[Valeria101]

Hm... I see what you mean (I think), Caitlin, but the practice of 'rattling' them pearls was not about size, but quality.

Without this thread I wouldn´t have though of the matter in time. It so happens I am at a conference now in San Sebastian¨(awesome place, btw ). I'll try to get some answer about this bit of local pearl 'folklore' from the source, although this doesn't look like much of a fine jewelry hub, at first glance.

[Caitlin]

HI Ana
Please do.

I think bead nuked pearls still rattle quite nicely, because the bead is not glass or plastic, but is very similar to a solid nacre sound. Majorica pearls or other faux pearls don't sound the same, so let us know why they think they are doing it.

BTW Amazon is selling the Splendor of Iridescence for $2.99 or so, so if postage isn't horrific, it might be fun to have. The author, Hilda Simon, also did the illustrations by hand instead of using photos. It is from 1971.

It is loaded with little illustrations of the cellular structure of iridescence in various bird feathers, butterfly wings, soap bubbles and other such pictures and how they defract light.

[Valeria101]

Originally Posted by Caitlin Williams

HI Ana
Please do.

I think bead nuked pearls still rattle quite nicely, because the bead is not glass or plastic, but is very similar to a solid nacre sound. Majorica pearls or other faux pearls don't sound the same, so let us know why they think they are doing it.

So I did... in three shops that came handy. Two sellers stared at me rather obliquely, the third was just starting to make a face when a much older colleague caught the talk from the back of the shop and came up with a story: his father used to do this! And this is coming from a guy in his 70's... Either the times are moving way faster in the North (the economy has, for sure) or I was really lucky the first time around to witness a dying habit. Anyway the explanation came that the gesture was meant to discern real pearls from fake (as you say, Caitlin) by mass, roundness (by the flow of the pearls) and nacre smoothness by specifically moving pearl on pearl slowly, with a bit of preassure. The last stage was meant - the fellow said - to guess whether the pearls may have been 'waxed' (probably he meant coated or such), whether they were polished or - lo and behold - summer or winter harvest Aparently, the noise made by the pearls is/was never meant to mean anything. He admited that he does not know to judge pearls that way - only heard the story. The first time I saw this done yars ago (and didn´t know to ask anything smart), the jeweler only mentioned the noise - 'listen to the pearls!' - which may well mean that he did´'t know as much or didn't think twice to waste one more word on me... or both.

Now, I must say that the walk through nicer jewelry shops here was a real treat, with some nice examples of cultured pearls on sight. Out of the blurr of mostly storm colored rounds: a rope of 10-15mm mixed color Tahitian semi-round and high buttons, 13mm lead-gray round in a choker, lots of black earrings, rings and what not. Very few whites looking out of context in slightly dated evening settings among the majority of trendy day and office wares... a few goldens in high esteem and a stupendous long rope of pinkish white to dark creme keshi - the largest as big as my thumb (was that a mix of frehwater and south sea? )... you get the picture. No other pearls that I could see. But again, this is one of those surreal places with no notion of luxury since most things in sight are just that anyway, by default.

That's the story I've got, at least.

[smetzler]

Originally Posted by Valeria101

now in San Sebastian

Spend a lot of time in Spain as it's our primary source (wine) over the past 25 years. Recent business trips have added pearl gazing to the itinerary…

My wife and her mother arrive on a flight from Madrid this evening. My mother in law is a lifelong pearl lover who just celebrated 88 glorious years. I'll be asking her a few questions over the coming weeks (BTW she loves the strand of untreated freshwater baroques from Pearl Paradise she received for her B'day!).

Steve
Seattle