Recent content by Aussie gemologist

Indeed, you are quite correct in what you say regarding windowpane oysters "placuna placenta" and whilst the oysters I'm speaking of share many similarities to the windowpane oysters, the two species are also quite distinctly different in a number of ways, most notably the shape, as with all...

I had noticed it was an old thread, In a way, I just wish I had seen it sooner, I felt compelled to post here as, it seemed the perfect opportunity to discuss brackish water pearls, there aren't too many discussions dealing with this niche subject. I find it to be a fascinating topic...

the first photo displays the typical pearlescent spectrum. the second picture is backlit to display a high level translucency. the third picture is to show an unusually colourful and vibrant pearlescence owing to a piece of vegetable matter trapped between the shell layers. I forgot to mention...

This is a brackish-water, natural heart shaped "blister type" pearl from a host Anomia Descripta Oyster found in the Parramatta River, Sydney, Australia - west of Kissing Point nearing the brackish/freshwater boundary. The colours of species of true oysters ranges from a almost crystal clear...

There is also the option for these black colours to be achieved through the use of black beads and shorter than optimal growth times, this unfortunately leads to a weak/subdued pearlescence owing to the reduced number of nacreous layers around the nucleus. They are generally less expensive than...

Personally, I would presume that they would be employing the use of black-lipped oysters, also it is quite obvious that they are seeded pearls due to the rarity of naturally occurring round pearls, also the NJ I also suggest that due to the perfectly uniform and round shape of the pearls and...

What species of molluscs was the host, do you know?

So, having established the premise that the host species would determine the classification, should I assume that species of molluscs found to range in distribution from the brackish waters into coastal saltwater environments to be considered saltwater?, whilst those whose environmental...