[effisk]

Originally Posted by Josh

Effisk, Tahitian pearls don't get "processed" in Tahiti. Processed to us means altered. Altered by radiation, dye, bleach and bunch of scary chemicals that should have nothing to do with our natural gems from the sea. Tahitian pearls get tumbled but that is the extent of it. Tumbling removes a crumby organic layer that sticks to the pearl when it comes out of the water. Tumbling does not influence nacre thickness a measurable amount.

I know that Tahitian pearls are only tumbled in Tahiti.

I meant that the pearls can be processed overseas, after they pass the service de la Perliculture control. That friend told me some D grade pearls can pass for B grade after being processed in China...

Here's a picture of a tumbler in a pearl farm:

[Slraep]

Originally Posted by Josh

Haha, you're making fun of me again.

No, seriously. I understand that whether you shove a 10mm bead or a 20mm bead up the oyster's gonad, the healing process is such that both beads, regardless of size, get the same rapid nacre secreting cell response to coat them. But isn't it more stressfull for the oyster to keep piling nacre on a bigger surface? It's got to put out more protein and that protein has to nucleate good aragonite crystals. That can't just materialize out of thin air? There has to be more organic nutrition used and more minerals? Is the difference is size really negligible?

Slraep

[Josh]

Effisk, Yeah I don't doubt that they can raise a pearl a couple quality measures. I have heard that too.
Slraep, My feeling is that there is plenty of nacre producing capacity to go around. What is limiting is the quality of it. I think the age and health of the oyster are the limiting factors for nacre output, not the amount of surface area needed to cover. This is my intuition, not necessarily the hard facts.

[tahitiangirl]

Thanks for all of the information everyone! Sorry that I have not posted back sooner, my computer has been giving me some trouble. It amazes me that everyone knows so much.
-Steph

[Slraep]

Okay, so I was off by one millimetre. My memory fails me sometimes. Biggest composite nucleus is 20mm but that was five years ago.

Here they are. Believe me now? I found the article in my pearl file so you'll have to forgive me for not posting the source. I just don't remember. Damn that failing memory.


MOP nuclei for seeding pearl oysters
From: Dr Stefan Maser (14 October 2002)

I guess you still remember that we are a manufac-
turer of perfect, round white MOP nuclei from
Pinctada maxima. Besides our very competitive
prices I would like to emphasise that our nuclei are
polished without any chemicals.
Besides unglued MOP nuclei, we produce also
glued MOP nuclei up to 20 mm diameter. In this
context, I want to point out that our used glue is
developed and applied for medical human purpos-
es and is therefore absolutely not toxic. I can say
with our seven years experience that:
• the glue has not caused any undue deaths, and
• there is no conspicuous fracturing during gesta-
tion period.
That means the expense for larger white mussel
shell nuclei is no more necessary due to the cheap-
er and absolute comparable covering of pearl nacre
on our MOP nuclei. In other words; pearl farmers
will save time and a lot of costs, they are in a posi-
tion to increase their profits significantly!
We are able to supply unglued MOP nuclei up to
12.7 mm diameter and glued MOP nuclei up to
20mm diameter.

Dr Stefan Maser
AURA Knopfdesign GmbH & Co. KG
Robert-Bosch-Strabe
14 D-72189 Vöhringer
Denmark

[Josh]

Slraep 1
Josh 0

[Slraep]

Originally Posted by Josh

Slraep 1
Josh 0

If you were even remotely mathematically inclined, you would forego the useless scorekeeping and realise that yours would always remain constant. A zero.

Slraep

[Valeria101]

Originally Posted by Slraep

... not posting the source. I just don't remember. Damn that failing memory.

SOURCE (pdf) from Number 16 - December 2003 of the
SPC PEARL OYSTER Information Bulletin

Nice pile of pearl facts & figures there!

[Slraep]

Thanks Ana. That must be where it comes from.

Slraep

[Slraep]

Well, I guess I wasn't off by 1mm after all.

Here is the interesting fellow who has developed a 22 mm nucleus. And it's not a composite. Triple ouch-ouch-ouch.

http://www.financialexpress.com/old/...tent_id=169076

Slraep

[Pearling Technologies]

i just posted a photo of some unpolished nuclei on the cracking pearls thread. talk about multi ouch!

[Slraep]

Originally Posted by Pearling Technologies

i just posted a photo of some unpolished nuclei on the cracking pearls thread. talk about multi ouch!

And I just posted to the cracking pearls thread! How coincidental.

Slraep

[Josh]

About glued nuclei: I would surely use them if they were cheaper. Years ago I did a test where I filed x's into nuclei then grafted them to see if I would have x's on my pearls. Guess what? No x's.

[Pearling Technologies]

I guess i'm a little surprised re the 'X'. We had done quite a lot of research on nucleus quality including surface smoothness. We disected many pearls that had flaws and could trace many instances back to nuclei surface.

in saying that we also did some tests with bironite and found that nacre covered the bironite nuclei infinitely faster than mussel shell nuclei. We believe that it may have something to do with the surface composition.

[Josh]

We usually have well over a mm of nacre so I guess it can just fill it in. Hmmm, I might have to redo the test with 's carved in with a Dremel.