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Hello! It's been ages since I last posted here, but I thought I might pop in to post about my latest acquisitions! The first piece is what I believe to be a natural river pearl: An elderly friend of the family recently passed away, and I was asked if I wanted anything from her jewelry box. She...

While having an interesting discussion about the myths and realities surrounding 'blood diamonds', someone asked me about the ethics of pearl farms. Pearl harvesting doesn't seem to be funding any bloody African conflicts (I hope...), but we were wondering about working conditions on farms, and...

Article in a special FT section about jewelry "It may be the ultimate irony for the cultured pearl, whose existence relies on man’s intervention, that the same hand endangers them." they mention a mikimoto practice: "Tiny sensors are installed in live oysters that can detect when they are...

I just got into my top choice phd program (with full funding!), so I immediately decided to use some of my future stipend money to buy myself a pretty present (duh! what else would I do?). Obviously, it needed to involve pearls. specs: 15k gold, four little seed pearls, 2 tiny diamonds...

I sorted the best of the white pearls from my lot of drilled rounds into a graduated necklace-- dainty 6mm up to big-fat-9ish. They are all round/very near round, and so clean, it is clear some were leftover freshadamas. I was so impressed by the quality of the lots Jeremy sent us! I was not...

My little sister has become a pearl girl. Bound to happen sooner or later. At my (generous!) SantaMom's request, Terry very kindly procured a 60" AA+ rope of white 7-8mm freshwaters, with lots of rose to them. They really shine, and they definitely appear super-round to the eye! So much for the...

Hello UK crowd! I was wondering if you had any suggestions for where to get antique jewelry appraised in London. After almost a decade of lusting after a pair of Georgian silver and diamond earrings, I finally caved and bought a pair (yes, I have wanted some since I was 14). For insurance...

Terry from The Pearl Outlet took a liking to some of the pictures I took of myself in one of TPO's ropes, and in exchange for letting him post the pictures on his website, he (ever so generously!) made me this gorgeous, gorgeous pendant. Even though he sent me a pic beforehand, I was not...

My avatar is a photo of Lina Cavalieri, a turn-of-the-century opera diva and world-famous beauty in her day... and she had one darn fine rope of pearls! Paintings, postcards, portraits--she's always draped in the same, magnificent necklace. When The Pearl Outlet ran a special for a 100 inch...

I'm picking out my own graduation present (my mom is a generous lady!) and I'm wondering if there are any things I should keep in mind when shopping for vintage pearls (eg. any tell tale signs that a strand may be past its prime? do pearls have a prime? are older pearls worth more or less than...