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It can be noted and much to the credit of the OP, the ultraviolet imagery presents uniformly contiguous prismatic calcite across the entire surface of the object. Glue would not appear in that manner.

Yes. It happens. Two or three is not uncommon, but occasionally clusters occur. Grafts in close proximity will grow in to one another while others may irrupt from the mantle and become fused to the shell. It's not limited to farms, but occurs in nature also.

I disagree. The geometry clearly demonstrates environmental congenital fusion. When multiple grafts are placed in a single recipient on an industrial volume and scale, this is bound to happen.

Rather than merely hit and run, I'd prefer it be part of a seminar or course. These things take time because it's part of curriculum that needs a proposal, planning and execution. I'd welcome students and scientists in related fields. Each of our group having a presentation time with imagery and...

Eventually I suppose. These and a few other specimens collected are in a specialty vault. They were collected at the Covid-19 onset thus the museum took quite a hit being closed to the public during that time. The good news being they've invited "my group" to examine their collection for the...

I collected this rare specimen from the Bow River near Brooks, Alberta in 2020. It's been ascended to the collection at the Royal Tyrell Museum. I'm not 100% sure of the species, but speculate Exogyra ponderosa. One is a myostracial (probably endogonadal) posterior ventral "loose" pearl. and...

Agreed, it's being taken in the direction to needs to go. All of this gives me pause. Our western way of thinking simply does not provide for what we're seeing here. You and I have a maritime coast not unlike Japan. Along the entire Pacific Rim, one farm in Mexico and a single research area in...

The method for the full term is extraordinary! Have most farms actually transitioned or is it still a work in progress?

I'm impressed by the individualized feeding system during juvenile rearing. Though not mentioned, it's apparent thermal control optimizes food cell size and volume per ml, thus maximizing growth rates uniformly among the biomass. It involves a lot more handling thus more labour intensive, but...

When this first came to my attention, they were using real life images of the persons and farm. A DMCA take down was invoked, but they reared up again shortly thereafter using AI imagery in the same location. In light of that resurgence, these scammers are exceedingly bold and ruthless.

Agreed. The match, especially size and shape are largely characteristic of shell beads. Despite that, it's a nicely constructed and attractive strand.

Most closed shellfish rearing operations are ephemeral. Spat fall tanks two weeks... if that. Conditioning adults to spawning... less than a week and after spawning less than a month until they reach the pediveliger state. Then the juveniles are relayed out and the systems are drained...

Domestic aquariums as we know them are not suitable for rearing shellfish. Technically they are "down wells" where feces, bacteria and detritus are drawn through the substrate, then the filter and discharged at the surface. Shellfish rearing and feeding require up welling systems, thus aquarium...

Exporting live molluscs is illegal in most countries due to strict regulatory laws, namely public health and safety. Likewise importing it is prohibited under invasive species categories. I investigated this decades ago and the scientific permitting process was intensive and costly, which...

Yes, "in a sac" narrowed the scope erroneously on several pearl types. Even the term "blister" is too narrow because it encompasses other distinct types. There are three main subgroups... internal, external and a combination of both for onset. Each of these groups can be subdivided into other...

Relegation to concretion status is odd when several pearl types are elegantly foliated calcite, namely order Pectinidae and most gastropods. However those are pearls of natural origin. While natural pearl identification is a thing in the labs, the term non-nacreous stemmed from the cultural...

Using large, perfectly round natural gulf pearls to make imitation pearls is a novel idea.

The pearl is drilled, most likely repurposed. The bezel is factory rolled silver. The hand written spectral analysis is inadequate if not entirely bogus. Why photograph and submit a transcribed scrap of paper, when a photo of the lab certificate would have been infinitely simpler?

You state microscopic examination but have not provided supporting documentation of the type, examiner or protocol. You have also stated the items were aged, but have not provided evidence of this either. In either instance, these are not tests typically performed by jewellers instead by...

The xray views, though low resolution have visible bisected growth fronts at the nucleus. These are cultured pearls.