Search results

Thank you for the additional array of images. When viewing a strand presenting with natural characteristics, we need to consider some things we don't see as well. Pearl strands are almost never comprised from every pearl in the lot. Instead they are usually selected from a much larger pool...

Not pearls, nor nephrite. These could be lavender jadeite, but seem more gray than purple while the surfaces or luster are not exceptional. As Pattye suggests, chalcedony, onyx or calcite seem probable.

An interesting strand. A cursory glance may suggest natural origin, but any other information is absent thus difficult to say without further investigation. I would like to see the seller's description, price point and other sales. Once arrived, additional photo arrays from different axis and...

Aragonite crystals are orthorhombic, pseudo-hexagonal and tabular. Light passing these prisms at angles greater than 45 degrees will disperse into colour. Being tabular, crystals lay flat with only slight variations in rotation. When viewed at 46.0 degrees, aragonite appears violet, at 46.6...

Pearls can crack from expansion during cooking for two reasons. First, thermal co-efficiency where dissimilar materials expand and contract at different rates, thus causing cracks. The other being gas expansion. Pearls in situ have a slightly higher moisture content than stored pearls and may...

I agree. It's a cut piece which has been resin coated, if not filled. The profile of the outer margin at the outermost sectioned line presents with the transparency and colour of epoxy resin. Using resin to stabilize, coat or fill a piece is not novel. They fashioned something wearable out of...

Saltwater and both are affected because the crystal class/type are the same.

Scallop pearls are the most common pearl on the east coast, probably all of Canada. The scallop industry on the whole is huge, hence the occurrence of these is considered common. They differ slightly from highly nacreous pearls, instead highly foliated pearls. Some may call that non-nacreous...

I found some. I have others, but will check for others and get images in better light. Some of the deep purple is retained on a couple of pieces, but the lovely violet overtones faded to pink or white.

There is one thing about my purple pearls that separate them from the others. In almost every scenario, the purple colour presents on the whitest pearls only. This happens at the flats spots and immediate proximity to other pearls. The more coloured pearls have no purple spots. The reason...

I'm not sure this is a fix insomuch as a countermeasure because fading takes a long time. Older mollusks produce slightly thicker nacre so it stands to reason this would be a good first approach to the problem. Likewise, discontinuing post harvest treatments are also a good measure. Fading is a...

So if it's not a pearl it's an emerald then? Emeralds do not occur in Quartzite. Emeralds (and most corundum, tourmaline, garnet, beryl) are associated with pegmatites which are igneous rocks. Quartzite is a metamorphic mineral.

Minerals vary widely in specific gravity. From 2 to 20 on average, which is a huge range difference. There is no such thing as "the same like a rock".

These are interesting strands, if you can call them that. More like temporary stringing on monofilament. Size graduation is typical. Individually drilled, mostly on the Z axis with some exceptions. The color is balanced, mainly butter white with some red shift (likely ambient source). Highly...

When pearls are in settings, it's difficult to get complete views of each object. My scoring system does much help here either, because many of the points are masked by the settings. I'd definitely like to see other images from aside and the backs. The pearls present with smooth, uniform...

Quartzite, not a pearl.

It does not appear to be a pearl, instead a broken fragment of shell.

Yes, thank you for pointing that out. And yes a weathered piece. Umbo (strombus perhaps). Natural grinding in absence of tool marks.

It is a pearl. However other than a slight pink(ish) touch on < 10% of the surface, it's insufficient to support strombus origin. While conch pearls often express with chatoyancy, the slight flame patterns at the edges of this piece more resembles that of Giant Clam (Tridacna gigas). Likewise...