TRADE ALERT re Non-Beaded Saltwater ('new keshi') Pearls

[Bodecia]

I am in total agreement with this. Why not produce non-beaded salt water pearls? I would think it would take much longer for them to grow, so I don't think it would be a money-saving gesture, just a way to supply those who are not satisfied with the pearl-plated beads. Since most of the natural pearls being found nowadays are small and off-shaped, this opens up a whole new world. If I had the money, I would pay more for the un-beaded cultured pearls than for the beaded ones.

I agree with Caitlin totally. I would love a strand of round pearls with the quality of keshi pearls, but not at the price of naturals. I have no idea what one of these strands should be fairly priced at. As cultured, but no bead, strands. They must be very beautiful and I for one would love to have them.

Just need the growers that have perfected this will put them on the market as such, well eventually. And maybe they will as more and more pearl buyers become aware that they can easily be fooled into paying whatever it is they are paying for them now and just stop buying. Then the growers could turn to honest market practices. They do deserve a good price regardless for this pearl invention.

I think it is the biggest thing since Mikimoto first started but much improved.

Dawn
eBay ID dawncee333

[kojimapearl]

This "little" scam has been going on for quite a long time! Just that when the stakes get higher.. people go to further lengths!

In the last year I have heard on several occasions from on line customers... and here on the forum as well : That some people prefer to have a non nucleated, tissue nucleated cultured pearl to a cultured pearl with a bead nucleus. Especially in a pearl of a larger size this puzzles me. I understand the appreciation for "purity".. but in my opinion a large bead nucleated pearl has a longer "shelf life" than the same size keshi (or natural pearl). As large size keshi pearls often have "gas pockets", and natural pearls (will be expensive and could come with the same issue). This is something I do not understand. Why do people not like the "bead"?.. it's shell (here's to you Mikeyy!), it gives the pearl stability and it is much more cost effective in achieving size! (and also while I am on this tangent)... Where did this notion come from?
Caitlin... Please help me here!

[smetzler]

I understand the appreciation for "purity".. but in my opinion a large bead nucleated pearl has a longer "shelf life" than the same size keshi (or natural pearl). As large size keshi pearls often have "gas pockets", and natural pearls (will be expensive and could come with the same issue). This is something I do not understand. Why do people not like the "bead"?.. it's shell (here's to you Mikeyy!), it gives the pearl stability and it is much more cost effective in achieving size! (and also while I am on this tangent)... Where did this notion come from?
Caitlin... Please help me here!

CFWP are invariably sold with the argument that being all-nacre they will have a better shelf life than cultured pearls, as wear will never expose a (non-nacreous) bead.

I've taken pains here to dampen enthusiasm for keshis per se, with links to X-Rays by SSEF and others. Once I insisted on a pair of keshi cufflinks, fortunately the jeweler was a friend and said he'd never do it.

[Caitlin]

When I first got here, cheap akoyas were all the rage. (Not here on this forum, but everywhere else) Hardly anyone was buying Tahitians or SSP at the time. With the akoyas, one could get a strand that had a micro-thin layer of nacre for a really cheap price. Thing was they peeled in just a few months or dried and cracked off the bead.

I came here knowing nothing about pearls except the prejudice my family raised me with- cultured pearls were fake pearls. Not only that, my husband's family were deep into the cultured akoyas and bought strands from the 1930's to the 50's. When MiL died in 2004 or so, most of her ropes had cracked and chipped skins, even thought they were very fine (expensive) pearls when new. That gave me a time frame of 60 years wear out time for even good quality akoyas. These pearls were worn a lot, if not everyday. They were not in great shape and it was hard to find replacement pearls in matching colors and they were very thin-skinned.

