Recent content by olmander

Thanks everybody for a quick brainstorm! Caitlin, that's exactly what I find confusing - the pearls do have knots, there is French wire (looking quite old), the clasp does not look like a replaced one, but the pearls are too big for akoya and have a typical golden colour. The strand is not with...

Here is the close-up of the clasp

Thanks Karin! That would possibly explain it. Could akoya be 8-9 mm? Is it not too big for it? Also the luster is not typical akoya - although it could of course be lost with the age, after using perfume etc If it is akoya from after the war period - does it have any value?

I have a question to the experts in old pearls. My Spanish lady friend has inherited a couple of pearls from her mother-in-law and is trying to estimate what it is and if it has value if they decide to sell it. The family got rich somewhere around 40-50s through a thriving business, there was a...

One more story about a Kamoka leather bracelet. First there was one (a special order, therefore out of ordinary) It was so perfect that it was not enough, and a necklace came too. But it was also too perfect to wear it on the neck without seeing it, So it landed on my wrist too, next to the...

Karin, I am surprised myself, but this seems not to be a problem. First I was anxious that I may accidentally damage the pearl but it is less fragile than I thought. It is not really VERY big, I think 10 mm, maybe 11. It is just a small size of the ring which makes it look big. But it is a...

Another Kamoka pearl in a ring. It was initially a ring from Sarah in silver but I made it reset in yellow matt gold. The pearl is just magnificent! I think it looks very classy in this setting. Olga

What about kasumi pearl production? The lake is between Tokyo and Fukucima and I bet they felt it there in one or another way...

Hi Sven, I will be there on Friday. Where do you stand? In C1? Which number? Olga

They use the word natural meaning that this is not plastic It is a frequent mistake, mostly as a result of pure ignorance about pearls

No doubt in Richard's expertise :) It' s just about a different way of distribution. My assumption is that in Europe it is much less common for small retailers and designers to go to big gem shows, therefore there are more levels of wholesale and as a result prices are a priori higher.

Caitlin and Jeremy, I think indeed some clarification would be nice because from the quotation Richard used it is not at all clear if the author means wholesale prices. And given that the author is a journalist, he might also mean something else than professionals. Again: there is wholesale...

Richard, I did not read the book and can not judge about its quality, but one argument in your review made me quite excited: this is about pricing. You write: His first and most egregious error occurs in his introduction. “Pearl pricing”, he says, “is totally subjective …The same strand can...

Done;) Great idea, Blair!

Thanks everybody! I am totally in love:-)