Pinctada shell found with 85 natural pearls in it

[pearls92]

Please read what happened to me:

About twenty years ago, in Hurgada on the Red Sea in Egypt, I found pearl oyster (Pinctada Margaritifera "believe" erythrensis) with 85 small pearls inside (and many more half pearls in the mantle on both valves. I have a video of the extraction of pearls from the oyster; further I have the certification with radiographs made of the pearls and shell by CISGEM - Gemmological Services and Information Centre in Milan.

I must point out that the total number of small pearls that I found was 85 but I gave one pearl to a girl, while two were lost. For this reason, the certification covers 82 "irregular ovoids" (a total of about 14 carats, equivalent to more than 55 grains), which are still in my possession. The certification speaks of pearls and calcareous concretions: these are those small groups which, while not sufficient to define stratifications such pearls, they are still composed of nacre (aragonite) as the other pearl formations.

You can see the full story in this link:

http://www.karipearls.com/discovery-of-85-natural-pearls-in-the-same-oyster.html


With links to page in Italian language.

I'm trying to figure out if my case is very rare, may be a world record for the number of pearls find in the same Pinctada and may be of interest to museums, aquariums, or private collectors.

Gianpiero Piva

 

[pearls92]

Attachment

Attachment

Now I post same attachment

 

[Lagoon Island Pearls]

Very nice find Gianpiero and very fortunate you recorded the event so well for being such a long time ago.

85 pearls is awesome, but I believe the good folks at Cortez pearls have that one beat.

https://www.pearl-guide.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4685&p=76081#post76081

 

[pearls92]

Reply to Dave

Reply to Dave

Thank you Dave for your kind reply,

Pearls from Pteria Sterna are very nice, and are more and bigger that mine and the news should have more widespread.


However I wrote: ?I'm trying to figure out if my case is very rare, may be a world record for the number of pearls find in the same Pinctada? Pteria Sterna I a different species.

If you know a news about Pinctada Margaritifera with more pearls, please tell me.

In the link of my post you can see the video of the extraction of pearls from the Pinctada.

Gianpiero

 

[pearls92]

Certification by CISGEM

Certification by CISGEM

View attachment Certifificazione CISGEM.pdf

Now I attach certification by CISGEM - Gemmological Services and Information Centre in Milan.

 

[Caitlin]

Are you documenting for for the Guinness Book of Records? I bet you can get in. If you make the book, someone might come along and overturn your title, but not too likely! If Douglas goes for that title, he might make it too, because he has a different species.......

 

[pearls92]

Hi Caitlin,
I sent my story for the Guinness World Records, maybe someone in the past found a Pinctada with more pearls, he can post it in the forum and give proof of his find.

Mu shell is a Pinctada, I believe Margaritifera erythrensis, but I am not sure, You and other reader can help me?

Can I have found a sub genera of unknown pinctada, which has the capacity to produce several pearls at once?

It seems to me that the valves are very convex and therefore can contain lots of pearls or pearls of large size. Modern Egypt is not known for the production of natural pearls and perhaps the oyster beds still exists.

A question for Douglas: you wrote that you found a Pteria sterna pearl oyster with 121 small (0.9 to 3.5 mm) natural pearls...all of them embedded in the mantle, this means that they are blister pearls and that you cut them from the mantle?

If I consider also blister pearls, my pearls are more than 110.

This is a very exiting discussion. I want to thank Dr. Tomas Kim Stern, who suggested me this forum.

Gianpiero

 

[KAC]

I sent my story for the Guinness World Records, maybe someone in the past found a Pinctada with more pearls, he can post it in the forum and give proof of his find.

Good luck with getting it, that would be a first for a forum member I think.

 

[Caitlin]

Hi gianpiero
Let us know when you make it in!

