Help Please

[seadancer]

Hi,
I dont know alot about pearls, but love them. I am hoping someone can help identify the species of this pearl. It came from a gold ring which was custom made for it in Edinburough Scotland in 1961 (hallmarked). When the pearl came out, I could see it had a drill hole on one side, so might have originaly come from a pendant.
Sadly, I must admit, I have no idea whether it is fresh or saltwater, natural or cultured. I dont know what type of pearls were being cultured in 1961 or earlier....the drill hole showed no signs of cultured, but as I'm no expert I cant tell for sure. I hope someone can head me in the right direction for type i.d.

[Caitlin]

It looks like a coin pearl, albeit a very interesting one with fascinating luster. The surface and luster make it very special. Maybe a natural river Tay pearl? 1961 is too early for the Chinese.

Did John La Tendresse culture American pearls with coins? doubtful, so it is probably a natural freshwater pearl from Scotland.

That is a wild guess, don't bank on it.

[Lagoon Island Pearls]

I'd need a bit more information. First, did you remove the pearl from the ring? If so, how was it set? While hallmarks can identify metal, they do not necessarily indicate the origin of a pearl.

Very often gems fall out or get replaced with other pieces subsequent to hallmarking. Without a certificate or provenance, the history of this pearl is very difficult to establish, unless compared to something alike.

The UK has been a hub for maritime trade for centuries, hence the origin of this pearl could be virtually anywhere.

That said, this pearl presents with some natural features. Hold it up to a light. Does the light pass translucently? Is there a visible nucleus? If so, what shape/color does it appear?

[seadancer]

Hi,
I have held a strong led torch behind it and it appears to be the same throughout, translucent with no dark center. It was claw set in the ring and I had taken it to my jeweler to have the ring resized. He said that the ring was made specificaly for the pearl as the pearl is not totaly round and the setting was made to fit it. After he had removed it he told me that it had a drill hole on one edge, I decided to have it as a pendant.

[pearlescence]

Hi
To me that looks like a freshwater coin pearl - judging by the size too.
No natural Scottish pearl is that big, and in any case you need a licence to buy or sell one, they are so rare and protected. (only two Edinburgh jewellers have the licences and last time I checked they hadn't had any new scottish pearls for some years)

[Caitlin]

Wendy, are you saying that river Tay pearls were never that big?

This pearl could be much older than 1961 because of the earlier drill hole. That was the year of American Pearl Company's biggest harvest of American Cultured pearls after several years of cultivation and wild river pearls were still around in the US, though not commercially.

[pearlescence]

Hi
If that is a Scottish river pearl it is a biggie and it seems likely that it would be 'known'
It looks very like a regular disc shape. Sticking to freshwater coin

[Kevin Canning]

To me that looks like a freshwater coin pearl - judging by the size too.

It looks like a duck and quacks like a duck

[seadancer]

It does look like a coin pearl......but it would have to be one formed naturally because they were not cultured as early as 1961. I had another look at the gold ring setting it came from......definately made expressly to fit this pearl......there is also a makers mark 'TE' along with the gold hallmark for 1961. I dont think it is a Scottish river pearl from looking at those on the web...I am thinking American freshwater pearl.

[Caitlin]

Seems like river Tay is unlikely. The nacre does look American pearly, though I have seen a few Chinese pearls- not coins - that have that look to the nacre. At this point, I'd like to see the ring setting too- just for curiosity. The one picture of the pearl with the ruler, the top edge is very round, like a nucleus.

That's why I first brought up Am Pearl Company in post 2. http://www.americanpearlcompany.com/ They clearly have coin pearls on the front page and the loose pearls page. I didn't look further. They have not cultured for years, so these are part of their stash from decades ago. They could go back to 1961 because I just looked this AM and Strack said they, APC, were in operation in the years leading up to the 60's.

American Pearl Company® specializes in cultured and natural pearls from the United States and we carry a variety of pearls:
Natural Pearls: Abalone, Conch, Melo Melo, Manodeleon, Scallop, Lion's Paw, Baja, La Paz, Saltwater, American Freshwater origin in - wings, rosebuds, rounds, buttons, turtlebacks, snails and more shapes. Cultured Pearls: American Origin -in fancishapes- coin, bar, marquise, drop, cabochon, navette and triangle, Akoya, Japanese, Natural color black Tahitian, South Sea, fancicolor, fancishape?, Chinese -in shapes- rounds, semi rounds, drops, buttons, crosses, sticks and more.

Either that or this pearl is from the last ten years and was carefully fitted and adjusted into another setting already hallmarked.

It's the nacre that makes me consider it could be a cultured American river pearl. The La Tendresse sisters and/or their mom, can tell you about their coin pearls and what they had leading up to the 60's. If nothing else, it is an education to hear. Give them a good Google and check them out.

[Nerida]

I saw coin pearls cultured by Latandresse when I did the GIA lab class in HK earlier this year. They were quite lustrous, and with the same gorgeous overtones that we see on Chinese cultured coin pearls - the ones I saw didn't have such thick nacre as the one pictured, although obviously this could vary from harvest to harvest.
The timing of this pearl suggests American rather than Chinese.

[pearlescence]

The hallmark date letter shows the ring was made in 1961. Nothing to really prove that the pearl started life with that particular finding - especially with one drill hole.
To me that suggests it was added to the ring later because it would fit.
I've changed pearls, swapped pearls for poor gems and put pearls in settings where a gem has been lost. Claws and bezels can be adjusted fairly easily.

[Kevin Canning]

If this piece was in original condition and this pearl is the original, why would there be a second drill hole. I'm sticking with CFW coin pearl.

[Caitlin]

To summarize
It is cultured; it clearly has a bead in the pic with the ruler.
It is either new and put in the ring cuz it fit -
or it came from the era of the hallmark, in which case, it would have to be a La Tendresse pearl.

I think we have ruled other suggestions out. To be able to prove a La Tendresse provenance would add value, but would be unethical to claim unless proven. Either way, it is a cool pearl.

@ Nerida. If the Latendresses are currently selling American coins, they were produced in the past and are from a stash. Otherwise they are selling Chinese coins. My curiosity is aroused. Did you discuss the cultured pearls with them? If not, I will at the next Gem Show in Tucson.

[seadancer]

Hi Caitlin.....can you point out where the bead shows in the pic with the ruler....I gotta learn these things lol. I will put in pic of ring setting later to-day.