Rice Krispie Pearls

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Daddys Little Pearl

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Jan 6, 2013
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Hello, I am new to the forum, and trying to learn more about pearls, so I may be asking a lot of questions. I have become fascinated by the older "rice Krispie" freshwater pearls from I guess the 70's, but have found little useful information on these with a lot of pearl guides referring to them as inferior, to which I totally disagree. I am also confused as to size, as I am seeing some for sale here and there that are much larger rice krispies, and some very tiny. Do the rice krispie pearls have a "normal" size? What qualities would I look for as to "grading" these? Thanks forum!
 
DLP,

Welcome! Questions are good! Some of us here also love those Rice Krispie pearls, too. I recall most were around that size also, and smaller. Yes, you will still see Chinese freshwater pearls, baroque shape and tissue nucleated, tiny still being grown today, but many larger pearls, too, and generally inexpensive. I just bought some at a Gem Faire last weekend. I'll put up a photo in a little bit. I've never seen a grading standard for these but would suggest:

1. Look for high luster, iridescent pearls, perhaps with overtones,
2. Lack of small black spots, a clean surface
3. Lack of chalky spots or areas. If the pearls have a flat side, it should have high luster also, or at least not be dull

If you are shopping in person, these qualities are easier to judge than in a photo. Where are you purchasing your pearls? Are you just getting started or do you already have a collection? Are you shopping for vintage necklaces? We love photos.
 
Welcome to the forum DLP. I live in TN too. I purchased some many years ago, 1990's for my MIL at CostCo. A multi stand with matching bracelet. She never wore them and regifted them to me. What I liked about this strand was much of what Pattye said, but one thing she didn't . The CostCo pearls were smooth rice pearls. I have seen many which were rippled. The smooth ones with overtones are really pretty.
 
Thanks Pattye, will post photos hopefully this evening. I have been a jewelry and antiques dealer for close to 30 years, I was drawn to it originally by vintage jewelry, mostly costume, but as I have grown older developed a real love for pearls both real and also the high quality faux pearls. I have always been pretty accurate in judging the real from the fake, but just now having the time to start learning more about the types, some of which on this forum I had never heard of before. I do also have some older cultured pearls that I will need help identifying, maybe I can post those on a different area of the forum later on. Thanks, sure am glad I found this wonderful site! Linda
 
Forgot I had to be at a meeting this evening.

LFP, any chance to see a photo of your pearls? I don't think I've seen any real smooth ones before. Your set sounds lovely! So great to be able to date it also.

Linda, tomorrow I will take some photos. Thanks for sharing your background, and I'm sure we'd all love seeing your pearls. Actually, it would be great to have a thread showing high quality imitation pearls for comparison purposes. Some of us have a collection of those also. Of course, we love the old cultured pearls! Hope you will hang around and learn lots!

PEARLS by Elizabeth Strack, has a whole chapter on Freshwater Cultured Pearls From China, starting on page 420. Fascinating, with lots of detail, which I am rereading. However, we must remember the book was published in Dec 2001, so much development has occurred since then.
 
Here's a photo of some "rice krispie" pearls. The white on the left are not as high quality as the ones in the middle. The peach on the right are newer cfwp, but not high quality, though they do have good luster. The pearls in the middle were purchased a few years ago, from someone who said they were true Lake Biwa pearls from Japan that he had stashed from when he was a US sales rep in the '80's. However, Strack says many Chinese freshwater pearls were processed in Japan, mixed with and sold as Japanese Biwa pearls.

P1000110.jpg
 
Thanks Pattye, working on gathering everything up for photos, and your idea of posting a new thread on faux pearls for comparison is a great one! Please tell me under which forum section I should put it. Very timely too, just saw a long strand at a consignment store earlier this week that the owner thought were real, and although slightly cold, they had more of the glassy look of the fake, plus I could see some scratching on many of them through a loupe. I usually can tell the second I put pearls in my hand if they are real, at least I thought I could, but these were foolers. If they get reduced in price, I will buy them anyway and post photos, they look like pink and peach dyed freshwater rounds. Linda
 
Hi Linda,

Fun! Let's put it under "OTHER STUFF." I just asked Caitlin, our admin, about this earlier today. I have some imitation aka fake pearls I haven't been able to part with, and it could be good for comparison purposes. I've seen some pretty good fakes also. I hope you can get the pink and peach ones. Make an offer?

The title could be something like FAKE, FAUX, IMITATION PEARLS. I'm certain others will have examples to add that could be helpful to others.
 
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Beautiful luster on your little treasures. The strand with the gold beads is a classic treatment in the "early days" (1980's ) :)
 
Thanks Marianne, and now I am so glad I was scooping all these up over the past month, just went to my first bead show and not a krispie in sight. Lots of large weird shapes, but these very small ones just did not exist.

Daddys Little Pearl
 
Those certainly look like Rice Krispies, but with a very beautiful nacre. Such a great example. I hope you won't mind if I use one of your photos as an example for education. :cool:

The later smoother ones are usually just called rice pearls and I've seen some gorgeous strands of rice pearls. I fondly recall a lavender strand that was almost beyond belief it was so pretty. Unfortuantely, the seller knew it was worth big $$$ so it didn't go home with me! ;)
 
GemGeek,you are welcome to use any photos I ever post here, after all the purpose is to share education. I have some rice pearls also that are slightly old and will post them at a later time. Let me know if you want me to post some close ups of any of the krispies. And yes, these all are pretty darn nacre-rich, one of the things that attracted me to them. No need for a tooth test, you can feel it with your fingernail.

Daddys Little Pearl
 
Hello everyone I am brand new to this group! I am just starting a part time business making handmade jewelry of faith and prayer beads and am trying to find wholesale "rice krispy" pearls. Does anyone know where I can find them? Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!!! lesnola
 
I was just looking up "rice krispie pearls" on Google to answer a questions on Pricescope about my necklace and this thread popped up! I might as well post the pictures here, too! This necklace was given to me by my late MIL who lived in Oak Ridge, TN at the time. This was in the mid-1980's. I never liked or wore this strand -- but for some reason it seemed the right necklace with my dress today. I'm glad I kept it! (Now I have to see if I can locate the matching earrings...):

MIL rope.jpg


rice krispie pearls circa mid 1980's.jpg
 
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