Natural Abalone Pearls

[Mister.Hill]

Cleaning/Polishing Abalone Pearls

Cleaning/Polishing Abalone Pearls

Hello all,

I'm sure this must have been asked before, but I can't seem to find specifics.

I have some naturally formed Abalone pearls, but i'm not 100% sure on the BEST way to bring out their natural coulors. As an experiment (please don't shoot me for this) but I put a small amount of vegetable oild on one and it looked amazing. I'm sure this is a big "no no" so I was looking for any words of wisdom from people who have been down this path already?

Also as a secondary question. I gave a small selection of pearls a light polish in a tumbler (only contatined soft dry polishing compound), but not long after removing them they start to really darken up. I was just wondering if anyone knew why this may happen.

Again, this process may have been a "no no" but I only tried it on a very small selection.

Thanks in advance for your time and advice.

 

[purepearls]

Vegetable oil will not hurt the pearl. I'm wondering if they get darker because of the residue of the polishing compound. Is the polishing compound you are using darker in nature?

 

[Mister.Hill]

Thank you

Thank you very much

 

[Valeria101]

I do have another type called propolish which is white ....

Is it normal that the polishing compound leaves traces of color on the pearls?

Just asking because 'Propolish' is the name of something a local lapidarist uses for tumbling stones. If that is the same thing, I wonder if something that skins agate and jasper is not too harsh for pearls.

 

[Mister.Hill]

Propolish - Too harsh?

Propolish - Too harsh?

I wonder if something that skins agate and jasper is not too harsh for pearls.

Hi Valeria, good point. Does anyone here have any experience with propolish and wether it may be too harsh? I've also heard Walnut shells work well in a jewellry tumbler for polishing.

Thanks again for your advice

 

[Valeria101]

Hi Valeria, good point. Does anyone here have any experience with propolish and wether it may be too harsh? I've also heard Walnut shells work well in a jewellry tumbler for polishing.

Thanks again for your advice

No idea about pearls. The same folks sometimes tumble amber (=another way soft stuff that ever gets into a tumbler!) - not as much to polish it, as to get smooth satin finish. This is by design - I have no idea if smooth polish could be obtained by using different stuff in the tumbler.

They use organic stuff: grains (wheat, corn...more or less crushed), oats, seeds of all sorts (e.g. grass seeds)... small wood and bark chips. As you may imagine, there is some amount of experimentation involved and I am not into this at all. Just happened to have a peek into the workshop.

 

[Zeide Erskine]

Hi Mr. Hill,

Polishing natural pearls is currently out of fashion and frowned upon. Abalone pearls typically have largish conchiolin spots that are considered badges of honor and signs of authenticity, however, the actual spots themselves are usually hidden by the setting. It may well be that the trend will turn around and natural pearls will be polished again but that will probably be at the same time it becomes acceptable again to varnish Stickley desks. In short, even if more polished naturals appear on the market, it may still not be a good move for the long term value of your natural abalone pearl to have it polished.

Zeide

Don't knock on death's door, ring the doorbell and run, he hates that.

 

[Mister.Hill]

Thank you

Thank you

Hi Zeide,

Thanks for letting me know. Just out of curiosity, remembering i'm not expert, but what is it you mean by conchiolin patches? What does this look like?

Thanks again

 

[Zeide Erskine]

Dear Mr. Hill,

Depending on whether the conchiolin spots are immediately on the outside surface or just lightly grown over by aragonite they look either like dark glue spills or dark discolorations with no orient. Some pearl collectors refer to these conchiolin patches as "cow pad" and highly iridescent nacre layers as "flies." Abalone pearls are worth more the higher the ratio of flies to cow pad and vice versa.

Zeide

 

[Jnorris]

Polishing Abalone pearls

Polishing Abalone pearls

Hello Mr. Hill,

There are a few different techniques for polishing Abalone pearls. The one I have found to be best involves the use of a dremel or Flexible shaft attached to an electric motor (foredom or other). A variable speed foot peddle is recommended to control speed. Use a polishing compound (I use triplee and occaisional Cerium Oxide) a top a felt or cloth wheel. Don't over polish or you risk creating an unnatural appearence in your pearl. The tumbler is a bad Idea as it can break delicate edges and or expose lower layers of the pearl. A pearl showing multiple layers looks a lot more like shell then Pearl.
A significant percentage of mid to low quality Abalone pearls on the market have been peeled or polished to improve saleability. This can usually be determined under magnification. a 10x loop will show fine scratch marks associated with polishing.

