Hey PearlPoor: Them's some purty large drill holes ya got thar!!

Thank you for the excellent images, that's much better! You can actually see the nacre layers surrounding the nucleus inside the pearl in the upclose pictures of the drill shaft, and from what I can tell by the size and the types of inclusions on the surfaces of the pearls, I would say they look like Akoya pearls to me!

The P. margaritifera pearl culturing experiments that Mikimoto carried out starting around 1912 would be too large (yes, he experimented in Japan with this oyster species) to match your pearls... Tahitian pearls are usually much larger than 3.5mm, and come from Black-lipped oysters that can reach 1 Foot in diameter at maturity! The average starting sizes for these pearls would be 8mm, however I cannot say for sure that Mikimoto did not start experimenting with very tiny beads I suppose anything is possible...

I can understand your reservations about sending the pearls along to a gem lab for evaluation after all they have been through- parting with a family treasure and entrusting it to another is hard. Been there! I can say that Sharon Wakefield from Northwest Gem Lab is very, very good with pearls of all types, and will treat your necklace with the utmost respect, and is very fair in terms of pricing. GIA as Valeria mentioned also specializes in pearls (GIA first began as a pearl lab in NY), and their turnaround isn't at all bad- I know you can get a full report for most gemstones in about 2 weeks or so, and their prices are also very reasonable! At last, your mystery will be solved definitively!

Since you cannot just walk in and hand them over, I highly recommend using FedEx or UPS Delivery services, where you can track the progress of your package from pickup to delivery at the lab- they are very accountable and reliable!

Best wishes and Good Luck!! Keep us posted!

[Caitlin]

Those last two pictures, where the towel is white are probably the most reliable for color-at least in that light.

Don't be afraid to ship them (insured) via fed-ex or ups to either lab or to Sharon. All three have impeccable reputations.

She may also know if the clasp is genuine. knotty has commented on at least one other miki clasp that was a knock off and it explained it quite well.

Since she hasn't responded to this thread, perhaps you could PM her. She doesn't like to give people bad news about their pearls; so she'll say they are lovely etc., so you'll have to clearly say, you want her truthful opinion on whether the clasp is genuine.

[PearlPoor]

Thanks, Caitlin. I will try to contact her. Do you think the clasp could be fake?

Regarding the comment about a large drill hole: That sparked my memory . . . the second time I spoke to the jeweler about my missing pearls, I told him I cannot imagine him denigrading his personal and professional ethics by stealing some of my pearls.

He said, "some of them are actually not that valuable because the drill
holes are too large."

I didn't have a clue what he was talking about, so I just went on with my original thought that maybe the person he outsources his work lost them or took them. He told me he still does all the pearl work himself in the back of the store.

Can you actually see into the drill hole in the photo I sent? That's amazing. You guys really know your stuff. I still say Pearl-Guides senior pearl people should carry a CSI Pearl Team badge.

I'm pasting in some photos in my OPP (other peoples' pearls) webshots album
http://good-times.webshots.com/album/564141793muQgXg to get your feedback. You can see enlarged photos there, or view the slightly larger photos on a slide show.

What is the story of the black pearls on exhibit at Mikimoto Museum? Are they black pearls made in Japan before WWII?


I saw these pearls, on a reputable pearl site, advertised as: Rare Color Akoya


and this ring described as: black Akoya, rare color



These pearls look a lot like mine: Vintage 1959 Mikimoto 16 inch tapered silver pearl necklace - 5 to 8.9 mm


same vintage 1959 silver pearl necklace



Mikimoto 220216897156



These pearls are advertised as silver grey, 17.5 inches in length, 40 years old and from a

Japanese estate



grey strand with white strand - if I remember correctly, these are both Akoyas



blue-platinum South Sea and lavendar-blue freshwater RARE COLORS


The following is from an article about BLACK PEARLS in the Australian pearl website.

I thought it was interesting, because, I really haven't seen anything referring to Mikimoto that wasn't entirely positive until this about cultivation of Black pearls.

