Croatian river pearls

[pearlescence]

Hi all
I've just been contacted about replacing or restringing the pearls shown in these two photos (not done by me) which the customer describes as croatian river pearls of much sentimental value and which the customer says she was told are cheap and worn out.
I've never heard of croatian river pearls. They look too irregular to be fakes. Could these be naturals? do naturals wear out?
Help and advice please

[Pearl Dreams]

Intriguing... could you possibly take another closeup photo with sharper focus?

[pearlescence]

Photos not done by me otherwise they would be better background and in focus. I will ask the customer to take some more

[Pearl Dreams]

Wendy, I've looked through all the books I own about pearls and none of them mentions pearls from Croatia or Yugoslavia.

[pearlescence]

I've never heard of them. but presumably there will be some sort of freshwater mussel native to the rivers of the area. maybe not commercial? Customer's surname name looks from that area. I have emailed for further and better particulars and clearer photos

[Valeria101]

Not impossible... folks 'round there had 'better' things to do lately then document the history of local gems. 'Bet no book mentions Moldavian pearls either, yet local tradition mentions some production of seed pearls used for embroidery, buttons - never an 'industry' just occasional wild harvest. I have only heard the folklore: stories about pearl embroidered items donated to churches in the region roughly between 1650-1780. I doubt any documentation exists and I have not tried to locate any - the legend sounds rather nice (a pity to waste that first impression!).

If anything, the pearls must be truly old. Hard to believe that any production of local pearls may have continued into the 1900s even.

After all, to have local pearls all you need is a population of humans harvesting a population of freshwater mollusks for a few generations, and a handful of willing buyers capable to amass the occasional pearls. The conditions apply to Croatia as well as East Germany (where natural river pearls are documented).

Just a thought...

The pearls in the picture could be anything, but the claim is not quite science fiction in my opinion.

[jshepherd]

I went kayaking down the Zrmanja river recently. I asked someone local about freshwater pearls and he laughed. That doesn't mean they don't exist. I think the current populace just doesn't care much.

[CLICLASP]

Here is an interesting statement on european pearls story and more

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freshwater_pearl_mussel

[pearlescence]

Thanks for that - There are some pieces via google on the mussel in the UK where it is so protected you aren't even supposed to think about the rivers where they survive. Anyone know what the pearls look like?

[Pearl Dreams]

On p. 39 of Pearls: A Natural History there is a photo of Margaritifera margaritifera (European Pearl Mussel) and some of its off-round white pearls; truthfully from that photo I think they look a lot like the commercial Chinese CFWP one sees so many of. I don't doubt that there is more variation than that, however.

Strack says of Scottish pearls (page 201):

"The colour is generally white and a rather striking snow white hue is often observed. Other colours include cream, pink, grey, silver grey, golden, peach, mauve, lilac and brownish. Greyish-brown and black also occur, but only when the outer layer of the pearls is not made up of nacre. Scottish pearls are said to have a fresh, rather untouched look, similar to the appearance of a freshly-picked plum. The 'freshness' is reputed to remain for years and connoisseurs take it as a characteristic feature by which they can recognise Scottish pearls."

Well, that really makes me want to see a photo of Scottish pearls!

[CLICLASP]

Here is a tay pearl photo

http://www.goantiques.com/scripts/im...d,1328354.html

on sale on ebay too

http://cgi.ebay.fr/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?...MEWA:IT&ih=020


looks more beautiful than a FWCP ...

[Valeria101]

I doubt all European pearls come from the same species of mussel...


PS: Scottish pearls are nicely referenced here already (Thread).

[Pearl Dreams]

Strack mentions other species in Europe, and subspecies of Margaretifera.

One that sounds interesting is Mytilus edulis, an edible mussel in the UK which produces bluish pearls. (page 199)

[Monty Hall]

That Tay pearl is absolutely lovely.

CarolK

[Pearl Dreams]

Oh, yes! The luster is superb!!