My Tridacna Pearls, How Do You Think?

[dngopa]

Hello everyone,

I'm a new guy here, so let me introduce my self, my name is Daeng Ngopa', now I'm living in Bali Indonesia, but my hometown is in Lombok. I want to show you some of my pearls and I hope get much information from you all. I got this pearls from my friend in Lombok, and this pearls come from tridacna. Local belief if you have this pearls you are lucky and that's why some people don't want to sell their pearls.
For now, I attach 3 of my pearls and I want to know is considered rare? And Does good market value?
Thanks guys for your opinion.

[smetzler]

Daeng

Thanks for your post. As has been posted in the Nautilus thread, there is reason for these pearls to be considered lucky, just as there is for them to be called 'Nautilus' (all Tridacna sp are listed as endangered by CITES). You have at least correctly identified them.

The chatoyance and flame does give them some added value but you would need to offer much better quality photos as well as precise measurements and weight.

[dngopa]

Hi Steve,

This is my best picture from my camera poket maybe i'll take some photo later.

Picture 1
weight 2.9 gram, diameter 1.4 cm

Picture 2, 3, 4, take photo from middle, bottom, and top position
weight 4.1 gram, lengh 1.5 cm

Picture 5
weight 1.7 gram, diameter 1.1 cm

Thanks Steve for your reply

[pattye]

Thank you, I was wondering about the sizes also. You've caught the color and flame very well!

[jshepherd]

The flame is excellent for clam pearls.

[Caitlin]

So clam pearls can have the flame, but they don't have the spirals?

[jshepherd]

I wouldn't ever say "they don't" with natural pearls. They are all going to be different.

[smetzler]

I wouldn't ever say "they don't" with natural pearls. They are all going to be different.

Good answer!!

[dngopa]

So clam pearls can have the flame, but they don't have the spirals?

Yes of course clam pearl have the flame. All my pearls come from tridacna not nautilus. I'm living near the beach, my mother is a pearl collector (but from oyster). Many of tridacna pearls found crack, this is because the fisherman only want to have the meat, and they dry it in the sun. Sometimes they found the pearls in dry meat, so thats why the pearls are crack and the color are not clear, because of hot,
thats my mother's said and she said, that tridacna pearl is produce in the meat, but if the pearl become big sometimes the pearl fall down in to the clamshell so the color of the clamshell affect to the pearl, so this is not the good pearl. Tridacna also produce like picture Pearl of Allah, I often found this in the tridacna but small size about 5gr - 30gr, my mother said it have not market value.

And about nautilus, I mean if the picture of the nautilus is like a squid but they have shell, I have to see the pearl, once of my life, my frind's pearl, but he have to sell it to other people. And I have no picture of it. it shape like a button, diameter about 2,5 cm, and looks like a circular clouds in there. the pearl is thin. Oya like caitlin said, spiral, yes like spirals cloud in there.

Thank you all.

[GemGeek]

Very cool.

[smetzler]

Oddly, I was thinking of opening a new Tridacna thread as a result of the increasing number of fine examples I've been encountering during my search for Nautilus. Dngopa beat me to it!

Dngopa's Nautilus description is well-speculated and illustrated over at the Nautilus thread, and there is even a photo of the very 'pearl' to which he refers.

Regarding spirals and flames, I have acquired multiple non-nacreous white pearls with superb renditions of both of these phenomenae, examples of both receiving GIA certified 'clam' (Tridacna sp) ID. I severely doubt the spiral/vortex ID however, as it is impossible to imagine the circumstances resulting in spiral crystallization in a mollusk as immobile as a clam (happy as clams might be).

Just arrived in Spain, have pearls in hand for our visit with Dr. Antonio Checa in his laboratory next week, including SEM examination and photography.