Not only were the Cultured Freshwater pearls (CFWP) solid nacre, they looked more like real pearls, rarely being round. I started stating my preference early on. I either influenced others or they already agreed. One of the loudest supporters of natural pearls over cultured was the Rana of Frogville. If people were not convinced by me, they certainly were by the Z-ster. She actually introduced the forum to the term "pearl-plated beads" and used it often in the 11 months she posted here. Since it was a description of the akoyas so commonly available then- it was perfect. Well, the Rana left under a cloud- she had actually sold some of her CFWP as Placuna imbricata, siberian trans-grafts, pteria sterna and several other false terms. That is fraud, folks, and she fell swiftly out of favor leaving only her 2,000 boastful, snotty and lying posts to speak for her. I managed to discard 500 of them, but that still leaves, 1,500 posts of her braggadocio!

Since she left, Tahitians have risen swiftly. They were pretty much guaranteed to have much thicker nacre. So did the SSP. They might wear out, but it would take far longer than the akoyas because their dip into the pearl oyster was more than twice as thick as the average akoya, 4x as thick as the cheapest akoya.

I have mostly mellowed out regarding the Tahitians and the SSP and vendors here only grow and/or buy thicker-nacre on the akoyas. Some pearls, like the Kasumi and the Sea of Cortez are virtually unobtainable without beads. The economics make beaded pearls available in much less time and at far lower prices.

Still, at the bottom of my heart, I love my antique natural p radiatas. They are small, 1/2mm up to 7mm. about 8" of them are very round for natural pearls. They have a lot of iridescence, more than any akoyas I have seen. There are places of wear where they were not knotted for years, but the wear just reveals many micro-thin layers of nacre that increase the iridescence.

I went through a klonk stage- who doesn't? (Klonks=12mm plus) But now I am back to preferring strands of 7mm and less. The CFWPearls have a higher percentage of best the most perfect when they are in the 5-7mm range and they are not all that much in demand compared to their rarity, as the larger ones are.

Just since I joined here, the techniques in producing cultured pearls have advanced an exponential amount. The colors are deeper and more varied. Freshwater pearls, esp. are producing commercial numbers of round pearls with incredible luster and colors, virtually perfect skins.Techniques have improved for producing tissue nucleating and bead nuking- or even mud nuking. I must expand my vision of what pearls are and where they can go. And also keep an eye on the salt-water production of tissue-nuked round pearls or keshi passing as natural pearls.

[Valeria101]

You mean, this sort of thing?

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-Keshi-Nuclea...item2a06e610f6

[Pearl Dreams]

Caitlin has made an excellent post.

I grew up loving the look and idea of pearls. I very much desired to one day own a strand of cultured pearls. Then in the 1970s I read an article on pearls in National Geographic which discussed the problems associated with the thinner nacre Akoya pearls that were increasingly being sold and the resulting decrease in durability that could be expected. This dismayed me, and I decided an Akoya strand was not a good value for me. I bought Majorica imitation pearls instead for my wedding.

With more knowledge now under my belt, I realize there is a wide range of quality available and that pearls with good nacre thickness can be purchased-- and that Tahitians/ SSP have greater nacre thickness than Akoyas. But somehow, given the fact that there is a huge honking bead in there, I still have a hard time thinking of them as "real" pearls. Even though the world now accepts them as real pearls, for me they are less real than the ones that are essentially nacre all the way through.

I do own natural color [baroque] Akoyas, so I'm not saying I would never buy bead nucleated pearls-- but I have a strong bias toward all-nacre pearls. And toward the more affordable pearls, since my discretionary funds are limited, and I enjoy buying other luxury items besides pearls!

[Caitlin]

You mean, this sort of thing?

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-Keshi-Nuclea...item2a06e610f6

I am so thoroughly confused. Good one Ana!

[smetzler]

You mean, this sort of thing?

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-Keshi-Nuclea...item2a06e610f6

Truth in advertising—in its way more intriguing than natural.

[Bodecia]

I understand the appreciation for "purity".. but in my opinion a large bead nucleated pearl has a longer "shelf life" than the same size keshi (or natural pearl). As large size keshi pearls often have "gas pockets", and natural pearls (will be expensive and could come with the same issue). This is something I do not understand. Why do people not like the "bead"?..

