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Update: since the first batch of photos was taken under an LED light, I think it would be better to also include photos of the pendant under natural light. Here is the photo: The pearl still looks creamy, while the blue "reflection" of the overtone (not sure about the exact name) is even...

I'd say it is probably also nuked. The metallic peacock sheen on FWP can be created with a combination of radiation and chemical treatment. CN101209146A - Technique for processing black series fresh water pearl

Speaking of "cooking" pearls, how is blanching pearls (quahog in this case) embedded inside the clam different from using hot water to loosen pearls from their settings, or heating pearls during maeshori (IIRC being one of the steps)? Is it the time and/or temperature? Or something else?

Yes definitely:18: My only regret is not having enough pearl budget to buy the necklace, the design looks so elegant! BTW I've just updated the post so feel free to check it out!

This is pretty much a part 2 of my previous post: Australian akoya pearl - any good? I finally decided to buy a pendant from Pearls of Australia, a pearling company known for selling akoya pearls harvested from their Broken Bay pearl farm. The parcel didn't take long to arrive. The parcel...

I forgot to mention that this comparison is made between akoya pearls grown in different conditions (since it is the main topic of this thread and the video in Ladykyva's reply); South Sea pearls and Tahitian pearls are grown in different species (P. maxima and P. margaritifera respectively)...

The thickness of a pearl's nacre is inversely related to the coldness of the water; the colder the water, the slower the pearl oyster grows, hence a slower rate of nacre deposition. Cold temperature also favour a "tighter" nacre growth, therefore akoya pearls farmed in cold waters tend to have a...

No wonder the formatting of the page I linked to goes bonkers :ROFLMAO: Thanks for the update, I'll change the link in my original post.

Quoting from the article: Not sure about what's exactly meant by "southern Japanese pearl farms" (AFAIK the southern end of Japanese pearl farming region reaches Amami Ooshima), but for akoyas it is usually the region around Mie and further north in recent years. In this case I would expect the...

Since the article was written in 2017, it could be assumed that akoya pearls are farmed in Australia for at least a decade now. While the article said that the environment of Australian farms and Japanese farms are very similar, one very big difference is most Japanese akoya pearls go through...

I've came upon a GIA article written in 2017 talking about akoya pearl farming in Eastern Australia, mainly Broken Bay: Akoya Cultured Pearl Farming in Eastern Australia According to the article the pearls do not undergo the same process done on their Japanese counterparts; in addition, the...

Agreed. If the stones were real diamonds, I'd expect the clasp to be made of white gold, stamped with the corresponding marking, and be used in an Akoya or South Sea pearl bracelet (or Edison sold as fine jewellery).

It is shown in the second photo, the lower right part of the pearl is flatter. The colours of the rainbow pattern remain the same when I rotate the pearl, so I don't think it is orient (iridescence).

This is a recent purchase from a department store jewellery fair. According to the salesperson it is a 9mm off-round natural colour white South Sea pearl. The overall body colour is bluish silver-grey, with a ring of rainbow colour bands encircling the flat side. The rainbow bands are on the...

Well, if you are talking about gemstones that are expected to be worn for life without changing or re-polishing, then yes, micro-scratches from dust could be a concern. That said, I would say doing chores is one of those activities that should have the ring taken off regardless of the gemstone...

Oh, that is probably the reason the nacre peels off so fast. Nacre is made of layers of aragonite crystals "glued" together by proteins secreted by the pearl oyster. Every layer of the structure is exposed when the pearl is cut in half, which means the moisture, oil and sweat on the skin can...

The nacre of these pearls are way too thin even by the standard of Akoya pearls. So thin that even without peeling, they are showing the colour of the shell bead underneath while lacking the mirror-like reflections typically found in Akoyas. By the way, are they half-pearls? I rarely heard of...

Aurora effect is also observable on some South Sea pearls and Tahitian pearls, with the rainbow gold SSP and peacock Tahitians showing the most striking colours. Gold/White South Sea pearl: Tahitian pearl: Note: the same aurora colours are visible at the bottom half of the pearls even when...

Pearl Science Laboratory use the same setup (black background with diffused white light at the bottom) as a standardised way to observe the aurora effect a.k.a. interference colours. The strength and colour pattern of aurora effect is believed to be correlated with nacre quality and lustre, and...

Speaking of pearls in cosmetics, Mikimoto also sells skin care products (and maybe cosmetics as well?) with powdered pearls added. They use rejects with low quality/incomplete nacre, and (IIRC) the entire pearl including the nucleus, which is made of freshwater mollusk shell, is ground up. Which...