What have you guys been doing today?

[AzFlyGirl]

Lisa C your treasure drawer is lovely. All those shiny pastel colors caught my eye.

Douglas, those jelly beans are 'to die for' ! You have such an amazing array of natural pearls. Fun

[lisa c]

Oh Marianne! Was it awful smelling? We’re you drilling or smashing? All my sympathy.

thanks Az! Of course, my main purpose is to be grateful and enjoy them! Easy-peasy, that.

[CortezPearls]

And I think it says a lot for the creatures comfort - look how clean the innards are! It’s lke a posh spa as opposed to a sad backstreet ‘stew’!
(nothing meant against Natural pearls...I just picture the creature hoisting up a dirty girdle as opposed to French lingerie. What they all deserve is Love, my imagery is inadequate)

Exactly. They all deserve LOVE, regardless of their origin...pearls are like people too!

[CortezPearls]

Very interesting photos CortezPearls. I have some early ugly pearls that needs examining. Just have to get not-husbands help splitting them apart, I have no patience and would likely cut myself. I did manage to stab myself in a finger with a reamer not that long ago.

It might be easier than you think! No actual need to saw them. I use a technique that involves SANDPAPER...I just grind them away, a swipe at a time! Now, if the pearls are LARGE, then this is not the way to go. A mechanical method is more suitable.

[CortezPearls]

Attachment 76598Not all keshi have pristine interiors...

Definitively not Marianne!
And the larger they are, the higher the chances of "finding oil!"...or "Pearl Petroleum" (PePe for short) as I call it.

[CortezPearls]

And for today, I have these...all this talking about "the insides" of pearls had me thinking about their outsides too.

These are a "pearl monstrosity" of sorts, a freak show...I call these..."Popcorn Pearls".
Popcorn pearls (1).jpg

What do you think of these?

[Marianne]

Lisa, the pearls had been recently drilled. The smell, think a barrel of dead fish left out in the sun for a week.

[CortezPearls]

Lisa, the pearls had been recently drilled. The smell, think a barrel of dead fish left out in the sun for a week.

What technique do you employ to get rid of the smell Marianne???

[lisa c]

Oh Marianne! (I keep saying that), an excellent description (gag) and reason to drill outside, if you can. Hazmat suit!

[Marianne]

Hi Douglas, I inject H2O2 into the pearl with an insulin syringe. It loosens the yucky organic matter. Then flush with H2O and repeat. I run a cotton cord through the pearls then let them dry for a week. If still stinky, I repeat the process until no more stink. I figured out this method because we used to clean traches with H2O2 when I worked Med/Surg in the hospital years ago.

Hi Lisa, Sorry about the description, but you did ask. . The pooping pearl pictured above came to me sealed in a plastic bag of pearls that had been freshly drilled by someone in Hong Kong. That was fun to open.

[CMN]

Douglas, are they oyster shells?

[CortezPearls]

Hi Douglas, I inject H2O2 into the pearl with an insulin syringe. It loosens the yucky organic matter. Then flush with H2O and repeat. I run a cotton cord through the pearls then let them dry for a week. If still stinky, I repeat the process until no more stink. I figured out this method because we used to clean traches with H2O2 when I worked Med/Surg in the hospital years ago.

Hi Lisa, Sorry about the description, but you did ask. . The pooping pearl pictured above came to me sealed in a plastic bag of pearls that had been freshly drilled by someone in Hong Kong. That was fun to open.

Thank you Marianne!
Good system! peroxide works really well! Thank you for the quick reminder...I thought others would find it interesting as well

[CortezPearls]

Douglas, are they oyster shells?

The "Popcorn pearls"??? No, they are PEARLS, but they are the kind you discard...they are non-saleable, non-commercial or "trash pearls", but they give you much information about the pearl sac and pearl producing process if you know what you are looking at. That is why they are interesting to me

[lisa c]

Yep, I did ask, I most certainly did!

[multichrome]

I don’t want to spam Charlotta’s pearl thread with more cats, but I really want to share Rover The Cat modeling on Instagram wearing a special holiday outfit. A few pearls would make a great addition to Rover’s bling! They don’t call it “the catwalk” for nothing! My kitty would not be this cooperative! (He is below, under our tree a couple of years ago.)

https://www.instagram.com/p/CIbVcAAp..._web_copy_link

7ED55559-8B85-4969-8D0E-C6F48E1FD7F2.jpg