Pearl Nucleus Picture

[jshepherd]

I thought many of you would enjoy this!

[jshepherd]

A bit of a destructive way to test for nacre depth, but effective.

[Zeide Erskine]

Hi Jeremy,

I often use that method and have almost lost a fingertip once in the process. However, you will not find many looking like that one.

Zeide

[jshepherd]

Well it is a big one, which gives the impression of a greater ratio. The nucleus is 12mm.

[Caitlin]

Hi
I've been wondering. How did you cut it? How do you do it? I have a big CFWP I want to cut in half- just to look.

[Zeide Erskine]

Hi Caitlin,

I would not recommend buying a table-mounted circular saw for the purpose, but some jewelers and most plumbers or hardware stores will know somebody with one or have one themselves and do it for you. You can always mount the halves in round cabochon settings for earrings. That's what I do with my testing specimen. It is also a good way to find out whether the color is natural or not (diffusion leaves a rageddy color fade inwards from the surface and the drill hole, irradiation and heat treatment only from the surface inwards) or if the pearl was probably reinserted (chonchiolin intermediate layers, abrupt color changes, although that sometimes also happens in natural pearls, e.g. in environmental changes like salinity shifts, food scarcity, abundance, diseases etc..).

If you do it yourself, watch out for your fingers. Use the little plungers to remove hard contact lenses to hold the pearl. If they shake loose (that will inevitably happen at most inopportune moments) DO NOT!! follow your knee jerk reaction and reach for the pearl. Turn off the saw, get the plunger back on and start anew. If you want to be safe, put some Elmer's School Glue on the plungers first and let them bond thoroughly with the pearl. Elmer's comes off easily afterwards the way Vigor does not.

Zeide

[jshepherd]

You definitely should use the glue!

Let me guess, Zeide. Did you almost lose that fingertip with the knee-jerk reaction

[Caitlin]

Thanks
I think I will look for some else to do it.

[Zeide Erskine]

Hi Jeremy,

I won't dignify that with an answer.

Zeide

[Satine De La Courcel]

Kinda looks like all those pictures of the earth I had to study from Geology class... LOL........

Very nice!!!!

Cheers