Women in power II: a new wave of pearl fashion?

[silverseajewelry]

Nice strands, ladies. I am a little partial to the baroque strand, though. The colors are phenomenal!

In terms of blemishes, I have never met a Tahitian I didn't like.
(Well, ok...someone sold me a B-C lot that had some rather sorry looking C-- pearls in it. Some of these were unusable and downright homely.) In most cases, blemishes mean character.

(When I work with tahitians, I general use B or C quality blemished pearls. That way, I don't feel like I am breaking some sort of unwritten code if I happen to design with stones or metals that some say are not befitting the stature of tahitians.

 

[olmander]

I wonder how would you grade this degree of blemishes? I am not an expert, to me it looks like quite a few of them, maybe grade C? or less?

But the luster is so good, it reconciles me with everything... (not speaking of the price range)

Olga

 

[jerin]

I wonder how would you grade this degree of blemishes? I am not an expert, to me it looks like quite a few of them, maybe grade C? or less?

But the luster is so good, it reconciles me with everything... (not speaking of the price range)

Olga

Hi Olga,
I think these pinholes and markings are C, perhaps even D, depending on the seller of the pearls. Check out the grading scale on Pearl Paradise for Tahitians. The luster seems to be good but not high. I could be wrong though, the picture on the computer does perhaps not quite show just how high the luster is.

 

[olmander]

Inge, that's the quality of the picture. In fact the luster if very good but blemishes... well... you don't see much of them when it is on... and they are mostly on the front three big pearls, the rest is OK

Olga

 

[silverseajewelry]

If you are looking at the Tahitian quality scale (which is fairly well-standardized), D's are quite unusual. The pearl must be so blemished that there are flaws covering more than 60% of the pearls surface. In other words, the flaws actually take over the pearl. From your photo, I don't see anything that looks like a D pearl. I can post a picture of a true "D" when I get home for comparison purposes.

When judging between B and C grade, to be a "B," 70% of the pearl's surface must be free of flaws. And in the remaining 30% there can only be a couple truly deep flaws, though quite a few small pits in that region would be allowable.

So, your necklace is most likely a B grade necklace with a few stray C pearls. Can't really tell for sure from the photo.


In case you don't know, the AAA to A scale is not the same as the Tahitian scale and can vary quite a bit from jeweler to jeweler.

 

[olmander]

Thanks! This is a very precise and encouraging explanation

Olga

 

[jerin]

Inge, that's the quality of the picture. In fact the luster if very good but blemishes... well... you don't see much of them when it is on... and they are mostly on the front three big pearls, the rest is OK

Olga

They have a very nice shape and as You say, once on the neck, no one will see the small blemishes

 

[jshepherd]

If you are looking at the Tahitian quality scale (which is fairly well-standardized), D's are quite unusual. The pearl must be so blemished that there are flaws covering more than 60% of the pearls surface. In other words, the flaws actually take over the pearl. From your photo, I don't see anything that looks like a D pearl. I can post a picture of a true "D" when I get home for comparison purposes.

When judging between B and C grade, to be a "B," 70% of the pearl's surface must be free of flaws. And in the remaining 30% there can only be a couple truly deep flaws, though quite a few small pits in that region would be allowable.

So, your necklace is most likely a B grade necklace with a few stray C pearls. Can't really tell for sure from the photo.

I would have to disagree. Blemishing is not strictly limited to the spotting and rings but also includes discoloration. Based on that, also considering the reflection I would say most of the pearls are D grade with some possible C mixed in. I dont think any of them would pass for B.

It is a big necklace, however, and it is very difficult to find fine strands in that size.

 

[silverseajewelry]

Oh wow...yes, the discoloration is rather obvious in the photo with the box.

Jeremy, you've seen far more tahitians than I ever will, so I defer to your expertise.

Could you say more about how discoloration factors into the net grade using the tahitian scale? What if the discoloration only covers a small amount of surface area (say <30%).

Also, if at any point there is a flaw such that a white nucleus is visible, does that also automatically constitute a "D"?

 

[jshepherd]

It really depends on the discoloration. It can be very slight, or in the case of this strand, quite dramatic. Most of the time pearls with dramatic discoloration, especially those with blemishes, would be D grade in my opinion. But truthfully, and I sure Josh will vouch for this, we grade much more stringently than the Ministry of Perliculture in Papeete. We downgrade on average 20% more than the grading report states on export.