Post-war Industry in Okinawa

Mikimoto should be given credit for developing the market through their retail outlet in Japan and New York. Before the Tahitian black pearls appeared, Okinawa was the only source of black-lipped cultured pearls, and the production was about one one-thousandth of current production.

In 1951, there were nine companies in Okinawa that started experimenting to produce black pearls. However, all but one failed from technical problems and lack of funds.

The farm that survived was the Ryukyu Pearls Co., formerly the Mikimoto farm. Annual production was about 2,000 to 3,000 pieces, and from this production, the 50 to 100 excellent quality pieces were handled solely by Mikimoto and sold at only Mikimoto and Ryukyu Pearls.

Mikimoto in cooperation with Ryukyu Pearls cleverly introduced black pearls to the Japanese market as one of the most exclusive pearls: He used a seductive image of the “romantic” pearls from the southern island of Okinawa, and emphasised their scarcity: it took about three years to make one single strand.

These pearls were also displayed at a retail shop in New York. The protective attitude and price policy taken by Mikimoto became the base of the price structure of the black pearl, and when Tahitian black pearls were introduced to the Japanese market, consumers where ready to accept them.

Mikimoto monopolised the market for ten years, and then he handled Tahitian black pearls at the early stages. From 1975, the Tahitian black pearl gradually took over the market, and Tahiti now is the largest producing country.

I just keep wondering what Mikimoto's colored pearls looked like pre-war and just after the war. Here is a reference about Palau, which I am sure you are all familiar with:

Mikimoto started experimental pearl farming in Palau in 1920 using the local black lip oyster Pinctada margaritifera and later imported gold-lip pearl oyster P. maxima. Pearls were exported from Palau during the 1930s by four companies controlled mostly by the Japanese. At the outbreak of World War II pearl farms were abandoned.

Most likely, you have read this excerpt from a 194?? something issue of GIA's Loupe magazine, posted at:
http://www.gia.edu/loupeonline/34035...ive_detail.cfm

Blue Pearls Prove Cultured
No, we haven’t a string of blue pearls in the lab at G.I.A. But Marvin A. Finch who brought some back from Palau thought he had a cultured strand. He was right.

Given to him by a relative of Mikimoto, of the Mikimoto Experimental Station, they were brought to L.A. to determine if they were cultured and not imitation. Examination revealed they are cultured pearls.

Blue-black, Mother-of-pearl beads had been used as nuclei. Extreme transparency of the comparatively heavy coating of nacre produced gray pearls with a decided bluish tint. Clever, those oysters!

Are there actually these gray pearls (w/ bluish tint) in existence?
Have you seen any, or photos?

PearlPoor

[Mervione]

In my opinion natural coloured akoyas are often just that colour, gray with blueish hues.

[Caitlin]

Do you think the clasp could be fake?

I know Nothing about miki clasps, but at least one on this forum was a knockoff. I just think you need to rule that out. Try a web search on fake mikimots clasps or variations of that.

Do are really doing some homework! Good for you. It helps all of us.

[Raisondetre]

Tricky situation here, and I really do feel for you since that is a necklace of great sentimental value nothing can ever replace. But because of the lack of pre-restringing photographs or any documentation that identifies the pearls directly, is there any legal value in going through with all this? Obviously if you get it appraised you will know the true value and what you have lost, plus if you get it done again next time (learning to string/bead might be an idea) you minimize the risks of getting ripped off again. Even a Mikimoto store may not be able to tell you exactly what it was like before you got it restrung. We all love a good investigation here, but is it for closure, or can you actually recover the pearls? I would definitely want to get as much detail as possible for your benefit (and ours), but you also need to be realistic in the sense that you may never recover anything even if you did know what all this was about. I'm just worried that you are putting your hopes up for something that may never be.

Hi everyone,

I just can´t get over the stringer using such a thick thread. Surely not all of the pearls have such large drillholes that would make it necessary to use it? However, even if Raisondetre is correct about you perhaps being really upset once you know the thruth, I think you should send them to Sharon anyway. It is not about a sum you couldn´t afford and should it be that the pearls are fake (which I hope they are not, it would not quite hurt so much, having lost some during the restringing process). Let us know...

[pearlescence]

Have you yet discussed the problems with the original jeweller?

