What kind of pearl?

[Cees]

Can you guess what kind of pearl this is?

 

[Pearl Dreams]

At 19.12mm, a very large one!

Tahitian?

 

[ericw]

Hi Cees!... Second (or third) graft tahitian pearl, isn't it?

 

[2thdktr]

It looks faux to me. The reflection and luster look different than a real ( cultured) pearl -too smooth, too perfect , without any overtone and it is too (?) perfectly round without any character.. I'm probably wrong, but that was my first impression. Could also be the way the photo was taken.

 

[ericw]

It looks faux to me. The reflection and luster look different than a real ( cultured) pearl -too smooth, too perfect , without any overtone and it is too (?) perfectly round without any character.. I'm probably wrong, but that was my first impression. Could also be the way the photo was taken.

2thdktr, your advise is exactly the reason I think it's a second or third graft, allowing to produce giant pearls around big beads (nacre is thin, and bead gives a perfectly spherical pearl), grafted in the pearl bag first made by the oyster, but for the result of a lower nacre look.

 

[Cees]

so far did not see the right answer lol

 

[ericw]

so far did not see the right answer lol

Knowing you a bit, Cees, I suspected a friendly trap somewhere... I have met tahitian pearls looking like this one, but in this case, the cat may get my tongue!

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Hmmm...Cook Islands pearl maybe? Not Tahitian since not from F.P., but same oyster....

 

[Cees]

it is a rare colour Australian South Sea pearl

 

[ericw]

Wow, Cees!! Sure, rare... The cat is happy

 

[Pearl Dreams]

South Sea-- wow! It's logical, given the size, but I've never heard of one that color.

 

[2thdktr]

Wow- would(obviously) have never guessed! Could we please see more pictures of it?

 

[Katbran]

I thought it was SS due to the size but the colour is certainly odd...it looks sort of taupe ? A colour one could find in Tahitians but I've seldom seen it in South Sea - the ones I have seen had a green tinge to them.

 

[pattye]

So interesting and I didn't even have to give a bad guess, lol! An unexpected color for sure! Thank you, Cees!

 

[ericw]

Logical to think that only a big mollusc could produce such size of pearl. Tahitian farmers succeed now to make 17/18mm diameter ones, but I wonder how their oysters, smaller than south sea's, can bear these giant beads!

 

[Cees]

Eric, when oysters are older than 2 years some molusks become bigger also and when you leave the pearl longer in the oyster than 2 years then you can be surprised.

Seen a 20 mm Tahitian on the Basel Fair in Switzerland.

 

[ericw]

Thank you, Cees, for these clarifications. That reminds me I had heard Robert Wan was able to produce big pearls because he used old reef oysters.