Largosmom
Brilliant_Rock
- Joined
- Oct 26, 2009
- Messages
- 1,010
Hi, iLander! 
As requested, here is my natural freshwater pearl ring. It is set in a somewhat clunky setting, which I would love to figure out how to change somehow. My goldsmith is afraid to damage the pearls.
The story behind these pearls is that they are from Tampico Pearly Mussels, which grow in a few reservoirs and rivers in the part of Texas where I went to college. Once, when I was about a Junior, my roommate and I purchased a fishing license and snorkeled one of the streams where the mussels are known to grow, after hearing about the pearls and seeing them in a downtown jewelry store--we decided to go see if we could find some. Well, we had a fun time snorkling down a very clear stream in the summer, and found 1 mussel. No pearls, though.
Many years later, my sister and I went down from where she lives in the Dallas area, to the city where the college is so that I could visit some of my old college friends. We went to that same jewelry store and each of us purchased loose pearls. She purchased one for herself, in a purply pink color, and I purchased three, one larger one and two little tiny ones. We each set our pearls in rings and I held the two smaller pearls thinking to use them for earrings later. Well, I never set the little ones into earrings, and later decided to add onto the ring I had made for the big pearl. So...that's how I ended up with such a kludgy setting. I love the pink pearls, though. I consider them more of a "graduation" ring than any I might have had from the school itself, and it also reminds me of my sister, who wears hers regularly. My niece ended up going to the same college and her graduation ring was a small gold custom ring with a Concho pearl (what they are referred to in the region, and the name of the river system). She lives in San Angelo, Tx, where I went to college, and was recently engaged. She has two small pearls mixed with diamonds, in her engagement ring.
I believe that the pearly mussel fishery is reduced, due to more drought years in recent history, and more silt in the waters or pollution. They are not a mussel that can be cultivated, according to what I've read...they don't produce many pearls per number of mussels. They grow in relatively shallow water, but the water is very silty and you can't see into it more than a few inches. So, one way to find the mussels is to walk in shallow waters and feel around in the muck with your feet and toes to find the mussels, which I recall being about the size of a human hand. The mother of pearl in the mussels produces shades of pink, purple, occasionally blue or green pearls. I'd love to have another really nice pearl one day, but the prices have gone up quite a bit. I think I paidd $150 for my three pearls, and my sister paid about $100 for hers. Good ones have a really nice metallic sheen to them. Mine are not lustrous, but they do match in color, which is hard to do.
So, here are the photos.
Hand shot:
Closer pic of the nacre and luster
Another pic of the side view of the setting. You can see the larger pearl doesn't have much good nacre on the bottom half and is sort of upside-down pear shaped. One of the smaller ones is flat on the bottom, the other is a bit cylindrical.
As requested, here is my natural freshwater pearl ring. It is set in a somewhat clunky setting, which I would love to figure out how to change somehow. My goldsmith is afraid to damage the pearls.
The story behind these pearls is that they are from Tampico Pearly Mussels, which grow in a few reservoirs and rivers in the part of Texas where I went to college. Once, when I was about a Junior, my roommate and I purchased a fishing license and snorkeled one of the streams where the mussels are known to grow, after hearing about the pearls and seeing them in a downtown jewelry store--we decided to go see if we could find some. Well, we had a fun time snorkling down a very clear stream in the summer, and found 1 mussel. No pearls, though.
Many years later, my sister and I went down from where she lives in the Dallas area, to the city where the college is so that I could visit some of my old college friends. We went to that same jewelry store and each of us purchased loose pearls. She purchased one for herself, in a purply pink color, and I purchased three, one larger one and two little tiny ones. We each set our pearls in rings and I held the two smaller pearls thinking to use them for earrings later. Well, I never set the little ones into earrings, and later decided to add onto the ring I had made for the big pearl. So...that's how I ended up with such a kludgy setting. I love the pink pearls, though. I consider them more of a "graduation" ring than any I might have had from the school itself, and it also reminds me of my sister, who wears hers regularly. My niece ended up going to the same college and her graduation ring was a small gold custom ring with a Concho pearl (what they are referred to in the region, and the name of the river system). She lives in San Angelo, Tx, where I went to college, and was recently engaged. She has two small pearls mixed with diamonds, in her engagement ring.
I believe that the pearly mussel fishery is reduced, due to more drought years in recent history, and more silt in the waters or pollution. They are not a mussel that can be cultivated, according to what I've read...they don't produce many pearls per number of mussels. They grow in relatively shallow water, but the water is very silty and you can't see into it more than a few inches. So, one way to find the mussels is to walk in shallow waters and feel around in the muck with your feet and toes to find the mussels, which I recall being about the size of a human hand. The mother of pearl in the mussels produces shades of pink, purple, occasionally blue or green pearls. I'd love to have another really nice pearl one day, but the prices have gone up quite a bit. I think I paidd $150 for my three pearls, and my sister paid about $100 for hers. Good ones have a really nice metallic sheen to them. Mine are not lustrous, but they do match in color, which is hard to do.
So, here are the photos.
Hand shot:
Closer pic of the nacre and luster
Another pic of the side view of the setting. You can see the larger pearl doesn't have much good nacre on the bottom half and is sort of upside-down pear shaped. One of the smaller ones is flat on the bottom, the other is a bit cylindrical.
I LOVE those pearls! 
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