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| I don't know who is buying bironite...but last time I spoke with some Aussie farmers (2002) they were excited about it since they could get large sized nuclei without the fear of fractures and in the supply they needed. They should have been able to compare pearls by now. Also, a good chunk of information appeared in "Pearl World"...can't remember the year nor issue number. "Research & Development work to find a replacementfor Mississippi mussel shell for use as the pearl nuclei in the cultured pearl industry has been completed. Field trials “conclusively show the Bironite® nuclei is an acceptable alternative”. Mississippi mussel shell is becoming more expensive, while the Bironite nuclei is cheaper and can be cut to the larger sizes required by the South Sea pearl farms. The company reports encouraging preliminary interest from pearl farms in Australia, Indonesia and Tahiti, and a marketing program has been started" (from http://www.stockmarket.co.nz/backissues/ma327.pdf) |
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__________________ www.thepearler.com |
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| That Pearl World article was published around four years ago. I haven't heard anything about bironite since.
__________________ Jeremy Shepherd President and Founder PearlParadise.com, Inc. The PearlParadise.com YouTube Channel PearlParadise.com on Flickr PearlParadise.com on Facebook Follow me on Twitter! |
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I agree 100% with you on the nuclei's surface: a perfectly clean & polished bead will yield better results. We've never used bironite, but the nuclei I handled felt "good" (good weight and it did whitstand a "bouncing on the floor"), but found its color and exterior "disturbing"... |
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__________________ www.thepearler.com |
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1) That the so called "Mussel Crysis" was not that big a threat. 2) That there are other mussel shell producers (China). 3) That bironite was not as good as it was claimed to be (or even more expensive). 4) There are other sources of shell for the beads: mainly Black & White/Gold Lipped MOPs. But I would really like to know what happened to Bironite... |
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__________________ www.thepearler.com |
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I guess I can make some Dolomite and Aragonite nucleus and try them out...just for fun!!! A simple experiment: 1 batch of MOPs with normal Missisippi beads, another one with Dolomite and a final group with Aragonite beads. Same technician, same day, same growth group, etc...harvest and compare. |
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__________________ www.thepearler.com |
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| Ok...found this info: Why does Bironite not have as high a polish as mussel shell? Mussel shell will take a high polish, as it is a very fine-grained material although it can have several types of physical defects. Bironite is composed of crystals about 1 mm across and it will sometimes have very fine pits near these junctions. We are still developing techniques to reduce this, but we believe that this is not important for pearl development provided that these fine pits are not sources of infection. (Source: http://www.spc.int/coastfish/News/POIB/13/POIB13-6.htm) And -just as Josh said- therein lies the problem: the pits, it is not good enough for high quality pearl production. What a pitty. Guess this answers the "whatever happened to Bironite?" question... |
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![]() Jeez! I grew up in a world afraid of being nuked to death...but these "Modern Days" are really more frightening: lead in everything, mercury in your tuna, mad cows and bird flu... |
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__________________ www.thepearler.com |
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| You're o.k., Douglas, Most of the mad cows are here in the U.K. .... ![]()
__________________ http://vintage-sparkleantiquejewelry.com/ |
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| You have "Mad Cow" We have "Florida"
__________________ www.thepearler.com |