A new type of freshwater pearl on the horizon

[JerseyPearl]

JP...Hahaha, shame on you

That's what happens when I read the boards after having a martini....

[jshepherd]

Jeremy, this is really fascinating. Look at how thick that nacre is. How does it compare to traditional larger Edisons?

The nacre is thick. Freshwater mussels grow nacre at a much faster rate than akoya. Depending on the season, nacre deposition can range from 1 mm to 5 mm per year.

[MSC]

Oh wow, how cool! Teeny edisons, right up my alley

[GemGeek]

Thanks for sharing! We need more small pearls.

[JerseyPearl]

The nacre is thick. Freshwater mussels grow nacre at a much faster rate than akoya. Depending on the season, nacre deposition can range from 1 mm to 5 mm per year.

Thanks, great information!

[Katbran]

Yay ! Weeny ateeny Edisons! Now my question is whether or not the colours will be as intense as the Edison's ..there are some.nice purpley ones in that batch. ..this is very exciting !

[jshepherd]

Yay ! Weeny ateeny Edisons! Now my question is whether or not the colours will be as instense as the Edison's ..there are some.nice purpley ones in that batch. ..this is very exciting !

I think we will have to wait until next year to find out!

[JerseyPearl]

In the mean time Jeremy, what will you be doing with that stash in the photo? Does Hisano have something special in mind for them (hence the reason they were sawed in half?)

[SunSeeker]

This is exciting! I love the tiny pearls & looking forward to intense color!

[jshepherd]

In the mean time Jeremy, what will you be doing with that stash in the photo? Does Hisano have something special in mind for them (hence the reason they were sawed in half?)

No plans. They are sawed in half because one must trust but verify! I have heard a lot of stories in Asia.

[pattye]

Very cool reveal, Jeremy!

[pearlescence]

The ones I had from..maybe a year or so ago..were also Edisons in that they were bead nuked freshwaters from Grace. There were huge sacks of really rubbish strands of white 8mm rounds with terrible nacre - stuffed into every corner of the office. I managed to find maybe a couple of decent strands as a curiosity. But most of them were horrible.
It is important to remember that Grace calls all their bead nucleated pearls Edison. It is not a descriptor of quality.

[SunSeeker]

I can't wait to see what next year's harvest will bring!

[BWeaves]

As a lover of smaller pearls, I can't wait to see the results.

[jshepherd]

As a lover of smaller pearls, I can't wait to see the results.

It will be interesting to see. I am curious how they are growing them too.

I didn't mention this, but earlier in the year last year a production of wax-bead nucleated pearls was sent to me. I imagine they were grown with the same technique because most were small like these.