If any nucleus is showing the pearl is not D grade. It is 'destroy' grade and has been illegally exported from French Polynesia.

 

[knotty panda]

Jeremy, Josh: As someone who has personally seen Tahitians with the beads showing through and knowing they are black market pearls, and being someone who unwisely picks my causes , what can/should I do? Is there a Pearl Police?

 

[jshepherd]

Yes there are pearl police! Everyone here on this forum!

Nothing illegal about the pearls once they are here, unfortunately. It is just illegal to export them from FP.

 

[olmander]

It really depends on the discoloration. It can be very slight, or in the case of this strand, quite dramatic.

Jeremy, you scared me: when something can be described as dramatic, I better bring it back, - should I? Is it that bad? I thought exactly the oppisite, that this shadows of colour make it playful. But this is of course my lack of experience...

 

[Valeria101]

I thought exactly the opposite, that this shadows of colour make it playful...

Frankly, at some point I was (and still am) seriously fascinated with bi- and multi-colour pearls: those with sections and bands of different colors. Still am. Apparently, this interesting features do not count as great quality, even if the lustre is evenly great throughout, there are no extensive blemishes etc. Those are just lovely (IMO) oddballs!
Not sure whether I care allot about the generic evaluation of such pearls: IMO, they are cute and unusual. 'enough said

I am not sure whether we are talking about the same things though... it may be that discoloration or thinner nacre makes for 'patches' of colour. And very deep (=bad) circling is not the same as color bands although the circles often expose nacre of different colors etc.

Bottom line: there must be room to like just about anything... Or at least so I hope.

Now, here's the 'bicolor' pearls I am talking about: see the drops in the center of th second row (top down) and the one below in this line-up o freshwater fancies from PP Tahitian and South Sea pearls (Kare Ehret had one or two before pulling her stock from DruzyDesign offline for Tucson - they might be back) sometimes come like this too - baroque and drops especially. Only ever saw two bicolor rounds (even nacre, no circle, no discoloration - just two colors).

I am not sure if these are really not appreciated, or just unusual. At least one well known historic pearl is bicolor black & white (round, natural).

Now, if the surface quality of your pearls in cause differs allot between the two colors, there might be some problem with the pearl - possibly the lighter (and duller) color signaling very thin nacre barely covering an off-center nucleus, or other such unlucky possibilities... Can't tell from here what's up.

[Oops for the long post! Hope some is of use.]

 

[jerin]

Jeremy, you scared me: when something can be described as dramatic, I better bring it back, - should I? Is it that bad? I thought exactly the oppisite, that this shadows of colour make it playful. But this is of course my lack of experience...

Olga,
don?t bring them back, even if the quality is between C and D, I take it that you got them at a good price and in this size they are not easy to come by - so think of them as your "BIG BLACKS" and do not worry any more about it!

If you think the luster is OK and the pits and pin holes are not bothering you, keep this strand, use it as your learning experience and wear it with pride!

 

[olmander]

Inge, thanks! I think I will indeed keep them and will like them a lot.

I just made a quick jump today to the place where I got it to see what came instead for the same price - this convinced me instantly!!! This was a brilliant deal, as I see now

Olga

 

[jshepherd]

Yes, definitely keep them! If you like them it does not matter what the grade is and you will certainly have a difficult time finding pearls that large again!

 

[Bodecia]

Nucleus showing in Tahitians

Nucleus showing in Tahitians

Jeremy, Josh: As someone who has personally seen Tahitians with the beads showing through and knowing they are black market pearls, and being someone who unwisely picks my causes , what can/should I do? Is there a Pearl Police?

I have several Tahitians with the nucleus showing but they were probably exported in good condition. From the ones I have seen it is caused when they are drilled. The nacre is very, very thick but drilled incorrectly or maybe the incorrect beads were used for the nucleus. Remember there was a thread on cheap beads being used to nucleate and I think that was Tahitians.

I love the bi-colour pearls. They are so unusual with black on half and white on the other and they do appear to have a thick nacre and have a great lustre. I don't have many of these and plan to make some earrings out of them.

Bodecia

 

[olmander]

Yes, sir!!!
With these words from Jeremy himself, there is no way back now

 

[Sueki]

Olga,
I'm so glad that you are keeping the necklace - I love it, it's gorgeous.