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  1. jshepherd

    An Exceptional Melo Melo Pearl

    I came across this beauty in Hong Kong - a seven-figure pearl! It's a melo melo that measures over 33 mm and weighs 276 carats. No, I didn't take it home :giggle:
  2. jshepherd

    Should i get these tested?

    Do you see any chipping or cracking around the drill holes? A strand that old, if cultured, should have a visible bead somewhere within the strand. Is there a hole in the center of the pearl on the inner strand, #19/#27 depending on which way you count? The size, shape and nacre does not look...
  3. jshepherd

    New Freshadamas are 🤯🤯🤯

    We've only used freshadama for tissue-nucleated pearls. The shape and luster of these new beaded pearls is really something. I saw a lot of them at the show, but we didn't buy any of them. We went out to dinner with a close friend and had quite a long discussion about them. Our friend is the...
  4. jshepherd

    Guidance needed for mikimoto strand

    Agreed. It shouldn't be knotted past the first few pearls. It will look much better this way, be a bit shorter, and wear the way it was originally intended.
  5. jshepherd

    hong kong show

    We are getting ready to leave for Hong Kong and I just stumbled across this Gem in my photos :) It was a Pearl-Guide Ruckus of sorts!
  6. jshepherd

    Ball bearing look question and white/silver or silver

    All three appear to be akoya strands. In the first photo, the luster is better on the right strand. You can see this by the crispness of the reflection when you zoom in - snippet attached. The third photo shows another strand of akoya that look to be a bit older (your moms?). The pearls have...
  7. jshepherd

    Identity antique southseas Golden pearl necklace

    They don't look like pearls. Share a photo, or a few photos, of the entire piece and we can be definitive.
  8. jshepherd

    StarryPearl's thread

    Very cool ring!!!
  9. jshepherd

    Buying Tahitians - better in Jakarta or online?

    There are no Tahitian pearl farms in Indonesia - only South Sea. If you're looking for white or golden South Sea you can buy locally produced pearls, but if Tahitian, they are imported to Indonesia from Tahiti.
  10. jshepherd

    What type of pearls are these?

    These are Chinese freshwater pearls
  11. jshepherd

    Vintage Mikimoto real/fake

    Definitely not Mikimoto, and what is the deal with the way the clasp is attached??? :pat:
  12. jshepherd

    Show Us Your Pearls In Action!!!

    That photo belongs in a magazine! Perfection!
  13. jshepherd

    Are these tahitian or dyed freshwater?

    These are dyed Chinese freshwater pearls.
  14. jshepherd

    Pinctada Maculata (Pipi) Pearls

    Wow, wow, wowzers!!!
  15. jshepherd

    Book Review: GemPedia – A ComprehensiveGlossary for Gemstones and Gemmology by Rui Galopim de Carvalho (2024)

    I just got my copy! That was quick! I don't think there's anything quite like it out there.
  16. jshepherd

    Increasing the purpleness of beaded freshwater pearls

    So the hcApo protein absorbs and stores carotenoids, which are the pigments that give shells their color. So they are selectively breeding shells that exhibit higher gene expression activity...
  17. jshepherd

    Increasing the purpleness of beaded freshwater pearls

    We are seeing a lot of deep colors come out of China, specifically with the new Edison-style, large beaded pearls. A recent study in the journal Aquaculture dives into how scientists are using genomic selection (GS) to boost the purpleness of the inner shells in triangle sail mussels, aka...
  18. jshepherd

    Are these mikimoto pearls real? If yes, what year is this made?

    Earrings and pendants are stand-alone pieces, so pearls are specially selected for them. They tend to be perfectly clean or very close to it.
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