[smetzler]

While in Spain recently a local hotel was sponsoring an art exhibit and we purchased a 'sculpture' consisting of a natural root formation in which a loose round ball of the same wood was intricately—and naturally—entrapped. This was referred to by the artist as a 'pearl.' Subsequently searching 'tree pearls' on the internet one enters the murky world of shamanism and talismen, touting 'pearls' of all varieties, including every conceivable animal (dragon among them) and plant. The animal pearls (human, rat, frog, etc) would certainly qualify on this forum as calcareous concretions. However, viewing photos I was especially struck by the beauty of a number of tree pearls (notably Kusomo, Banana, Wild Orchid flower), but most particularly the mystical Nagasari of Java/East Indonesia.

For pure curiosity I purchased the Nagasari drop 'pearl' in the lower left of the photo below, and upon arrival today it has exceeded expectations. I might even say it is of 'gem quality.'

Seller description:

Tear-drop shaped, red in color; opaque; at its greatest width—1.56 cm; length: 1.89 cm; tumbled/polished; weight: 5.8 grams/29 carats.

We fully intend to make a gold pendant out of this!

Will be interesting to see if this thread has any legs…

Steve
Seattle

PS Sorry, no pictures of the tree root sculpture, which was left in storage in Europe.

[Valeria101]

Legs? It would take a gazillion Google searches for follow up - each with fairly scary results I might add. Like THIS.

What are the red things? Polished exotic wood?

It isn't hard to imagine a time when the mainstream pearls were just part of a class of mystical objects... Haven't thought to trace the whereabouts of others, but said research exercise definitely makes sense to me.

[smetzler]

Yes, that UK site is pretty scary, perhaps a clandestine research department of Hogwarts?

The Javanese source, specialized in talismen from the Indonesian archipelago, is quite credible and apparently makes use of a collection amassed over a number of years by local 'seers'. There is quite a bit of linking to technical and anecdotal background, although nothing on the Nagasari Tree Pearls. In preparation for Valeria101's query I did request more information following receipt of the 'pearl' regarding specific origin/makeup:

"We believe that the development of this particular Nagasari pearl is similar to that of amber--resin of the tree crystallizes and ossifies to form "pearls." Other tree pearl types, we are informed, are developed in the rotten parts of tree trunks. It may form when the tree trunk is attacked with some disease. For some reason, certain parts of the rotten trunk may harden and fossilize transforming into tree pearls."

The pearls in the photo are tumbled/polished but shape, color and flame pattern (dare we say chatoyance?) are natural.

Steve
Seattle

[smetzler]

Just to add a link to Indonesia for the curious (also just added the link to the 'Coconut Pearls' thread).

http://www.bezoarmustikapearls.com

The service and followup has been very professional, this is a good source.

Steve
Seattle

[Valeria101]

Hm... didn't go to Hogwarts, but would venture to say that proving something wrong is frequently at least as difficult as proving something right, so it is rewarding to select your hypothesis carefully. So much for milipede pearls (that look very much like the picture you have posted, btw.)?

'Naugh with that bit.


On a practical note, the woodgrain texture & (normal) pearls look particularly great together... to me. A couple of designers more or less high end or extravagant actually use this combination, just enough to prove I'm not mad Proteinaceous coral and some jaspers have the look w/o the 'edge' of a non-traditional jewelry material. The look of your red marbles even more! 'Bet they'd be double happy as the 'soul bead' on a rope. Just a thought...

[smetzler]

Let's take a look at the full range of possibilities for millepedes: http://www.bezoarmustikapearls.com/millipede.html. I don't think they polish up nearly as well as the Nagasaris .

No doubt there is a high degree of fantasy here, but also with a liklihood that some wheat exists among the chaff. Surely this forum is well familiar by now with my preference to go 'off the beaten path' but beauty remains first and foremost in mind (no interest in the coconut pearls, for example).

I do agree that the Nagasari tree pearl wood grain, whatever the scientific origin, may well complement nacreous pearl jewelry—in particular the naturals, with their more organic appeal.

