What natural colours can you get in the larger (10mm+) freshwater pearls.
Not black not yet but what about silver, gold, blue or grey?

The peach pink and lavender are nice but are there any other more exiting colours?

Susan

I think I've attached a photo of my konks. If yes can you tell me which are dyed and which are natural.

Susan,

Can you try attaching your pictures again? No attachement was posted.

The natural colors of freshwater pearls available commercially are peach, lavender, cream, and white (white is usually bleached).

The peach and lavender pearls may have different color intensities. Some strong colored lavenders may appear greyish.

Some pearls may have strong overtones such as silver, green, or rosé. A white FW pearl with a strong green overtone may appear as light green in color and the one with rosé overtone may appear pink.

File was too big to attach but I think you have answered my questions for me. Thank you.

Hi Susan,

I only found this thread just now. There are some hyriopsis cumingii cultured pearls that are of very intense colors including deep violet and black cherry that are as dark as any Tahitian can aspire to be. They also come in large sizes. However, these colors are quite rare and you cannot expect them to be matched as well in a strand as the more common colors and they do command very high prices. Typically collectors hire local pearl hunters that in turn put out a notice at all pearl farms they know of that they are looking for this type of pearl and they never make it onto the open market. Since this also used to be the case of gem-quality freshwater pearls like the freshadama, maybe Jeremy can make them available for cheap soon.

Zeide

deep violet and black cherry that are as dark as any Tahitian can aspire to be

Oooooh

maybe Jeremy can make them available for cheap soon.

and do you think - really?

While I have you for a minute Zeide how big can freshwater baroque/potato pearls get?

Susan

Hi Susan,

The current record is 21mm for a round by a Chenghai venture that uses a hyriopsis cumingii/schlegeli hybrid and bead nucleation. The largest round I own is somewhat over 15mm and I have quite a few substantial baroques. Although I recognize that many prefer the rounds (especially husbands and jewelers) my darlings are the baroques for their primeval look.

Zeide

That was quick Zeide

21mm - blimey. What is the largest without the bead nucleus?


Susan

Hi Susan,

It is really tricky to give measurements of baroques. Assuming that you mean baroques that are whole and otherwise unblemished the largest one I have ever seen was a lopsided dropsy thingy of 58mm length and 32mm width. It had about 5 different body colors and somewhat more overtones. It would have made a perfect pendant for a pied piper and could have given the Hope pearl a good run for the money.

Zeide

Hi Suan,

Here is a good example of why it is so hard to realistically measure baroques. It is also a good example for a truly weird natural color in freshwater pearls. How would you measure these?

Zeide

Hi Susan,

I just noticed I forgot to post a picture of naturally black cultured freshwater pearls from sinanodonta woodiana. The color looks very dark and not a single jeweler yet has thought them to be anything other than Tahitians which they are clearly not. They are solid nacre, too. The cultured pearls shown are 9-10mm not including the half pearl in the clasp.

Zeide

Hi Zeide
Those black pearls are truly gorgeous. We really should put all the photo's of your lovely treasures in folder somewhere, properly labeled, for reference.
See this shows my ignorance. I thought of baroque as those white Flintstones pearls of yours. Clearly I was way off the mark. I still have lots of difficulty deciding what is nugget what is off round and what is potato. So I suppose I had no chance with baroque now did I?

Next stupid questions are those blue baroques a natural colour? Well somebody has to ask all the truly stupid questions, might as well be me. I am stupid you say quite clearly they are natural.

Susan

Originally Posted by Zeide Erskine

Hi Susan,

...I have quite a few substantial baroques. Although I recognize that many prefer the rounds (especially husbands and jewelers) my darlings are the baroques for their primeval look.

Zeide

You mean baroque of some dark plum color!? ('deep violet' and 'black cherry' you wrote) You make me cry, Zeide!

Hi Susan,

I call the dark blue ones my bat pearls. I once got a small bag full of them from a pearl farmer who wanted to know what happend to the prim white crosses he was trying to culture and got night blue vampire wings instead. I love the irony in these. The blue color is due to porphyria (think Mad King George). Although it is not exactly a common affliction among mussels, when it occurs in a narrow gene pool you can get quite a few.

And to you Valeria,

My black cherry pearls are 10x11mm and between barrel and potato shape with a few near rounds at the clasp. As I find more and better ones I will replace them piece for piece. If you want on my waiting list for doubles, just say so. It's going to be a long wait, though. My violet strand is composed of near round pearls and about 10mm average. I have some dropsy baroques with plenty cerclé but they have very strong orient so that the body color does not show as clearly in real life.

Zeide

[purepearls]

Actually, her blue pearls look like large keshi pearls, not baroque pearls. They would technically be considered baroque because the shape is freeform and not round but we do not label them baroque because keshi pearls are baroque.

Hi Amanda,

They are baroque in as much as the originally intended cultured pearls were tissue-activated crosses (in white). Only the mussels had a different idea of what they wanted their pearls to look like. A keshi would form spontaneously, these did not.

Zeide