Blistered Quahog Pearl found in NC Recommendations for cleaning and setting

[Hdickens7]

Hi all!

I was lucky this past weekend to have found a Quahog clam Pearl. It’s some what blistered and needs to be extracted the rest of the way, and cleaned. I would like to find someone whose an expert with dealing with pearls and can keep from damaging it. I would also like to have it made into a necklace perhaps. I would love some direction on who I could contact? Thanks! Here are two before and after pictures.

Thanks!

 

[Lagoon Island Pearls]

Unfortunately there is a huge difference between something which need cleaning opposed to that which needs peeling.

Removing layers from a pearl is a difficult if not nearly impossible task.

Your concern to "keep from damaging" is a valid one, however this pearl is already destroyed.

 

[Hdickens7]

Unfortunately there is a huge difference between something which need cleaning opposed to that which needs peeling.

Removing layers from a pearl is a difficult if not nearly impossible task.

Your concern to "keep from damaging" is a valid one, however this pearl is already destroyed.

Not sure why you think it’s been destroyed when it’s simply been removed from the shell? What you see exposed is the residue from the shell and you can see the Pearl underneath, that wasn’t covered with the said shell.

 

[CortezPearls]

@Lagoon Island Pearls refers to the fact that the pearl's aspect looks damaged. It lost its beauty and just looks...not beautiful.
In order to see if it has some beauty under those damaged layers, you require to perform a delicate operation known as "Pearl Peeling", that just a handful of people are known to perform.
So, not "destroyed", but rather not worth the effort to even "save", unless there is some kind of emotional aspect associated with it.

 

[Hdickens7]

Thanks for the information, and explaining it better. I’m interested in having it peeled. Any idea on who to contact? Thanks for your help

 

[Lagoon Island Pearls]

I knew of a person in France many years ago who could peel, but they only worked with restoring very fine pearls which were slightly damaged.

It's not really a thing.

How a pearl appears on the outside is generally an image of how a pearl appears on the inside. The species matter too. Generally, clam pearls are not gem quality pearls unless they're smooth and purple, though some white one's are quite nice. Many are highly calcareous and not very lustrous.

This is not a blister pearl actually. This is a third stage extrapallial pedunculated pearl in it's second life as a pearl. In it's first life it was a periostracial pallial pearl which irrupted from the sac only to become fused to the shell as formerly described.

That's good news (sort of) because it's plausible to suggest it may be peeled. There is a lot of calcite on one side and a lot of aragonite on the other. That means both the nacreous and prismatic layers are visible. Because of the pearl type, the periostracial layers ought not be far away. It's a layer of mostly protein and dark in color. I can see a dark patch on the pearl.

It's a huge liability for a pearl that's not likely to be of great value. If it were a pterioid, perhaps, but heterodonta, no. The nucleus (the pearl) may break in the process or have many flaws itself.

Grinding several of the outer layers away is better than peeling. There are just too many uneven and cross intersecting layers, literally hundreds. Maybe even thousands in this age group. Then you may get it to crack on it's own... around the periostracum as I just described.

Try it yourself. If it yields a nice pearl, terrific! If not, you've lost nothing and learned something new.

 

[Hdickens7]

I knew of a person in France many years ago who could peel, but they only worked with restoring very fine pearls which were slightly damaged.

It's not really a thing.

How a pearl appears on the outside is generally an image of how a pearl appears on the inside. The species matter too. Generally, clam pearls are not gem quality pearls unless they're smooth and purple, though some white one's are quite nice. Many are highly calcareous and not very lustrous.

This is not a blister pearl actually. This is a third stage extrapallial pedunculated pearl in it's second life as a pearl. In it's first life it was a periostracial pallial pearl which irrupted from the sac only to become fused to the shell as formerly described.

That's good news (sort of) because it's plausible to suggest it may be peeled. There is a lot of calcite on one side and a lot of aragonite on the other. That means both the nacreous and prismatic layers are visible. Because of the pearl type, the periostracial layers ought not be far away. It's a layer of mostly protein and dark in color. I can see a dark patch on the pearl.

It's a huge liability for a pearl that's not likely to be of great value. If it were a pterioid, perhaps, but heterodonta, no. The nucleus (the pearl) may break in the process or have many flaws itself.

Grinding several of the outer layers away is better than peeling. There are just too many uneven and cross intersecting layers, literally hundreds. Maybe even thousands in this age group. Then you may get it to crack on it's own... around the periostracum as I just described.

Try it yourself. If it yields a nice pearl, terrific! If not, you've lost nothing and learned something new.

Thank you for all that information. I’ve already learned a lot from just the information you have given me. I appreciate you taking the time to explain this, it’s always great to learn something new!