Hi Sarah and All,

This is a Keshi Pearl I bought along with many others. Various sizes and most not round like this one. I had it mounted in this ring because the small Akoya pearl that was in the ring had virtually no nacre left on it when it arrived.

How could anyone say that this 4mm South Sea Gold Keshi Pearl is not better than a pearl that obviously had a very thin layer of nacre on it. It is a beautiful little pearl, looks like a South Sea Seed Pearl but as it came with a lot of keshi so I presume it is a keshi.

I find keshi pearls with round or oblong, any shape very beautiful. More so than any Akoya pearls. I am betting this pearl will last for many, many years, much longer than the original 4mm Akoya that was in the ring originally.

I have nothing against Akoya or other bead nucleated pearls. Have many myself but if given the chance I would love to own a few of these, non-beaded keshi myself. I do have a few totally vintage or antique Naturals but still would love to have some of these beauties.

I've taken pains here to dampen enthusiasm for keshis per se, with links to X-Rays by SSEF and others. Once I insisted on a pair of keshi cufflinks, fortunately the jeweler was a friend and said he'd never do it.

Smeltzer, would love to have the link to the X-Rays by SSEF and others that you mention. My husband has drilled many keshi pearls and we have never had any problems with them apart from the occasional drill bit breaking off, often in the biggest and the best keshi.

Dawn
eBay ID dawncee333

[jshepherd]

You mean, this sort of thing?

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-Keshi-Nuclea...item2a06e610f6

Should someone here buy one of those keshi-nukes and cut it in half?

[smetzler]

would love to have the link to the X-Rays by SSEF and others that you mention

LINK to my post from a prior thread discussing keshi pearls and their gross (if not fraudulent) misrepresentation by an otherwise-respectable auction house. It contains a link to the SSEF article.

Should someone here buy one of those keshi-nukes and cut it in half?

Or simply X-Ray/Micro CT, as even though the bead is nacre, there may still be a telltale discontinuity or gap in the concentric growth rings where 'bead' gives way to the rest of the 'pearl.' I'm not convinced this is exactly what SSEF's letter was about.

[Bodecia]

Thanks for the links smetzler. Sorry I mis-spelt your name before.

Haven't had a change to read all yet but it looks interesting. Tried to find it earlier myself and came up with a thread about low grade akoya pearls being used as beads in nucleating Kasumi pearls. Find that very interesting too. Have to go back and read all of those 5 year old threads too.

One reason is that I wonder why Kasumi pearls cannot be grown from tissue as other FW pearls. I realise it would longer to grow them to a decent size and up their price but surely it is possible. Maybe Sarah could jump in here.

Dawn
eBay ID dawncee333

[Valeria101]

Should someone here buy one of those keshi-nukes and cut it in half?

Yes, Sir! By all means...

[Valeria101]

Or simply X-Ray/Micro CT, as even though the bead is nacre, there may still be a telltale discontinuity or gap in the concentric growth rings where 'bead' gives way to the rest of the 'pearl.' I'm not convinced this is exactly what SSEF's letter was about.

Reading GIA's report on using that method, it doesn't sound like it might be ripe for a blind test, by the authors candid admission. Particularly not on this - they reported such discontinuities in pearls before, if not in SS pearls...

It may be that the SSEF hasn't touched such pearls either, although they may know of them [a note they put out in 2007 is where I heard of purpose-grown large SS keshi]. However, I wonder what the task of keeping up with pearl growers' news means these days: with pearling a cash crop all over the the Southern Hemisphere, that would call for some rather exotic field-trips, or a really good bait for self-reporting which remains to be invented since Babylon... Experimentation in such conditions must cost as much as a pair of shoe laces in Switzerland, methinks.

Just a thought...

[CortezPearls]

Should someone here buy one of those keshi-nukes and cut it in half?

I will!!! Just send me the money!!!