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Thanks Lisa! I still find the white pearls very hard to capture. there were plenty of other white pearls photos taken at the same time that were blur, despite using the macro feature/no flash. any tips on how to refine those photos? i'm thinking sharpening them will distort the texture/colour.

Ok I've read the tips on how to take pictures of pearls...and I've been experimenting a little! How do they look??! I'm thinking of using these on my website :) There are two photos of comparison between a dyed gold and natural gold colour ssp. I didn't manage to get quite a few shadows out of...

Hi all, I have made some changes to the website, let me know how it looks so far. I'm still waiting for my web designer to get back to me about uploading new feature photos on each product page... I'm not very tech-savvy! Anyway I think we have moved away from my original question. I did not...

Hi Caitlin, I am trying to remove any trace of FW and akoyas from our website for now, so that everything I write there only points towards SSPs. As I had mentioned before, I was not referring to FW in those posts at all. So I think the key is to remove FW and akoyas from our website since we...

Oh no...i just typed up a reply and my AVG update closed my browser! :( now i have to retype it ALL...sorry if it all sounds a bit rushed now! Hi all, thanks for your comments thus far, really appreciate it. Sorry if the website has been confusing, just please bear in mind that the blog...

wow. it all sounds so well-planned. the sad thing is that the farm workers are so easily bought off. i'm not sure what the statusquo on pearl farm robberies is like here in the philippines, maybe some of the farmers who are on this forum (like Jacques from Jewelmer) can answer better. that...

Hi Pattye, if that is too misleading, please suggest an alternative to the text. from my experience and also things that I have learnt from people in the pearl industry, dyed pearls change colour from around a year's time to 5 years time, and even faster esp when exposed to sunlight. akoyas...

Hi all, if you could please suggest any tips to tell if a pearl has been treated, that would be great! the treatments i'm looking to be able to tell are: 1. Dyeing (e.g. checking for accummulation of dye in pits) 2. Coating 3. other luster enhancement treatments that i'm not aware of 4...

Hi Pattye, Under a 10x loupe, would I see anything different if a pearl is treated? what would it look like? and yes, the scratch I made with a needle is about that size and is shallow, like the upper left pearl -- though i'm not sure if that is the pearl I scratched because I mixed it up...

ok :) gotta wait for it! it certainly does not like the giant clam shell or byronite....

Hi Jeremy, here's a photo of the cracked Tahitian pearl a customer brought in to my friend who is a jeweller. Sorry the photo isn't the best (it was just taken with her phone), but you can tell that the bead is shiny and looks like plastic, but I can't be sure if it's plastic as the weight of...

Hi all, The mark from the needle on the pearls are too small to get on my very ordinary digital camera... so instead of going upclose, I might as well upload some specimens of pearls in the quality that is commonly sold here in the pearl markets. From the pictures can anyone enlighten/take a...

I'm not sure how big a problem oyster/pearl robbery is in the Philippines, but I think security is always a big priority here. Right after the harvest, none of the pearls are ever left on the farm. There have also been cases where pearl farms were broken into, raided by armed men a few years...

I've asked my friend to take a photo of the cracked pearl...the cracked part of the nacre simply fell off, like it was not adhered to the bead at all. given that the nacre was so thin (and I have just been reading an old thread about the giant clam beads), the heat and pressure should not be too...

Hi Jeremy, thanks for that. I googled Tridacna beads, but they don't look like the bead inside this pearl. The one in this pearl looks more stone/plastic like, the bead cracked as well from the drilling. It's white but looks a bit transluscent on the surface, or could it be a polished tridacna bead?

Hmmm...then how is it different from a prick of a needle? Jeremy was telling me via email that if you prick a pearl with a needle, if it is coated it will leave a mark. I tried pricking and scratching (with a needle) a few crappy pearls I have here, the needle left a mark on the white SSPs, but...

I'll try! I'll use the biggest needle so that it's obvious enough. I also scratched the pearl with a needle and it also left a mark that could not be wiped off. According to my understanding a simple scratch should not leave a permanent mark on a pearl, right? Not unless it runs out of nacre and...

Hi all, A friend of mine who is a jeweller had a client come into her shop, and wanted to get some Tahitian pearls she bought from Greenhills pearl market set into earrings. The pearls she got looked like pearls, felt like pearls (gritty when rubbed against each other or against your teeth)...

By the way, I followed Jeremy's instructions and pricked one of the pearls I purchased in the philippines with a needle and it left a mark! It's coated! Just thought that it would be interesting to note. Other than the needle test, is there any other way to test if a pearl is coated?

I agree. thank you so much for your encouragement! I get a huge sense of accomplishment from giving people tips about pearls.