[Caitlin]

All the value of a miki strand lies entirely in the clasp, the box and the certificate. The clasp is the essential thing to ID mikis. Without it they are silver,blue gray pearls. A good appraiser or at least someone who knows miki clasps and knockoffs is needed to ensure the clasp is genuine.

Mikis are so overpriced, it is possible to buy nice akoyas and manufacture miki clasps, undersell miki's prices, and still make a big profit, so there are quite a few knockoffs out there- They pop-up at eBay regularly.

How interesting!

Not sure what cultured gray pearls with big holes (as per jeweler's description) might be worth, but a strand resulting from a unique pearl culture experiment in the early days of Mikimoto sounds intriguing indeed With the story attached, this couldn't possibly still be just any strand of gray pearls ... Hopefully it may still be possible to ID the strand (by the original clasp, most likely) and confirm it really is one of those early ones.

[PearlPoor]

Hi Pearl People,

You have given me much to think about. In terms of recovering the missing pearls, I know that I may never recover them, but I believe this jeweler and his wife & son jeweler partners (all GIA graduates) still have the pearls. In terms of winning litigation in court, without more evidence (still looking for photo of me wearing them), its probably not likely - - but, if the pearls were priceless . . . then . . . ??

This jeweler is a total "affection'ado" for pearls, which why he is so very adamant about doing "ALL OF THE PEARL WORK" himself . . .

even though his aging spine problems and arthritis in his hands caused him to have a person come in to do his jewelry repair work starting about 18 months ago (this story was published in the local newspaper and confirmed by the jeweler to me - and he said he completely trusts his help.)

My intuitive sense is that ordinarily he would not act unethically, and that he wouldn't take the pearls to convert to just money. It's just my gut feel about the old man. The son is new on the scene (about a 18 months), and my sense of him / his vibrations . . . is not very positive . I will say no more about that because he is not "here" to speak for himself.

My sense is that there is something very unusual about these pearls, and most especially the ones that are now gone from my necklace that would make a lifelong pearl lover go "out of bounds."

Also, when I brought the pearls in for restringing, it was super obvious that I knew LESS THAN ZERO about pearls and that I was either very trusting or very stupid (don't say it . . . probably both ).

As he was measuring the strand (the two pieces and several loose pearls) I told him they probably broke because many times I sleep with them on. As started telling me how to take care of my pearls, I said, Oh my gosh, I didn't know that. I have sprayed perfume on them many times and occasionally maybe even hairspray.

As he was examining them with his loupe (I didn't know what that eye piece thingy was called until recently), he told me that one pearl was missing and that these colors can never be replaced.

I guess I seemed oblivious about the significance of that because I didn't ask "why not?" and jabbered on about how I thought I missed one and, even though 6 months had gone by, I still might be able to find the pearl.

That's when he looked up and explained how he could move one pearl to the other side to make the necklace look more balanced. I gleefully and cluelessly said, "Öh, that would be wonderful."

That's when he asked me if I wanted him to change the clasp. I was a bit taken back, and said no, why in the world would I want to do that - that's a pretty little pearl on the clasp.

He didn't answer my question or tell me the clasp was Mikimoto and the significance of that. He quietly said he would also "refresh them" to which I responded with more gratitude.

I sense that his passion for pearls and probably inner distain (probably similar to how I feel about child molesters) for how I have taken care of these pearls is what motivated him.

Yes, I want to know the truth, no matter what. The truth is always best in the long run. I believe that everyone should live their lives seeking truth and enlightenment . Sometimes the most painful is when its about ourselves . . the process of peeling away layers like an onion skin (or pearl nacre ?)

Wow ! As I am writing this, I just got the connection and think I know who this person is who comes in to do jewelry repair work.

More later.
PearlPoor

P.S. I forgot to say . . . about the previous photos, if you see the white paper towel under the pearls exhibiting color hues, it's because that is a photo taken with short wave ultra violet light mixed with flourescent lighting.

If the paper towel is GOLD, that is where it is receiving mostly UV light i

If the paper towel is BLUE, that is when I used only flourescent and UV.

