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That is a nice Melo Cees! Probably polished at least but still lovely!

If there is any flame structure present, one of your images appears to show some very weak flames where the light is reflecting off the surface, then it is either Tridacna shell or a fashioned (worked and polished) Tridacna pearl. I have seen Tridacna pearls with BANDING, including whole pearls...

Any link to the item? Why can't a freshwater pearl be that large in your opinion? I think you may find a few natural USA pearls as large or larger if you visited some of the bigger US dealers in such pearls. Perhaps some contributors here have handled known natural US pearls larger or at least...

Thanks Gulf_pearls. Interesting to know Sitra was the source. Fits with what I have heard from other Bahraini divers over the years. They also said the dredged entrance to what used to be Manama port infront of Bab Al-Bahrain produced nice naturals several years ago but now the all the...

They could be blisters or blister pearls with the shell still intact on the back and polished together to look like whole pearls. Cannot really say for sure unless they are inspected in person. Always difficult from pictures. Microradiography would also help as the internal structures would be...

Interesting colours for Bahraini pearls too! Did these come from various sources or one particular one? Off the coast of Muharraq, Manama, Sitra (power station area I once heard was a good source!) or one of the famous pearling hairats such as Hayr Shtayyah? Would be interesting to know if...

Answered my own question: http://younglandis.wordpress.com/2010/04/22/penshellpearls/ Hope that works for anyone else interested.

The link to the original article appears to have vanished. Anyone know where it may be written in a non-electronic format to refer to please? Would like to see what was written but can't find the text now. Thanks for any help!

From what I have seen over the years I would agree that this is a highly translucent organic rich (conchiolin?) pinna pearl, although I have never been able to see one being removed from a shell so there still isn't enough proof to confirm the opinion. Would love to see someone actually bring a...

If you have some good quality close-up shots of the pearls you might receive some replies Phoenix. It has hard to be sure from a distance as they are likely bead cultured but we really need more in-focus close-up images to be more certain.

A nice shape but the images are not as clear as the ones of your probable cultured pearl. Given the size and appearance it is probably a Tridacna (clam) pearl, possibly gigas. Do you see any flame structure (likely quite fine) anywhere?

Also agree that it is almost certainly a bead cultured pearl. Never really know without X-raying these days but I am sure we would all be extremely surprised if it turned out to be natural! Just wanted to say that I think the pictures you attached are very good quality and really showed the...

Indeed. Nice to see your return and the lovely images. Please keep them coming.

Would agree that the larger one looks like Tridacna of some kind (likely gigas). The nacreous one looks more like a piece of heavily worked shell or at best a "blister" not a "blister pearl". Serious issues with it indeed!

Unless I am completely mistaken I think you will find that the original poster is linked to this business: http://www.mattarjewelers.com/ Hope that helps.

Nice ring! Just an observation about testing. Wherever you go should be fine, depending on how much you want to pay for what will likely be the same result, but it might be worth removing the pearl since if CT work is needed by whoever tests it, loose would be better. Testing loose pearls is...

Would second GemGeek's query. Unfortunately they don't really look like natural saltwater pearls rather more like freshwater non-bead cultured pearls, so you should at least check them out to see whether they are worth valuing or not. Good luck with the result!

Very interesting comparison for those who don't handle the two types of pearls as often as you Sarah. Do you have any damaged pearls that can be sacrificed to see what the material used in the Chinese pearls really is? Would be very interesting! Thanks.

I thought differences of opinion would arise and it shows that at least two people who responded would not agree with the above. What is "enhanced"? They are either cultured or natural surely? It is bad enough separating some keshi from some natural so having another "enhanced" ID is just...

Interesting discussion and this is IMO is the very basis of a major issue. What is "natural" and "how can you prove it?". What would forum members call pearls from these scenariois: 1) A completely wild shell mollusk? 2) A completley wild mollusk but one that was moved somewhere like a holding...