Good luck,
Jeremy

 

[Mister.Hill]

Hi Jeremy,

Thanks so much for your feedback. It just so happens my son has purchased a handheld Dremel yesterday for an unrelated project, but he's now got all the bits to give this a try.

I'll flick a few his way to have a play with and see what happens.

Thanks once again.

 

[Wes Rankin]

Abalone pearl

Abalone pearl

Dear Evin,
Do you have a photo of this pearl? It would help if your photos show all sides of the pearl. A pearl of this size would be more for a collector than for jewelry use, so the value depends on the quality of the pearl.
Wes
www.allnaturalpearls.com

 

[SteveM]

Haliotus (Abalone) General

Haliotus (Abalone) General

This thread began as post #32 under Natural Pearls in 'Pinctada Maculata (Pipi) Pearls'. Quoting from post:

Pearl-Guide.com has inserted a full page ad that features an abalone pearl we purchased from Pearl Paradise (sourced by Jeremy Norris). As we were told this pearl was found on Santa Catalina Island we have christened it 'La Catalina', with the blessing of both Jeremys. It's just as striking in person!

This is Haliotus fulgens (green abalone) vs. the blue Paua from NZ, Haliotus iris. Paua at $250/$300 per carat is far more expensive, however it is likely that it takes a truly superior example from CA, such as this, to measure up. Anyone able to comment regarding the astronomical quotes coming out of NZ, please do!

What to do with this shape? This was not a consideration on purchase. But we are thinking that display is better than a black velvet bag, and the pearl's boat-keel shape intimates some sort of maritime theme. We are thinking of contacting Seattle boutique glass blowers to discuss framing the pearl in some sort of dhow/junk (Persian Gulf?) treatment, or perhaps simply a rolling blue sea as a display base.

Welcome all thoughts on aesthetic and commercial considerations!

Steve
Seattle

 

[KAC]

I love the idea of mounting in some sort of maritime theme display, I hadn't thought of something like this before. Please keep us posted on what you decide to do with this pearl.

 

[SteveM]

Many thanks for the concurrence. We do know a Seattle co-op of respected blown glass artists and will be taking 'La Catalina' in for a conceptual discussion this weekend.

My preference is to leave the pearl free floating in the composition of the piece (not to risk heating or compromising in any way, also to inspect closely from time to time!). This would necessitate some sort of secure pouch attached to the glass for safekeeping in close proximity when not on display, I suppose?


Steve
Seattle

 

[Bodecia]

Hi All,

Does anyone else have one of these wonderful Abalone pearls? & does anyone have a roundish one. I am lucky enough to have a decent size shell that my father brought back from a working trip to north Western Australia but never knew that they had gorgeous pearls in them occasionally. I am sure most people would have no idea what they are and would think that it was some kind of mother of pearl but not a real pearl of any great value. I must keep my eyes open when going into junk shops in the future Never know what you can find in them.

Thanks for sharing,

Bodecia

 

[SteveM]

Roundish abalone pearls are a holy grail among collectors, as the anatomy of the haliotus (single shell) does not provide the natural circumstances for symmetrical nacre deposit. But they do exist!

Direct source quotes from NZ are in the range of US$250/$300 per carat for gem quality, which La Catalina (albeit not NZ origin) certainly is. At 36 carats, just do the math! A round one of any size can ask practically any price I suppose, due to its more conventional jewelry application?ultimate rarity combined with greater demand.

Yes, it would be nice to think of such things lying around under several layers of dust awaiting discovery?

[I'm trying to entice the professionals here for comment, especially re NZ which seems to me to be in the hands of a small number of folks able to control commodity valuation much in the manner of DeBeers, albeit on a minuscule scale.]

Steve

 

[jshepherd]

I have had a few dealers look at that particular piece in the past but found it a difficult sell. It really takes creativity to come up with a design that will fit such a shape. Both necklace and bracelet have been discussed, but nothing actually came of it. I am excited to see what you will actually be able to do with 'La Catalina'.

We are awaiting another box of abs that should be here in the next day or two. I will keep you posted as Natalie finds the time to shoot them.

 

[SteveM]

Jeremy: Thanks for chiming in. I was the ideal customer for La Catalina given my nearly total previous blindness to the jewelry business! I just love the pearls.

By the way, I have made an assumption in using Natalie's/PearlParadise's beautiful photograph. Credit is due, if not your forgiveness?

Steve

 

[Caitlin]

Did anyone notice all the mermaids Wes Rankin has on display? Their tails are all made out of abalone pearls. I think that shape of La Catalina may also lend itself to incorporation into a mermaid.

How big it it? It looks huge.