Other pictures are taken with natural daylight coming through the windows combined with incandescent and flourescent. [/color]

Hope that makes sense.

[PearlPoor]

Hi Pearl People & our CSI Pearl agents,

Just a quick note about something I want to share. If you already are familiar with . . . just ignore.

URL address:
http://celebrityndiamonds.com/pearls-in-the-40s/

21. January 2008, 17:19 Uhr Uncategorized admin
While Japan was at war, and for some years afterwards, production of cultured pearls was almost at a standstill.

In 1939, the industry was in full swing, and then cultivation was being carried on in at least eight localities in Japan, as well as in the island of Palao.

The farms employed about 2,500 workers over a period of six months, May to October. Round beads were drilled and strung on the small island of Toba, where 250 workers were em¬ployed. Of the 200 necklaces strung daily, only some 20 were exported in strung bunches of approximately the same qualities, the number of pearls and the weight in grains often being noted on each necklace.

The principal selling centers were Paris, London, Bombay, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Tokyo, and Kobe. But disturbances caused by the outbreak of war in 1939 gradually brought the industry to a standstill.

Further, tidal waves and other natural disasters added to the destruction of the oysters. But new equipment and materials have been brought to the breeding grounds, and the industry has been revived. Exports of pearls are, however, controlled, and most of the pearls are being sold to the U.S.A.

It was in March 1935 that the first experiment by which 3,000 white Banda shells, native oysters of New Guinea, were transplanted successfully to Palao.(does he mean Palau??)

Further shipments were then made, and the transplanted oysters were cultivated profitably. This has led to similar experiments being made from other areas.

The detection of cultured pearls is not always obvious, especially in the better qualities . . . (cultured pearls sometimes have small convex marks and small blackish spots on their surface).

The large nucleus, generally a mother-of-pearl bead, makes all the difference, and it is on this that scientific tests for detection are based.

An examination of the drill hole with a lens often reveals the dividing line between the skin and the bead nucleus. Although the cheap qualities possess nothing more than a thin film of nacre, which often splits and falls away from the mother-of-pearl like an egg shell, the better qualities have a nacre thickness of about one half to two and a half millimeters. These latter take about five years to produce, but the thickest skin does not necessarily produce the best pearl in appearance, as is often believed.The luster of cultured pearls is often somewhat greasy compared with the natural pearl.

Their (cultured pearls') specific gravity is generally slightly higher: 2.735 or 2.80,
compared with that of natural pearls: about 2.715,

as the mother-of-pearl nucleus is denser than the outer covering. A rough test, therefore, would be to place specimens in a solution of bromoform, the density of which should be lowered to 2.73 (No problemo here . . . I always do that to my bromoform).

If the pearls sink, they are probably cultured.

Although specific gravity tests help to distinguish between the different varieties of pearls, these tests cannot be conclusive since both natural and cultured pearls vary. To be more exact, the heavy liquids used in the laboratory should have densities varying from 2.70 to 2.76, and these may be prepared by adding mono-bromonaphthaline (density 1.5) to bromoform (density 2.9).

The pearls should not be kept in this mixture longer than necessary , and they should be rinsed in benzine or toluene after testing to avoid injury. This liquid should be handled with care as it is toxic.

Most natural pearls from the Persian Gulf have a specific gravity which falls between 2.68 and 2.74;

Australian pearls should give a figure of about 2.74, and

freshwater pearls a lower figure still.

On the other hand, some natural pearls give a reading of only 2.30.

The mother-of-pearl bead, which forms about sixty per cent by weight of the cultured pearl, has a specific gravity of 2.80 to 2.85, and the covering nacre 2.63 to 2.70. This nacre is, of course, rarely more than one millimeter in thickness.

The specific gravity of the cultured pearl will therefore fall generally between 2.74 and 2.78, appreciably higher than that of the natural pearl. But the fact that the specimen sinks or floats when tested with this liquid is not an infallible test of its origin.

The drill holes in genuine pearls are often no smaller than those in cultured pearls, nor are they always perfectly straight in either variety.

If any doubt exists regarding given specimens, an instrument known as the endoscope should be used. This is an improvement on the nacrescope, which was formerly in use, and a description of this instrument and the effects it shows will be found in a later chapter.

