Maeshori

[KarinK]

Hi,

I heard a talk yesterday at the professional jewlery fair in Copenhagen about known treatment of pearls. The speaker, Kira Kampmann, was very surprised (choked really) about how common maeshori treatment has become with South Sea Pearls. (Maeshori: treatment to enhance the luster).

I have found old PG threads from 2007 where it is discussed that all SSP going through Japan has this luster enhancement, but Kira says she have noticed in the past year or so that pearl farmers actively send their pearls to Japan of China for maeshori treatment. This to the exptend that some pearls farmers use non-meashori pearls as a marketing point.

I guess I'm a puritan, but do we know what this treatment does to the pearl in the long run? And is it really necessary? Aren't the pearls beautiful enough to start with? Or is it because the pearls can then fetch a higher price than they would otherwise be worth?

Enlighten me, oh Masters of Pearls!

- Karin

 

[CLICLASP]

Hi
could we start by adefinition of what a Maeshori treatment is exactly about?

 

[KarinK]

As I understand it maeshori is a treatment that enhances the luster of a pearl by 'pulling together' the outer layers, as if tightening the skin in a face lift. I believe that there are many ways to do this. It seems that all fresh water and akoya pearls have this treatment.

Anyone with more knowledge, please correct me!

- Karin

 

[jshepherd]

Maeshori has a lot of meanings now. It is a Japanese word that literally means before (mae) treatment (shori). It is a treatment used on all akoya, freshwater and some South Sea. Maeshori treatments vary from factory to factory, but Karin is more or less correct in what it does. It tightens the nacre and pulls moisture out, which will enhance the luster but also make the nacre more brittle. In freshwater, pearls that have been over-treated will turn chalky in short order.

Maeshori with South Sea pearls is a very common treatment in Japan. It makes the pearls whiter, brighter, and more salable. It isn't a necessary treatment, in my opinion. Joseph Taylor from Atlas does sell his treated, and his pearls are beautiful. Other producers, like Kakuda growing in Indonesia, universally treat their South Sea, but they also disclose the maeshori.

 

[Bodecia]

Does anyone have photos of pearls of any kind that can be compared for this Maeshori treatment. That is comparable pearls otherwise to one (or one group of pearls) having the treatment and one (or group) not having it.

I find the idea of removing moisture to tighten the nacre rather alarming. Naturally I have seen pearls with a part of them looking chalky so could this be because of this treatment? Is there anyway to reduce this chalkiness in a South Sea pearl? I really don't understand this need for extremely white pearls, or not to this extent which surely must shorten the life span of a pearl.

If nacre is considered to need tightening, what does it appear like before this treatment. I have seen a number of high quality freshwater pearls that almost appear to have a silk laying on them with gentle folds of silk on the surface. Is this caused by the maeshori treatment. I actually like that look but it would be interesting to know what causes it.

Have also seen what I believe to be natural pearls with layers of nacre that are not hard up against each other evenly. Is this normal and part of natural pearls or can it occur in all types of pearls?

Think I have too many questions in this post.

Thanks all.

To me the closer to natural a pearl can be the better. Warts and all.

Dawn
http://shop.ebay.com/dawncee333/m.html
Pearl lover and Natural Pearl collector

 

[KarinK]

Dawn, from what little I know it seems that all freshwater pearls have this treatment.

It tightens the nacre and pulls moisture out, which will enhance the luster but also make the nacre more brittle. In freshwater, pearls that have been over-treated will turn chalky in short order.

Again, I may be too idealistic here, but if something can change the proporty of a pearl in this way, I would personally consider it a treatment.

- Karin

 

[Bodecia]

Karen and all,

I would really like to know how this treatment is preformed on pearls. And what kind of treatment it is. Sounds like a faceift I thought freshwater pearls were in many ways purer than the saltwater pearls which have often been over-treated but it seems not.

I totally agree with you Karin. Do you have any idea what is done to the pearls with this treatment?

Dawn
http://shop.ebay.com/dawncee333/m.html
Pearl lover and Natural Pearl collector

 

[Hanaleimom]

Jeremy talked about it here https://www.pearl-guide.com/forum/freshwater-pearls/1805-luster-treatment.html and here https://www.pearl-guide.com/forum/akoya-pearls/1856-black-akoya-overtone.html

 

[Bodecia]

Thanks Cathy, much appreciated.

Dawn
http://shop.ebay.com/dawncee333/m.html
Pearl lover and Natural Pearl collector

 

[KarinK]

Yes, thank you, Caitlin!

- Karin

 

[KarinK]

Karen and all,

I would really like to know how this treatment is preformed on pearls. And what kind of treatment it is. Sounds like a faceift I thought freshwater pearls were in many ways purer than the saltwater pearls which have often been over-treated but it seems not.

I totally agree with you Karin. Do you have any idea what is done to the pearls with this treatment?