Steve
Seattle

[jshepherd]

Very interesting, and beautiful... Do they feel like stone? You can see a type of flame pattern running through them.
One in a trillion...

[smetzler]

Jeremy,

(Rainy Saturday here in Seattle!)

Thanks for your good question, to the grain. Someone here may be able to calculate specific gravity/mass from the dimensions (width—1.56 cm; length: 1.89 cm; weight: 5.8 grams/29 carats). But yes, it feels like a stone in terms of weight and momentum (lucky I didn't just throw it across the street!). Also it sounds like stone when knocking it against our staircase. Cool to the touch. Minor imperfections post-polishing indicate that it is not glass.

Both my wife and I are happy with the piece, feel a bit serendipitous (I was actually chagrined following my purchase, wondering what I had just done), and intend to take full advantage of its purported talisman properties as well…

Steve
Seattle

[pattye]

Thanks for sharing all that information, Steve--gorgeous item--I checked out that website, fascinating--for a second I felt like I fell down the "rabbit hole""----to a strange wonderland--
Pattye

[smetzler]

That's the spirit! I've been in 'wonderland' since my wife noticed a poe pipi ring among the blacks in Rarotonga last Summer, catching my eye as well. While this forum logically embraces commercial realities (13mm matched SS strands), I am here, and I assume many others as well, for the friendly and inclusive manner in which it is administrated.

Steve
Seattle

[smetzler]

Upon advice to Indonesia of this thread, we have received this response:

"We have just visited the forum--we thank-you for the exposure. These strange 'pearls' should be brought to the attention of the mainstream pearl community. Gemologists in their labs in Thailand have been scratching their heads over them."


Steve
Seattle

[Caitlin]

Hi
I spent hours at the sites that came up when I googled tree pearls, dragon pearls and elephant pearls. Frankly, I was surprised at how low the prices are for some of the items. They are so rare that there aren't even any in museums, yet several kinds of these pearls sell for 100 pounds and even less on these sites.

The armchair anthropologist in me wants to say that in general, shamanic items are best given and received by non-commercial means. When a business is based on profits from this kind of extremely rare item, I would guess that most of them are manufactured and/or crafted for the very narrow demographic they address. While I think they are all animal, vegetable or mineral in origin, they have been processed and transformed by human hands in almost every case.

Thus, I dare say most of them are faux pearls and therefore their authenticity is not totally based on their factual nature but on their truthiness to the user in the context in which they are received and used.

In this context, our faux, faux, Lop Noors are standouts. They are large, red pearls and if they are not actually from dragons, they are certainly for them. Unlike any other pearls, red pearls can be faux, or faux faux, and even faux, faux, faux, but they are still dragon pearls- if you know what I mean.

BTW Integrity pearls is selling pearls very like the below here. They had some more 12mm just like below somewhere too. Maybe they are all gone.

[smetzler]

Dear Caitlin,

Note the punctuation at the end of my thread title—this was begging your scrutiny…

Nonetheless, I found $180 to be quite a stiff price to pay at the time, and the lack of mainstream visibility easily explains lower demand and pricing in comparison with similarly rare items. To the purveyor's credit, when I purchased the polished Nagasari it was announced on his site as 'only one remaining', and the item is now listed as 'sold' with no replacements in sight.

The coconut pearls on offer by the same purveyor seem to neatly wrap up the popular Pearl-Guide forum thread under that title as well, with credible graphics and background detail.

Let's keep the dream alive—even if this thread should fade gracefully into the Hall of Infamy!

Steve
Seattle

[Valeria101]

Originally Posted by smetzler

Let's keep the dream alive—even if this thread should fade gracefully into the Hall of Infamy!

Dream of caterpillars!? Thanks, but no thanks... Good By Thread!

Wouldn't want some anthropologist to mess with pearls. Or any other branch of myth busters Would you?

[smetzler]

Of course, nausea is not an uncommon phenomenon upon viewing live oysters… *

¡Truce!

Steve
Seattle

* No defense intended for caterpillars—were but if I had known where my use of the word 'legs' in Post #1 was taking us!