What excites you about pearls?

[claudenancy]

What about my passion for pearls?
Beyond the fact that I was born a rockhound (made the parents stop to look at gravel on the way home from the hospital--or so I am told) it started with iridescence.

When my Father was in WW 2, he was on a Pacific island. He had a pocket knife, and in his spare time carved bracelets and a heart pendant for my Mom from shells that he found there.

These iridescent pieces started it. After his death, I used the iridescent MOP Ralph Lauren paint (sadly not available anymore although I still have a gallon) to paint the doors in a back hallway--I think to honor those pieces of jewelry, which I had framed so I could look at them often.

Later I found this site, discovered keshi, graduated to a love of pearls--adding luster, orient, natural color, depth, etc. etc.. as passions.

Tried to make a long story short.

Great thread! Beth

 

[MSchechter]

PurlGurl - I love hearing passionate FW pearl stories like that... and by the way, there is nothing wrong with selling the microcord necklaces (I'm always going to be a bit partial here as Honora really was the first to use this with pearls after Jeffrey Roberts brought it to diamonds!).

Smetzler - Thanks for sharing those artifacts, you have to love when orient shows up that clearly, even in photography!

KauaiAnne - People always think it is simply the price that brought FW to the forefront, but those natural colors really started expanding what a pearl was in peoples minds! Now I want to move to Kauai as well

Valeria - every time we think the wow moment is over, something else happens that wows us all over again!

ClaudeNancy - Thanks for sharing those pictures of your fathers pieces, I've always had a huge admiration for jewelers, but never had the hands for the endevour

 

[GemGeek]

I'm really enjoying this thread. Thanks!

 

[barbie biggs]

I'm really enjoying this thread. Thanks!

This thread is wowing me too!
barbie

 

[SteveM]

?you have to love when orient shows up that clearly, even in photography!

These might be called 'Bard Moments' (A rose by any other name?).

 

[Caitlin]

Anne
That shell bracelet is really a classic shape! Ones like that are among the shell jewelry from the 10--16 century, (I think, though some may be far earlier) in the high plateaus of Northern Arizona, a thousand miles from the sea. The Anasazi or Basketmaker culture traded for them, I think. This is off the top of my head without checking so I can be wrong about the dates, but the rest is completely true. That is a lovely shrine.

 

[Valeria101]

Caitlin, do you know what kind of shell are these made of and how?

 

[Caitlin]

Not off hand. If they were MOP, they have lost a lot of the iridescence from being in the earth, though it was very dry earth, but the shape is the same as Anne's.

 

[boo]

I haven't been posting much - things have been quite busy - but I will spare a few moments to jump in on this thread. I have always been fascinated by color and iridescence, much like most folks here. (Bugs! Rocks! Shells! Feathers! The aforementioned carnival glass and iridescent tea sets!) I also have a strong love for stargazing, and the connection between the moon and pearls is obvious. However, when I was but a bitty babe my very favorite book told the adventures of a family of tabby cats who sail to the tropical isles and meet "the queen all covered in pearls" and who kindly sends her divers to fetch pearls for her visitors. I have coveted them ever since!


Okay, back to exam prep

 

[pearlescence]

Nothing at the moment. I was just finishing a necklace and the silk broke. gnargh

 

[GemGeek]

It makes me want tabbies in cute little outfits!

 

[ShashiRatna]

Hi everybody,

Don't know if others are having this problem, but I can't see some of the pics posted in this thread. I can't see Sueki, Caitlin, "A little girl in black pearls" and Anne's (Shell bracelet) pics. I can see the other pics.

Cheers,
SR

 

[pattye]

I can't see those either!

 

[Caitlin]

I checked Michael's flikr link in his sig.

Post #41 is where (claude)Nancy put up the picture

 

[Valeria101]

Not off hand. If they were MOP, they have lost a lot of the iridescence from being in the earth, though it was very dry earth, but the shape is the same as Anne's.

Might be old fashion, but also love at first sight! [most shell things are]. I am familiar with the chank bracelets, and pierced shell bangles [the styles seem to keep coming back from the oldest jewelry...] but those are typically closed, not an open spiral... Would guess that the shape and size of the shells has something to do with that. [off to search!]

 

[Caitlin]

Practically speaking- where did the "white shell" come from? Either the gulf of Mexico, traded though the Mississippi/Ohio Mound cultures or from the Bay of California. I never knew what pearl mollusks are in the gulf of Mexico, but in the Bay, there are pteria sternas, pinctada mazatlanicas and Pinctada Margaretiferias. White shell is associated with the eastern side of the Navajo's four sacred mountains, abalone to the west, turqouise to the south and jet to the north. Just a thought, not a proclamation that that is what the old,old. old timers beleived.

I have seen bracelets and other shell artifacts in museums and drawings of them in Archeaology journals. The spiral shape bracelet I saw was largish, so it could have been a pendent, but I thought it was a bracelet at the time, I havn't found anything online to support or disagree with my statements so take it with a grain of salt, until we find something definitive.

I am thinking someone with a hand too big to fit through the closed shell hole, could slip this style on and even tie it together if there is a hole or notches on the pointy end.

 

[pattye]

Duh, I didn't realize that was a bracelet, I was picturing the scale as much smaller. It's very lovely. Excellent way to display treasures.

 

[MSchechter]

I'm not having trouble seeing the pictures at all... that is strange. As for the little girl, I did not post that on this page, she is on our Flickr site though (link below).

Enjoying the Cat's with pearls photos, too cute!

Sorry about the broken string PearlEscence...

 

[claudenancy]

Thanks Catlin for this fascinating information. I have always loved the shape. My Father was an engineer but had the eye of an artist.

I believe that he spent most of his time during the war in the New Hebrides (Vanuatu) although he could well have been in other areas of the South Pacific as well.

Valeria: Thanks for your questions too and for appreciating the bracelet that he carved.

Today would have been his 93rd birthday--your comments made me smile.

Beth

 

[MSchechter]

Engineers, Architects and Artist always have so much in common, it is clear from your father's handy work that he had an amazing eye and talent!