colors, mostly round to near-round with a few short potato, and some metallics in the mix.
You mentioned on Facebook that they were a "completely new type of pearl." I'm curious what you were told.
I know they are not keshi.
The pearls are a mix of dark (what the Chinese call) strange color aka exotics and normal colors, mostly round to near-round with a few short potato, and some metallics in the mix.
You mentioned on Facebook that they were a "completely new type of pearl." I'm curious what you were told.
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They didn't look like keshi to me, either - I always thought that keshi have a silky, textured surface and are almost always free-form in shape, like these Tahitians (below). I know that FW is completely different from Tahitians, and would have slightly different characteristics, but I think the free-form shapes would essentially be the one thing they had in common... 
jshepherd
Pearl Paradise
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I was hoping we would get some clarification on what these were, but now realize that I should quantify my earlier post because I had misread the situation.
To understand why they cannot be keshi pearls, we need to look at how keshi pearls develop in cultured saltwater pearl production. Keshi pearls are either formed in the pearl sac when a bead is expelled, when a host mantle is damaged, or when mantle tissue is intentionally or inadvertently introduced into a host’s mantle.
The problem with calling a “tissue nuke” a keshi in freshwater is that the method used to cultured tissue-nuked freshwater pearls is one of the same used to culture keshi pearls in saltwater. In other words, if a tissue nuke could be called a keshi, all freshwater pearls without a bead are then “keshi.”
Tissue-nuked freshwater are sometimes still referred to as keshi just because of the shape – there is a possibility that some pearls are accidentals because the techniques used in culturing are designed to produce round to near pearls. Accidentals have no technique (think free-form tissue baroques). It is a very technical process to cultured round, tissue-nucleated pearls – this is the same reason you will almost never see a symmetrical saltwater keshi.
For the most part, keshi in freshwater is only used to refer to pearls grown in an empty pearl sac post-harvest and not to accidental pearls.
The pearls in the first photo posted aren’t accidentals and they don’t look different from other tissue-nucleated round to near rounds. Shells used to grow “Edisons” and “Ming Pearls” are also used to grow non-beaded pearls – beaded pearls are not first generation. In other words, there are intentional, tissue-nuked pearls in the same shells that grow the beaded pearls.
I don't mean to rain on a parade here, but I know they are not keshi and I feel strongly that they should not be advertised as keshi no matter what someone in Hong Kong told you.
To understand why they cannot be keshi pearls, we need to look at how keshi pearls develop in cultured saltwater pearl production. Keshi pearls are either formed in the pearl sac when a bead is expelled, when a host mantle is damaged, or when mantle tissue is intentionally or inadvertently introduced into a host’s mantle.
The problem with calling a “tissue nuke” a keshi in freshwater is that the method used to cultured tissue-nuked freshwater pearls is one of the same used to culture keshi pearls in saltwater. In other words, if a tissue nuke could be called a keshi, all freshwater pearls without a bead are then “keshi.”
Tissue-nuked freshwater are sometimes still referred to as keshi just because of the shape – there is a possibility that some pearls are accidentals because the techniques used in culturing are designed to produce round to near pearls. Accidentals have no technique (think free-form tissue baroques). It is a very technical process to cultured round, tissue-nucleated pearls – this is the same reason you will almost never see a symmetrical saltwater keshi.
For the most part, keshi in freshwater is only used to refer to pearls grown in an empty pearl sac post-harvest and not to accidental pearls.
The pearls in the first photo posted aren’t accidentals and they don’t look different from other tissue-nucleated round to near rounds. Shells used to grow “Edisons” and “Ming Pearls” are also used to grow non-beaded pearls – beaded pearls are not first generation. In other words, there are intentional, tissue-nuked pearls in the same shells that grow the beaded pearls.
I don't mean to rain on a parade here, but I know they are not keshi and I feel strongly that they should not be advertised as keshi no matter what someone in Hong Kong told you.
JerseyPearl
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Thank you for that wonderful explanation! I'm still a pearl newbie, so this clarification really helps!
pearlescence
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I was going by what the very reputable owner of the company told me - and insisted when I queried the keishi description. It says keishi on the invoice too. I get the usual keishi form and formation - they come from the inside of a deflated balloon/pearl sac, where the nacre producing cells carry on making nacre (which is their job).
It may be that something is getting tangled in translation between specialist pearl farmer and me in terms of technical languages - like the colour we call peach many pearl sellers still call pink, and what we call pink they call lavender.
I've amended my description to call them baby Mings (although that isn't strictly accurate either since they have no bead and Ming at least implies bead)
Suggestions?
It may be that something is getting tangled in translation between specialist pearl farmer and me in terms of technical languages - like the colour we call peach many pearl sellers still call pink, and what we call pink they call lavender.
I've amended my description to call them baby Mings (although that isn't strictly accurate either since they have no bead and Ming at least implies bead)
Suggestions?
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Perhaps it is a translation issue .. I just queried some obviously nucleated pearls that were advertised as Keshi ... 15mm flameballs...and got an answer back that yes they are definitely Keshi, bead nucleated freshwater Keshi. I quit then as it was obvious we were talking about two different definitions of Keshi.
Jeremy thanks for the very complete description of Keshi .. I had a general idea of how they came about but had thought they were in fact an 'accidental' pearl and not something that was cultured. (I almost never buy them so never really paid much attention to them). Really interesting.
Jeremy thanks for the very complete description of Keshi .. I had a general idea of how they came about but had thought they were in fact an 'accidental' pearl and not something that was cultured. (I almost never buy them so never really paid much attention to them). Really interesting.
pearlescence
purveyor of pearls UK/EU
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Indeed. If I'm asked to explain them I say 'visualise a balloon/pearl sac which is fully blown up (can be either a tissue or nucleated pearl)i now visualise removing that pearl/air. The balloon does not go back to it's original form. It's all wrinkly and the surface is distorted. The nacre cells which are lining that balloon/pearl sac just go right on producing nacre. Hence the freshwater keishi.
And if we are talking translations my favourite at the moment is nuclear for nucleated.
We have to remember though that the pearl wholesalers and their lovely staff speak superb English generally. Since they are speaking our language it behoves us to find a way round the very occasional hiccups
now visualise removing that pearl/air. The balloon does not go back to it's original form. It's all wrinkly and the surface is distorted. The nacre cells which are lining that balloon/pearl sac just go right on producing nacre. Hence the freshwater keishi.And if we are talking translations my favourite at the moment is nuclear for nucleated.
We have to remember though that the pearl wholesalers and their lovely staff speak superb English generally. Since they are speaking our language it behoves us to find a way round the very occasional hiccups
