Tears of Mermaids: The Secret Story of Pearls

[Caitlin]

Yes, GG!!!You've said a lot of what I have been hinting at too. I said by p 229 I was finding it tedious. It would have been far more interesting if he had explained how he wrangled that "Royal Tour". He acted like a traveling lord in one of my grandmother's world tour books from the 30's. Yup, Borak could play him for sure.
I had seen 1/2 doz typos before I even got the the Frog of Fresno chapter!

St Martins is not a prestigious Press, it started out in true crime and skimps on editors!! I can't even take in the Paspaley Chapters. I really don't care for "all the boats" technique of pearling. It drives the price up, makes a huge energy footprint. All hose boats take diesal,oil, gas and they pollute. Totally Thorstein Veblen-esque.

It was a conscience-less tour, mostly to gratify his craving for the clik-clik of pearls clacking together. He loves pearls, but he shoulda read this site first!!!

He could have gotten away with more, if he had had lots of photos in there.

[jerin]

Hi all,

I haven´t got my book yet, but this sounds most discouraging! When Jeremy mentioned this book the very first time I was under the impression that it is something every serious pearl lover should have in her/his pearl library!

Well, in this case I don´t have to read everything but pick out the pages mentioned....

[maryd]

This is very disappointing. Like others I had high hopes for this book but unlike a lot of you I won't be able to spot the inaccuracies. And I was so looking forward to learning more about the pearl business. So please keep mentioning areas we should be wary of.

Also, is there a more reputable book I should read to learn more about the industry?

[KauaiAnne]

Also, is there a more reputable book I should read to learn more about the industry?

I'm interested in learning others' opinions on what sort of book or article you wish would be written about pearls and the industry. I'm a writer, and while I always have more projects in my head than I'll be able to finish in my lifetime, writing about pearls may be the best way to satisfy my pearl jag. What are the issues, the personalities, the lessons learned and the hoped-for pearl future that you wish someone would write about?

And along those lines, what are the best things you've read about pearls - aside from everything in Pearl-Guide.com!

[judimcc6]

The first bible would be Elizabeth Strack's, Pearls. It has just about everything and more.

[Caitlin]

I'm interested in learning others' opinions on what sort of book or article you wish would be written about pearls and the industry. I'm a writer, and while I always have more projects in my head than I'll be able to finish in my lifetime, writing about pearls may be the best way to satisfy my pearl jag. What are the issues, the personalities, the lessons learned and the hoped-for pearl future that you wish someone would write about?

And along those lines, what are the best things you've read about pearls - aside from everything in Pearl-Guide.com!

This book is disappointing, but I have only put it through two of my four stomachs. I actually takes finishing it (ugh)

I kinda liked the part about Zeide and me- no objections except for some inaccuracies- like I did not meet Steve Bloom after the Strack lecture. I didn't know who he was, but, Zeide was the buzz. He may have noticed me. Everyone knew something was going on and Jeremy and I knew it from the inside. Dugga had more than a clue himself. He had been first to challenge Zeide publicly.

I met Stephen (SB) at the Star Pass Mariott Inn's Restuarant that evening. I was sitting at the P-G table when Stephen walked in and took a seat to my left. He told me who he was and about his book. He asked what was up with Zeide as he was scheduled to go visit her tomorrow. I told him Z had sold FW pearls to P-G members and called them abalone pearls, pteria sterna pearls, placuna imbricata pearls- all kinds of species that were not FW.

Earlier, after the Strack lecture, I had given samples of various pearls sent to me by someone ZE had sold to, to Jeremy. It did not take the equipment at the GIA booth to classify them. When Jeremy saw them, he immediately said "Freshwaters, all freshwaters". Everyone agreed, so I looked at my Bahraini bracelet under the GIA equipment, instead.

I told SB that ZE was was busted for calling freshwater pearls by other mollusk species' names and selling them under those names.
I told him about her most recent revelations. She had confessed on P-G that her pearls were all freshwater pearls!

I told him about the "Lop Noors" (ZE's spelling) I told him about the Leonard Rosenthal Mikis. I told him if they were Mikis, they have a Miki clasp. He never looked at the clasp or he never mentioned it, but Zeide is the one who told us if you had a miki clasp and box, you could put any kind of pearls on the the clasp. The value of the Mikimoto is in the clasp and box, not the pearls. Whatever those pearls are, I don't believe for a second they are the originals. If they were the strand that Leonard Rosenthal brought to the trial, there would be some provenance, you betcha. ZE told us on the forum that those Mikis were tissue nucleated!

Is there any history that Mikimoto ever did tissue nucleated pearls in 1925? And that THOSE pearls were the ones which went to court! The trial was about what to call bead-nucleated pearls. Rosenthal
wanted the bead nucleated pearls to be called "cultured pearls" instead of "pearls". "Pearls" was to be reserved for wild, naturally grown pearls. To this day, technically, "cultured" pearls are Always supposed use the word "cultured" in any mention or ad copy due to this 1925 ruling in France.

Lots more to say, but I have a couple of stomachs to go to finish digesting this book.

[smetzler]

What are the issues, the personalities, the lessons learned and the hoped-for pearl future that you wish someone would write about?

I would just hope for good writing. The book is dead as a doornail, the characters are forced, even ZE's fake German accent completely botched in its rendition. I don't care about accuracy. Let it be complete fantasy—but let it be interesting and engaging.

[Caitlin]

K-Anne
I just couldn't get around to an actual answer above, but it is a great question and I hope others will contribute questions and ideas.

I keep thinking of things. One thing: I wanted to hear about the secret history of pearls! Where was that? There was no research into that, only narrative reporting on the big $$$ pearl guys. He did not really reveal anything new.

Pearls have a secretive thing about themselves; call it "mystery", but if you mention this, Develop the Premise! Wax Romantic! Make knowledgeable references to the pearl history and literature, as if one had read Clic-Clasp's thread on looking at ancient pearls and trying to identify them. It has "Play Again" in the title, I think.

Since we didn't have any photos, I would wish for Tony Hillerman's ability to describe the exotic areas he traverses. Tony puts you right in the place, the corner of the earth you can see through his descriptions of place, even without pictures.

Trying to say something new about pearls is hard. But to bring a gift of description of pearls that reveals their mystery, their voluptuousness, their spellbinding-ness, would suit the sub-title. This book was nothing but mundane, square thinking, almost tabloid-as if anyone but some of the Pearl World would care about something like this.

[Richard W. Wise]

The publisher sent me a copy to review on GemWise. So far I dislilke the glib, jaunty approach the author uses. That may work fine for short pieces but book-length it is a little annoying.

Best,

[Caitlin]

You are a far better writer, Richard!

[y2kitty]

I read the whole thing and it was tough. It started out interesting but really lost steam quickly. I found the descriptions of people working on the Paspaley boats interesting, but overall the book was pretty boring.

[GemGeek]

It's dreck. He took advantage of people and then defamed them. Filled with inaccuracies - see Doug Fiske's review here. And I'm being nice.

[smetzler]

I read the whole thing.

I couldn't. But in quickly skimming I did manage to learn about Jeremy's amazing fluency in Chukese.

[Richard W. Wise]

Caitlin,

Thank you for the compliment. I read the section of ZE and found myself wondering what it had to do with the story of a pearl.

Best,

[Caitlin]

The only thing I like about that book was my taking on ZE. I am immortalized as her implacable foe.