[knotty panda]

Well, I applauded in the middle of the show, but I'm going to do it again! You take wonderful photos. Tub of pearls! LOL. I could do a bubble bath in that. You showed us some rare treats. I love that palm-sized pearl. Excellent shot showing it's size. Very cool, very playful, your excitement shows all around. I'm just tickled for you. Thank you.

[Sueki]

Oh Blaire,
Thank you so much for these diaries - a fantastic read, and beautiful photos.
I'm so grateful to you for sharing.
Fascinating info. that I will re-read many, many times.
And those baroques, oh, wow ! I swear I can see that elusive "water" I keep reading about....

[Valeria101]

You could as well call this thread 'orient and water debunked', as it cntans such wonderful examples...

Thank you!

[GemGeek]

Thanks everyone! Those last pictures are from their specials. A lot of them are the kind of pearls the average person wouldn't see in a lifetime. At first I thought the pictures were boring, but after cropping, they got much better.

The pictures with the towel in the background are from the unpolished pearls on the boat. We thought the snowmen were cute!

[Caitlin]

No doubt about it, this is a contender for "the Pearlizter Prize" of pearly journalism!

[Valeria101]

Originally Posted by GemGeek

Those last pictures are from their specials. A lot of them are the kind of pearls the average person wouldn't see in a lifetime.

... and if someone did see them, would never forget! Speaing of those pebbly silver baroque pearls for earrings.

Just noticed your comment about the keshi and CIBJO: how would those differ from the definition ? Pretty awesome handful you've go there!

[GemGeek]

If I remember correctly, CIBJO says Keshi can only come from Japanese Akoyas. Or just Akoyas, more likely. Some people say that white pearls are boring, but I think they would change their minds if they could see those baroques!

[jshepherd]

No, not only Japanese akoya, but only marine mollusks.

[GemGeek]

I don't suppose any Chinese were allowed to give input to CIBJO.

[drea]

Blaire,
your pictures were great to see.. now those are some pearls certainly worth adding to your collection!! The one large pearl you have in your hand is incredible.. wonder how big that was? Thanks for sharing all of your beautiful pictures.. love the commentary too!!! I can well imagine how much fun you all had on that trip!

Drea

[knotty panda]

Originally Posted by GemGeek

If I remember correctly, CIBJO says Keshi can only come from Japanese Akoyas.

Ok, you guys. Translate for the pearl-impaired, please. Am I understanding this conversation correctly?

The CIBJO says keisis come from marine mollusks. However, that is incorrect and they also come from freshwater. Correct?

Which brings me to a question, how can one tell the difference between a saltwater and a freshwater keishi? I thought I read somewhere that saltwater keishis are flat, rose petalish and freshwater are bullet/rice shaped.

Thanks!

[GemGeek]

Originally Posted by drea

Blaire,
your pictures were great to see.. now those are some pearls certainly worth adding to your collection!! The one large pearl you have in your hand is incredible.. wonder how big that was? Thanks for sharing all of your beautiful pictures.. love the commentary too!!! I can well imagine how much fun you all had on that trip!

Drea

Thanks Drea. It's the same pearl from Jeremy's post. It's 24mm and it's caled The Paspaley Pearl. Perfect in every way! It was amazing that they let us handle it.

Cheers,
Blaire

[GemGeek]

Originally Posted by knotty panda

Ok, you guys. Translate for the pearl-impaired, please. Am I understanding this conversation correctly?

The CIBJO says keisis come from marine mollusks. However, that is incorrect and they also come from freshwater. Correct?

Which brings me to a question, how can one tell the difference between a saltwater and a freshwater keishi? I thought I read somewhere that saltwater keishis are flat, rose petalish and freshwater are bullet/rice shaped.

Thanks!

Silly CIBJO. Keshi pearls come from mollusks. Period. (My opinion) I don't think there were any representatives from the Chinese market on the CIBJO committee.

The Chinese "keshi petal pearls" are now mostly second-growth pearls grown in the empty pockets from the first freshwater graft. Originally they formed when a bead was expelled. They are shaped like a corn flake or petal because the pocket collapses.

Keshis that happen otherwise, are just happy accidents of the culturing process and can happen in either a marine or freshwater mollusk. They are usually tiny and baroque in akoyas, but can be very large in South Sea or Tahitian pearls. The one thing they all have in common is solid nacre.

To be certain of origin, you would probably need to have them tested. Does that help? I hate to be controversial about keshis, but I can't see how such a huge market could be ignored. The petal type are growing exponentially in popularity.

Cheers,
Blaire

[knotty panda]

It does help, really. Thanks!

[drea]

Originally Posted by GemGeek

Thanks Drea. It's the same pearl from Jeremy's post. It's 24mm and it's caled The Paspaley Pearl. Perfect in every way! It was amazing that they let us handle it.

Cheers,
Blaire

It seems as if the pearl farms were very lenient with the people on the tour as far as taking pictures goes.. For some reason I thought that they would have been more strict in regards to their operations. Kinda nice that you were able to document so much, as there are so many wonderful pictures. How many people ended up going on the tour with you?? Was it mostly people in the business?