Dawn
http://shop.ebay.com/dawncee333/m.html
Pearl lover and Natural Pearl collector

Hi Dawn,

I don't much about the treatment, but happily Caitlin helped us out here. I just got curious. But by "salt water pearls often been over-treated do you mean Akoya? If so, I agree. But Tahiti and South Sea Pearls do not seem to undergo much treatment (except perhaps the golden pearls being dyed) and the non-treatment of maeshori

- Karin

 

[R&B]

Hello everyone
My wife Bronwyn and I (Rusty), own and run a south sea pearl farm at the top of Queensland, Australia and have enjoyed reading this web page for some time.
We have not contributed since joining but I am unable to stand back on this subject.
Last month we totally enjoyed harvesting our first crop of pearls. Each evening we rolled the day's pearls in salt then rinsed them. After drying the grading takes place.
This Ladies and Gentlemen, is the point of judgeing a pearl. All efforts after this come down to crooks and shysters (In my view).
I,ve probably upset some, sorry, but our livelyhood depends on people gaining an understanding as to what a quality pearl is, not what a crap pearl might be with a touch up.
Love the Pearl-guide.

 

[pattye]

Welcome Rusty and Bronwyn!

Congratulations on your first harvest! Do you have photos to share? We'd love to see them. How did you come to owning your farm? Sounds like you have much love for and dedication to the career you have chosen.

 

[GemGeek]

Yes, welcome to the forum. Having played with a morning's harvest at Paspaley, I can agree that most south sea pearls need nothing more than good rinsing. A quick salt slurry scrub causes no harm.

Glad to know that you are here. If you've really read this forum, then you know that we are freaks for photos, so please post some soon! Congratulations!

 

[Nora]

Welcome Bronwyn and Rusty!

Congratulations on your first harvest! I like your attitude.

 

[pearlescence]

Congratulations on your first harvest, and welcome to the forum. yes indeed. we need photos of those pearls please

 

[Caitlin]

Hey! We are so glad you posted! Please share more. Start your own thread with your name or company's name on it. The keep us up with the weather and other interesting things that help your pearls grow or hinder. I can hardly wait to hear more!

 

[Lagoon Island Pearls]

Hello everyone. My wife Bronwyn and I (Rusty), own and run a south sea pearl farm at the top of Queensland, Australia and have enjoyed reading this web page for some time. Last month we totally enjoyed harvesting our first crop of pearls.

A hardy welcome to Rusty and Bronwynn! Congratulations on your first harvest. If you don't mind me prying, what volume did you turn?

Each evening we rolled the day's pearls in salt then rinsed them. After drying the grading takes place. This Ladies and Gentlemen, is the point of judgeing a pearl.

Agreed.

All efforts after this come down to crooks and shysters (In my view). I've probably upset some, sorry, but our livelyhood depends on people gaining an understanding as to what a quality pearl is, not what a crap pearl might be with a touch up.

I have no doubts, after-treatment is used to maximize profitability. Raising the grade of several tonnes of pearls (even a fraction of a point) means more revenue. Whether that implies the producers are charletons is a debateable topic from a marketing standpoint. That said, it's important consumers should be aware of these treatments, so they can make informed decisions about purchasing their heirlooms. Personally, I'm motivated not to treat pearls and have no intention of post harvest treatment other than using salt slurries or sparingly applied mineral oil.

Like food certified as "organic", pearl grades included as "untreated" will invariably become the norm in a few years.

Now... dying freshwater pearls and passing them off as SS or Tahitian is something that really gets under my skin. I've noticed lately, there are a lot of threads where folks are questioning the disingenuous black pearl claims found on foreign websites and/or eBay. While awareness is expanding, unfortunately, many are bilked each and every day.

 

[R&B]

Gidday All again

Nice to see people get into the spirit of debate and be welcomed so quickly. Thank you.
I confess a certain enjoyment on seeing photo's with the yarn's on this forum. Stay tuned for pic's of our harvest as my dear wife Browyn is the star performer of our gig as far a computer things go ( this of course translates to "I don't know how to put pic's on the page").
In answer to some of the questions, We attained the farm through hard work, The size of our Harvest was not big, We are not interested in being Big player's, In 4 to 5 years we will be at our cruise level of producing 3 to 5 thousand pearls per annum. Our goal is to position ourselves with a niche market as our farms location has shown promise of a high percentage of silver pinks.
Bronwyn will put a post in tomorrow with some pic's and a link to our web page.
For those interested, when Bron puts a link up, go to the farm blog that she updates every few weeks and you will see that we are just a couple of ordinary people growing beautiful things ( and really enjoying it).
Once again, thanks for the welcomes from around the world, we both look forward to shareing our joy of pearls with you,
Good night,
Rusty and Bronwyn Tully
Torres Pearls Pty Ltd
Turtlehead Island
Escape River
Faarrr North Queensland
Australia.

 

[R&B]

Hi all
We started a new thread under the Pearl Farm forum for our pearl farm - Torres Pearls at Turtlehead Island, Escape River. We also posted a link in there to our webpage for those who are interested.

http://www.torrespearls.com

Rusty & Bronwyn Tully