[belize]

Attached is a photo of what we think might be a conch pearl. It was entrusted to my friend while he was visiting Cocobila, on the Mosquito Coast of Honduras. The woman who gave it to him to sell inherited it from her grandfather - a boat captain who still dives for conch and lobster off the coast. The woman says that a Japanese conch pearl buyer offered her money but she refused his offer - saying it wasn’t enough. My friend showed it to a man here in Belize who buys conch pearls and was told it wasn’t one. What do you think?

[Zeide Erskine]

Hi,

This could as well be from a red tridacna maxima or murex trunculus. There are also conch pearls that look somewhat like that. Since I do not have a close up shot to look at, I would not rule out the possibility that it may be a porcelain bead.

Zeide

[belize]

Thank you for your response.
Any suggestions on how to take a better close up picture?

[jshepherd]

Try holding the camera closer If you have a macro setting you should be able to get very close.

[Kevin Canning]

Also I would suggest not holding the pearl in your hand as any movement will blur detail in the picture, just place it on a piece of white paper.

You can also try the Kevin Canning method of photography, which works on a 100:1 scale - simply put if you take 100 pictures, 1 of them is bound to turn out good.

On a side note, I'm curious how common are conch pearls are in Belize? I know conch is a staple of the Belizean diet, so there must be a few pearls pulled out each year - if so are they usually sold or are they kept by the locals?

[belize]

see if these are any better. as close as we can get.

yes, conch pearls do, occasionally surface here in Belize. The "old timers" (45+) remember playing marbles with them.

we appreciate all your help and advice
thanks

[Zeide Erskine]

I'd say 60% chance of it being murex trunculus (purple snail), 40% tridacna maxima, and 0% porcelain bead just from the looks of it. Either one would be rarer and more desirable than a conch pearl.

Zeide

[belize]

wow, that's fascinating.
my friend tells me there are both murex trunculus and red tridacna maxima in the area where the conch pearl divers are. (we googled pictures on the web)

what do you suggest we do next to try to find out more about it? I don't mean to be out of order by asking inappropriate questions, we just need advice from experts like you.

we really do appreciate this.

[Zeide Erskine]

Hi,

Try to find some people that also have some and compare. The market has to decide what it is going to be worth, though.

Zeide

[sokeke]

I have lived in belize for pretty long and buy and sell pearl. Sometimes pearls from older conch shells come out with patches of white and red. At times you may even find patches of white dustry streaks or crack lines. But the redness of this one makes it a little different.

In the pearl market around here, once it is not conch pearl, no one is really interested in buying somethink for which they may have to work extra hard to find a market for. But if you want, when you are in Belize, you could let me help take a look at it for you.

I hope this site will let me post my personal infor. And if anyone needs information on Belize from this site, be free to contact me.

Stephen Okeke
www.walkingstickarts.com
sokeke1@yahoo.com

[Caitlin]

Hi Stephen
Welcome to the forum. You bring a perspective from Belize that we haven't had. Can you put up more photos of other conch pearls?

You may put your info under your signature. Please put a link for Pearl-Guide on your .com to get full activation of your link here.

[barbie biggs]

Can anyone tell me why a murex pearl or tridacna pearl would be more desirable than a conch pearl? I adore conch pearls. The colors are so great!
barbie

[Caitlin]

I, for one, don't think they are. Conch and Melo Melo are da bomb.