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Pearl newbie

R

RRfromR

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Nov 5, 2022
Messages
1,254
Will poof my face soon, but this is my 2nd string - vintage natural south sea.
 
Surely you mean cultured South Sea? (Cultured = farmed; natural = wild, with no human intervention)
I love the shapes.
 
Yes, natural like not man made. I'm coming from the gemstone community, I forgot that the definition for pearls is different :)
 
The definition of pearls being truly natural versus cultured has been a tricky one through the years, but should be consistent among those who work more exclusively in pearls versus gemstones

I am always happy to learn myself and I'm always open to being proven wrong, but I must say this strand looks almost certainly, 99.9% positive, to be cultured. The only way to truly tell without a doubt is via x-ray.

I say this not at all to disparage the peace posted. I absolutely hope the original poster loves their strand but you should be aware and cognizant of what you are receiving. Natural south sea strands fetch potentially seven figure values at auction

Edited for a typo and just to clarify that this post is for of course educational purposes :)
 
Last edited:
molinePDG said:
The definition of pearls being truly natural versus cultured has been a tricky one through the years, but should be consistent among those who work more exclusively in pearls versus gemstones

I am always happy to learn myself and I'm always open to being proven wrong, but I must say this strand looks almost certainly, 99.9% positive, to be cultured. The only way to truly tell without a doubt is via x-ray.

I say this not at all to disparage the peace posted. I absolutely hope the original poster loves their strand but you should be aware and cognizant of what you are receiving. Natural south sea strands fetch potentially seven figure values at auction
Click to expand...

Oh yes, I'm 100% sure this is not wild. I'm looking for a tiny wild one to make a moi et toi with an antique pear and can't see a ton under $400.
 
RRfromR said:
Oh yes, I'm 100% sure this is not wild. I'm looking for a tiny wild one to make a moi et toi with an antique pear and can't see a ton under $400.
Click to expand...

Apologies if I misunderstood your most recent post! Indeed, the natural types can fetch real top dollar.
 
For clarity for all readers, this is how pearls are classified, and yes, it's different for gemstones:

Pearls are either:
A. Real-- pearls whose nacre is laid down by the mollusk, in the ocean (saltwater) or lake/pond/river (freshwater)
1. Natural = wild (very rare and expensive)-- created in nature with no human intervention
2. Cultured = farmed (the pearl market is almost entirely a cultured market now and has been for a nearly century.)

B. Imitation/fake/faux/simulated. Made in factories. The better ones have a glass bead inside, the cheaper ones plastic, some shell, all have a man-made coating.
 
RRfromR said:
Will poof my face soon, but this is my 2nd string - vintage natural south sea.
Click to expand...

OK, I am dying to know. What does it mean to "poof" your face?
 
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