[Slraep]

Yes, that's right, a crab pearl! Read all about it...

http://thefacts.com/story.lasso?ewcd=ad465bf747b0148f

Slraep

[Valeria101]

Isn't it strange that no exhaustive record of pearl producing species has been attempted?

[smetzler]

I'll bet some folks are on pins and needles wondering if I'll use this opportunity to bring up the bezoar/mustik pearl threads under 'Other.'

Well, I won't.

Steve

[Valeria101]

Not me... I was hoping those would not be mentioned, or at least not before there is some proof that reeds, snakes and clouds produce objects that are accepted as 'pearls' in common applications.

[Slraep]

Originally Posted by Valeria101

Not me... I was hoping those would not be mentioned.......

Oh come on Ana, this thread could be so much fun. I can't get enough of bezoars. They are so peculiar.

Steve, I can't believe you won't do it.

Slraep

[Kevin Canning]

natural pearls are formed in the wild when a tiny grain of sand

any article with that statement needs to be taken with a grain of sand ... oops I mean salt.


Although they did have an expert look at the pearl who runs a jewelry shop, those guys always know exactly what they are talking about

[jshepherd]

How is it two separate "gemologists" who have no education in pearls get so much press in a single week.

We have the jeweler who created a Matlinesque hubbub over a near-worthless quahog found in a plate of steamed clams with a $25,000 valuation, and now a gemologist (who clearly never took a 'pearls' course) telling this poor lady that somehow a stone crab really did produce a pearl in its claw.

A pearl in a crab? What is it, a nacreous pearl or a non-nacreous calcareous concreation?! WAIT! It cannot be either! That only happens in mollusks and gastropods. What other kind of pearl is there? Wait! There is no other kind of pearl. So if it is neither of those, how can it be a pearl?!

I think someone needs to contact Elisabeth Strack because a rewrite of 'Pearls' is in order! Pearls from crustaceans! Who would have thought?

I actually think the editors that publish these stories are just as much to blame. It would only take one telephone call or email to a real pearl expert to tell them that the purple pearl had little to no value, and a crab pearl does not exist. I mean even milk has calcium. I guess cows should be able to produce pearls too!

I like the lady's story about someone losing a pearl and a crab eatting it. That is pretty funny actually. Ever seen a crab open his mouth that wide? That still is not as crazy as a stone crab pearl.

Allen Green, with Green Jewelers in Bay City, you were kidding, right? If you read this forum or find this thread would you chime in?

[Slraep]

Originally Posted by jshepherd

I like the lady's story about someone losing a pearl and a crab eatting it. That is pretty funny actually. Ever seen a crab open his mouth that wide? That still is not as crazy as a stone crab pearl.

It's a chitin pearl, of course! A little overgrown lump of chitin. How attractive. Blehh.

I think that in order to really, really explain it properly, we would need the input(okay, imagination) of a certain long time member who suddenly disappeared from the forum one day just about a year ago who's name starts with Z.

Here is a good tonic to to take when one reads about silly gemmologists spreading disinformation or just reading news stories about bezoars in general. It's a recipe whipped up by the famous Nicholas Culpeper in 1653, and oddy it requires pearls, crabs and bezoars:

"Take of Pearls prepared, Crab's eyes, red Coral, white Amber Hart's-horn, oriental Bezoar, of each half an ounce, powder of the black tops of Crab's claws, the weight of them all, beat them into powder, which may be made into balls with jelly, and the skins which our vipers have cast off, warily dried and kept for use". Culpeper remarks that "four, or five, or six grains is excellently good in a fever to be taken in any cordial, for it cheers the heart and vital spirits exceedingly, and makes them impregnable".

Slraep

[Slraep]

Originally Posted by jshepherd

We have the jeweler who created a Matlinesque hubbub over a near-worthless quahog found in a plate of steamed clams with a $25,000 valuation, and now a gemologist (who clearly never took a 'pearls' course) telling this poor lady that somehow a stone crab really did produce a pearl in its claw.

Boy, Matlins sure has revised that $25,000 USD evaluation she gave!! Went down substantially.

Newest(today's) evaluation here:

http://www.timesargus.com/apps/pbcs....34/1003/NEWS02

Slraep

[smetzler]

Originally Posted by Slraep

Steve, I can't believe you won't do it.

There, I did it.

Admittedly, this is a freshwater crab pearl. Saltwater wins again…

Steve

[Slraep]

Originally Posted by smetzler

There, I did it.

Steve

Steve, I knew you could do it!

Slraep

[GemGeek]

I mean even milk has calcium. I guess cows should be able to produce pearls too!

The divine from the bovine...I'd love to see a Cow Pearl!

[Slraep]

Originally Posted by GemGeek

The divine from the bovine...I'd love to see a Cow Pearl!

Hi GemGeek,

Calculus bovis divina---it's an ingredient in Chinese medicine. Commonly known as cow gallstones. Triple Blehhhck.

Slraep

[GemGeek]

Originally Posted by Slraep

Hi GemGeek,

Calculus bovis divina---it's an ingredient in Chinese medicine. Commonly known as cow gallstones. Triple Blehhhck.

Slraep

Blehhhck is right!

[CEO]

Originally Posted by Slraep

It's a chitin pearl, of course! A little overgrown lump of chitin. How attractive. Blehh.

Lawd I had to adjust my glasses because I thought you said chitlin. I know pigs don't make pearls.

Carry on....