I was just thinking..... If the quality of pearl knowledge is enhanced by this course, there should be many more people who can talk about pearls intelligently, with each other and with pearl experts, starting with forum members. This alone will show people who has pearl knowledge, perhaps the book learning part is even better than theirs', though they still have the only hands-on pearls recognition course.
Thinking about it, I learned most of my pearl-recognition skills through photos on P-G! Eventually, I have seen real life examples of each type- but I already knew what they were from practicing recognition skills on P-G. I still like to do it, but I wait until a bunch of other people have had their say.
Remember the very first freshadama/akoya comparison photo Jeremy put up? I love it when people ask for pearl ID's over here- it is such a good time to practice and argue your point in a post. Sometimes, people like Anna @Cliclasp have posted guessing games with antique pearls she photographed in various museums and shows.
What I love the best are the freshwater pearls posing as naturals - boy have we had some go-rounds on those!
I hope CPAA members who take the course will sign up for P-G, too.
