[knotty panda]

What a great thread, Salem!

A necklace of Tahitians -- hand-selected by Josh.
And strand of Sea of Cortez.
A natural shipwreck pearl pendant.
A necklace of round abalone set in white gold.
And this snow rose. This is in Key West, too. I wonder if its in the same place Steve found his gorgeous conch.
Oh! And a Galatea anything!

[smetzler]

Originally Posted by knotty panda

And this snow rose. I wonder if its in the same place Steve found his gorgeous conch.

I believe I mentioned it was while on business in Nassau (Bahamas). And to be clear, it remains the property of someone else!

Snow rose? The concept is clear, but my attempt to find background only came up with:

[Pearlgully]

Originally Posted by smetzler

How big is it? Attached were the loose pearls in our necklace 'Poe Io Mata Nui', for which a pretty special 14mm SS drop was chosen as the centerpiece, 'destroying' the otherwise natural-pearl theme. Wouldn't mind if the center pearl were slightly smaller as it so totally dominates the necklace.Steve

How about a SS keshi pearl........white, cream, or golden.


Gail

[smetzler]

Originally Posted by Pearlgully

How about a SS keshi pearl........white, cream, or golden,

Agree re all-nacre, although the point would be to increase value/appeal/rarity of the necklace. Perhaps the keshi below from Dr. Stern would qualify (Caitlin's post from the Dr. Stern thread)

Originally Posted by Caitlin Williams

This one may be the world's largest keshi, though I already forget how large it is. It is about the size of a walnut. yes, it is a keshi. Tom said it probably grew 20 years to get that large.

[knotty panda]

Yes, I did realize you only considered it. But as you presented it to the forum, I attribute it to you.

Snow rose: this particular conch displays a rare effect like a star sapphire or star ruby. In a conch, the seller called the effect a snow rose. I love the name.

[smetzler]

Originally Posted by knotty panda

Snow rose: this particular conch displays a rare effect like a star sapphire or star ruby. In a conch, the seller called the effect a snow rose. I love the name.

Thanks, totally beautiful name and ring.

[GemGeek]

Originally Posted by Kevin Canning

lop noors anybody?

If Lop Noors were real, we'd all want some!!!

[silverseajewelry]

Here's the rest of my list, which shows that I don't have any chance of getting over my "pearl problem."

1. (previous) Diamond rondelles between strand of Sea of Cortez.

2. Flawless 10mm round tahitians in green peacock.

3. *natural* colored coppery brown tahitian strand, perhaps with green overtones (I have a ring like this, but can't find a strand or bracelet.)

4. Huge white SS pearl choker (think Wilma Flintstone).

5. Very blue and very green tahitians mixed with emerald and sapphire links...drop shaped. With a big diamond or emerald enhancer.

6. The finest strand of round freshwaters available with intense orient (perhaps Freshadama?).

7. A HUGE lot of tahitians in all available colors and sizes and even grades on my workbench so that I can design whatever strange and unusual piece crosses my mind at the time.

[Slraep]

I must say that as long as I can remember, I've had a terrible materialistic hankering for this item---the Thurn diadem. It's not too big, not too small, just the right size for wearing to friends' tea and crumpet parties. I think I could even get away with wearing it with a pair of jeans. Or sitting in a deluxe beach chair on deserted Surfside Beach in PEI, reading a book, looking out at the sea, and sipping some fresh celery-apple juice. Maybe even playing a game of golf(I hate golf, but I'll play if I can wear the diadem)at the posh Rodd Crowbush Resort next door. Oh, Oh wait. I forgot, I could wear it around the house on bad hair days---would cheer up the(almost daily)Fed-Ex and UPS delivery guys coming to my door. See, very versatile!

[Caitlin]

Hi Slreap
Maybe we can start a trend in crowns or whatever those are called. I really think wearing such an item would change our consciousness and the wand that comes with it ---well, using it would reverse pollution trends.

Steve

Maybe we can explore that group purchase!

The pearl I have in mind is probably about 5-7 carats. Tom was offered $16,000 for one of the finest pearls in that lot ( My wild guess is that it is about 30 carats.). He turned it down because the GIA certification was for the entire lot.

[smetzler]

Originally Posted by Caitlin Williams

Steve
The pearl I have in mind is probably about 5-7 carats. Tom was offered $16,000,000 for one of the finest pearls in that lot ( My wild guess is that it is about 30 carats.). He turned it down because the GIA certification was for the entire lot.

That's a bit more than an oil well (I might have a pearl or two to show the same gentleman, by the way…). It's good to keep these pearls in perspective—I wonder what La Peregrina is worth these days?

[smetzler]

Originally Posted by Caitlin Williams

He turned it down because the GIA certification was for the entire lot.

And he wouldn't spend $75 for a new certificate?

[Perle]

That's what I was wondering. I mean, a price like that at auction would more than double the world auction record for natural pearls, right? Seems strange he wouldn't simply recertify the rest . . . .

Perle

[Caitlin]

Sorry
It must have been $16,000. Duh!!! I'll change it above. ( I suppose I will just have to live with the embarrassment of you quoting me) I am remembering parts of conversations and did not take notes, so I am likely to get more things wrong.

Apparently, he sent so many pearls so get certified, they were joking that he was clogging things up- and indeed- he said it took a long time to get his pearls back. I think groups of them were certified in lots. And he has many more pearls to send and maybe just he was not looking forward to repeating the process with the same pearls before the others are even done. That was what I got out of the conversation and body language, anyway.

As I said earlier, he is selling some keshi to favored friends, but intends to hold off selling any of the pearls for the time being. He was just indicating to me what someone offered. He is new to the trade of pearls and the certifications and appraisals are part of a process which is now unfolding. Pearl-Guide just happened to get in on the story before it is done, because he posted here. Several of the biggest names in pearls were at his booth this year and I predict he will make it into the AGTA show next year, if that is what he chooses to do.

In any case, do not expect bargains for any of these pearls. He is learning pearls so he can do the best by his adopted Borneo family and their constituents. No peasants selling to the big city pearl shark -ER- dealer, here. (shades of Steinbeck and Scott O'Dell)

In fact, I encourage P-G members to google him and post questions in his thread. and follow his links. The link to the sultanate of north Borneo (called Sabah) is very interesting. This part of Borneo island is looking at Palawan in the Philippines and seems far far the capitol of Malaysia- the ruling country.

[smetzler]

Originally Posted by Caitlin Williams

It must have been $16,000…I'll change it above.

Apparently, he sent so many pearls so get certified, they were joking that he was clogging things up- and indeed- he said it took a long time to get his pearls back.

Everyone makes mistakes, so this will give all of us one or two more in the bank…

In any case, this certification business is a bit overdone. My advice to Dr. Stern, as a businessman, would be to offer 'conditioned upon natural certification' and certify them one at a time with money already in hand, if even necessary. And should he sell to Bahrain, they XRay everything anyway (and crush to smithereens all imposters).