************************
I found this wonderful resource at
http://www.farlang.com/gemstones/pearls

and, share this page from Kunz' book:
www.farlang.com/gemstones/kunz_book_of_the_pearl/page_580/print_vie
Book of the Pearl (Kunz), Page 580

FAMOUS PEARLS AND COLLECTIONS
. . . . came from the Austrian crown jewel collection. None of them possessed much

[/b] quality with the exception of one, a large pear-shaped pearl which was set at the base of the necklace and weighed eighty-four grains. The drilling of this pearl was of a very old style, being of that type in which a tube is inserted in the drill hole, through which a gold wire passes to hold the pearl; a diamond is then set at the base of the tube to disguise the drill mark. It is, however, possible that the pearl came from the East Indies, where large drill holes are usual.

The pearls were sent in bond to the United States as a collection, and then to Europe, where they were sold separately, the pear-shaped pearl appearing again in the New York market in 1906. There has been some doubt as to these really being Carlotta's pearls, but the Mexican account is fairly consistent, and it satisfactorily disposes of the newspaper romance in which it was claimed that Carlotta had taken these pearls with her to Europe and that they had been buried in a casket in the Adriatic Sea.

***********************
More . . .
http://www.pearls.co.uk/what2look4.htm

C. The difference between Natural and Cultured pearls:

Natural pearls to the naked eye can look very similar to cultured pearls. The best way to find out whether pearls are cultured or natural is to discover by x-ray if there is a mother of pearl bead at the centre of the pearl. To the naked eye there are a few further signs to look out for:

Natural pearls have smaller drill holes, usually 0.04mm, as natural pearls are valued not only by colour, amount of lustre, purity of skin and perfection of shape, but also by their weight. Naturally, farmers keep as much of the original weight on the pearl as possible. Cultured pearls normally have a drill hole diameter of 0.06mm for ease of stringing.

If the drill hole is unusually large it could also mean that this pearl is natural, particularly if on inspection the interior of the pearl looks increasingly dark.

A natural pearl strand will usually have variations in size, shape and overtones as due to the

*********************
Sorry about the colored text thing . . .

Pearl Poor

p.s. Don't shoot the messenger, but here is something else I read:

http://www.reachouthyderabad.com/hyderabadi2.htm

The Simple natural pearl test:
To find out whether pearls are natural, simple dip them in hot water .
Natural pearls retain their colour while cultured pearls tend to fade .

[pearlescence]

Do the last two paragraphs copied from the final website contradict themselves on the drill hole size of natural pearls?

PearlPoor,

Goodness! I hope no one will try any of those testing methods. It could cause permanent damage!!

You have certainly unearthed some interesting info, however!

Pattye
so many pearls, so little time

[PearlPoor]

Yes, Pearlescence,
They do seem to contradict themselves . . . except maybe that the last paragraph uses the term "unusually" large. I'm not sure what that means. Did you read this excerpt from Kunz' book?

drilling of this pearl was of a very old style, being of that type in which a tube is inserted in the drill hole, through which a gold wire passes to hold the pearl; a diamond is then set at the base of the tube to disguise the drill mark. It is, however, possible that the pearl came from the East Indies, where large drill holes are usual.

I don't know anything about this, but might try to check it out.

I went back to the website where I found the statements that seem to contradict each other

http://www.pearls.co.uk/cdpf6.htm - WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN PEARLS and explored. I guess this guy is pretty well known and acknowledged . . .

I think his pearls and pearl designs are stunning - tons of incredible photos.

I think all pearl lovers will totally enjoy this website. It's a bit difficult to navigate at first, so I'm pasting in the best pages.

http://www.pearls.co.uk/cdpf9.htm - OUR HISTORY


http://www.pearls.co.uk/cdpf14.htm - COLLECTIONS


http://www.pearls.co.uk/cdpf13.htm - THE RANGES


http://www.pearls.co.uk/cdpf15.htm - THE PRESS


http://www.pearls.co.uk/cdpf12.htm - WHAT'S NEW


Enjoy !
Pearl Poor