Help nedded

[Slraep]

Maybe that pearl is from Noah's private collection and he lost it while he was disembarking the ark at Mount Ararat? Sure it looks like putty, I mean, it was grinding away in his back pocket for a whole year! What with all the rushing to get the animals on board, I don't think he thought to bring along a change of clothes. Darn, poor guy, it's hard work putting together a decent pearl collection---only to lose one(and just when he spied dry land too), and then some mega-years later, it ends up in some guy's apartment in Sweden, on a table next to a pack of smokes. Sheesh.

Slraep

[Mikeyy]

Well he was only allowed two of every animal. He might have had one too many scallops. BTW little known fact. Plumbers putty is great for leaky arks.

[Mikeyy]

I suppose we ought to stop picking on him. He might pull out his swiss army knife and cork screw us.

[Slraep]

I suppose we ought to stop picking on him. He might pull out his swiss army knife and cork screw us.

What a scary though! But wait, I just got another thought.....what about it being a volcanic spherulite? Like the things in Bosnia, only in miniature. Yeah, miniature volcanic spherulites.

Must admit the ancient plumber's putty stored in a scallop shell, and used to plug up the leaks on the arc, then tossed, makes the most sense.

Slraep

[gere911]

What a scary though! But wait, I just got another thought.....what about it being a volcanic spherulite? Like the things in Bosnia, only in miniature. Yeah, miniature volcanic spherulites.

Must admit the ancient plumber's putty stored in a scallop shell, and used to plug up the leaks on the arc, then tossed, makes the most sense.

Slraep

Funny guys Stockholm circus neded several cleners

to clean animal cages good paying think about it

[gere911]

That Admin posting above was not me.

I couldn't see where he said the pearl was in that shell. But what idoes it have to do with the shell?

Hi Caitlin Shell is still intact we are almost sure

it,s a pearl inside we dont know how to oppen it

whithout damage pearl, pearl is not located.

formation of shells whith pearls are diferent

As far i know pearls growing not nessecery in

center KR

[jerin]

I suppose we ought to stop picking on him. He might pull out his swiss army knife and cork screw us.

Mikeyy and Slraep,

my, my, aren´t we sarcastic?!

[J Marcus]

You might try doing a Google search or two. I do recall coming across a website discussing and offering fossil pearls but I can't recall just where.

As for figuring out if there are pearls in an unopened fossil mollusc, I think that you would have to resort to X-rays. One might prevail on their dentist to attempt it. They might just be intrigued enough to give it a try.

My experience in attempting to restore luster to degraded organic, irridescent materials, both fossil ammonite shells and weathered pearls, has been that it generally just doesn't work. Apparently the play of color is due to the micro structure of the material that, once disrupted, cannot be restored. The possible exception to this is the ancient technique of pearl peeling. This has been known to expose un-degraded layers.

Regards,

J Marcus
http://www.flyrodjewelry.com/buyabalonemabes.html

[Caitlin]

I know dental x-rays are no good for regular pearls. I wonder if they could see into fossil shells?

I think fossil seashell experts are more likely to figure this out than jewelers or pearl buffs.

Maybe there is a fossil shell person on the CONCH-L list? I subscribe to it in hope of news on mussels, but it is really a bunch of scholarly shell collecters.....

[Slraep]

Fossilized shell, or in this case fossilized PECTINIDAE or scallops, are almost "solid" calcium carbonate inside and out. Depending on the minerals found in and around the shell at the time of fossilization, some translucent calcite crystals may also have formed. The whole thing is highly crumbly if poked at. A common scallop does not produce a true crystalline aragonite pearl anyway. So the thought of a pearl, or anything similar to a pearl being inside that fossilized scallop, is just sooooo far fetched, it's unbelievable. The thought of a scallop pearl, which is delicate enough when found in a live scallop, being found intact in a fossilized scallop, is again, really unbelievable. If finding one pearl in a scallop is unbelievable, finding more than one pearl is really, really unbelievable. The size of the "pearls" in proportion to the scallop shown by the poster is really, really, really unbelievable. If that round grey "pearl" in the poster's pic is suppose to have come out of a fossilized scallop the same size as in the pic---well, call me whatever you want, but "unbelievable" is just too mild a word to use here. I will try very hard not to be sarcastic for Inge's sake. I have made a kind and gentle member annoyed with me.

On another note, anyone collecting fossils of any kind which are not on their own land is most likely subject to government laws prohibiting collection without a permit. The Armenian and the Turkish government both PROHIBIT fossil collection on and around the Ararat mountains without a permit. IT IS ILLEGAL!!! So much for the poster's ridiculous "marketing" question.

The Smithsonian Institution has some 50 or so hard little balls, one-half inch to one inch in diameter that look like dull, dirty grey or yellowish grey pebbles. They are fossilized pearls from about one hundred thousand years ago, when Inceramus(oh, momma)lived in the sea and was a HUGE mollusc growing up to four feet wide. So if the big round grey "pearl" or the white shadow of a blob on the cell phone in the poster's pics is suppose to be a pearl/pearls coming from that fossilized scallop, it is indeed a miracle.

A pearl coming from a fossilized mollusc is more like a stone. There is no way to bring back its lustre(although some have been found with some lustre)and it's difficult to separate them from the rest of the fossil, since everything seems to merge into one lump of crude calcite.

Slraep

[Mikeyy]

Not me I meant to be sarcastic. And every time someone puts a scallop shell up with a picture of plumbers putty I will be sarcastic. But its all in fun. Excuuuuse me. But I thought the thread was a joke. Still is.

[Slraep]

Not me I meant to be sarcastic. And every time someone puts a scallop shell up with a picture of plumbers putty I will be sarcastic. But its all in fun. Excuuuuse me. But I thought the thread was a joke. Still is.

Oh common, admit it Mikeyy, you too want to see a closeup pic of the pearl KR calls "blackbeauty" as badly as I do. Unless putty-pearl is the one.

Slraep

[Mikeyy]

Oh common, admit it Mikeyy, you too want to see a closeup pic of the pearl KR calls "blackbeauty" as badly as I do. Unless putty-pearl is the one.

Slraep

All joking aside. If Noah used that putty it really could be valuable.

[Slraep]

All joking aside. If Noah used that putty it really could be valuable.

You might be on to something. I have tried hard but have failed to find any government restriction on picking up putty(ancient or not) anywhere in the world. Any ideas on how to market it?

Slraep
PS. sorry Inge, the devil made me write it.

[Mikeyy]

You might be on to something. I have tried hard but have failed to find any government restriction on picking up putty(ancient or not) anywhere in the world. Any ideas on how to market it?

Slraep
PS. sorry Inge, the devil made me write it.

"Noah"s Super Putty". For whatever makes your boat float. How do you like it?