Douglas's pearls in the mantle are not blister pearls. Blister pearls are attached to the shell by definition. The mantle is the fleshy part that can stick out of the oyster a bit and thus get bit all over the place. Many natural pearls form in the mantle itself. In this case many of them formed in a row along the outside lip of the mantle. I think they call it a "rosary" of pearls, since they are all in a row.

 

[pearls92]

Thank you Caitlin

Caitlin,

your answer is very clear and precise, my English is bad and I thought that the mantle was the inner surface of shells.

Now I would like to know if my shell is a Pinctada margaritifera erythrensis or an other species of Pinctada.

Can you Help me again?

Thank you very much.

Gianpiero

 

[Caitlin]

The Red Sea is a historical source for pearls. It has both Persian gulf species, the pictada radiatas and Pinctada margaritifera erythrensis.
The Pme is a subspecies, so Pinctada Margaritifera should be sufficient. Actually no one makes a differentiation in the Persian Gulf pearls.

Strack mentions ethythrensis twice, but no picture. That shell is gorgeous and may be the Pme- or not.....I google it and the images that come up are from this article! They compare well to the pix of radiatas from Google, so we need more data!

Can you take a photo of the back of the shell and give general dimensions?

 

[pearls92]

Large size photos

Large size photos

Many thanks Caitlin

I have some better photos including back of the shell and radiographs made of the pearls and shell by CISGEM.

Unfortunately I can?t post it in the forum, the photos were from 3.000 t 4.500 KB and I can post maximum 195,3 KB.

This evening I can send you a large size mail and give general dimensions.

See you soon!

Gianpiero

 

[pearls92]

I sent large size Email

I sent large size Email

Hi Caitlin,

On July 20 I sent you a large size Email with some better photos including back of the shell and radiographs made of the pearls and shell by CISGEM and give general dimensions of oyster that are about:

150 X 170 mm. thickness 50 mm. weight; 670 gr.
Originally, the shell was larger than 20 mm., but the part no nacreous was broken and was lost.
I sent it by another Email account, because this usual account it is not able to send large size Email.

The Email was not open, maybe because you think that is from a spanner.

On July 21 I sent Email from the usual account to explain the problem but got no answer.

Please let me known.

See you soon!

Gianpiero

 

[pearls92]

I Communicate that the request to place my discovery In the Guinness World Record was not accept.

The motivation is not one that was found a Pinctada with more pearls of my, but:

“While we certainly do not underestimate your proposal, we do however think that this item is a little too specialised for a body of reference as general as ours. We receive many thousands of record claims every year and we think you will appreciate that we are bound to favour those which reflect the greatest interest.”

The world is strange, the largest watermelon and Abalone pearl reflect the greatest interest, but not the oyster “Pinctada” with the highest number of pearls.

I’m sorry, but I think that also Douglas with his Pteria sterna could receive the same answer.

Gianpiero Piva

 

[Caitlin]

Hi Gianpiero
I am disappointed for you in the response from Guinness. I had no idea of how they work.

I did receive the enormous email 60mg or something. The photos are exquisite and are in a format I can't play with. Did you put them up anywhere online? Does Kari have them?

You obviously have dealt with documenting these in a meticulous manner and at an expense. I am sorry there has been no immediately satisfying response. I am going to change the title of this thread so in the future, people who Google for something like this find, can see more specific information.

Good luck--Perseverance Furthers (I Ching)

There. I did it. It sounds like a whole necklace of pearls doesn't it? Actually, the loose pearls would make a great bracelet! And with a fabulous provenance!

 

[pearls92]

Hi Caitlin,

you are always very kind.

I am sorry, Kari doesn’t have these photos, I can sent two large size Email to your Email address, one with the same photos with few pixel, and one with other photos and macro less defined, I hope you can play with

I agree if you change the title of this thread, I think that you always do the right thing.

See you soon!

Gianpiero

 

[Caitlin]

Thanks, Gianpiero!
The photos in this thread are really fine and show us everything.

I am all for giving out "Pearlitzer Prizes" to such finds, but they are still just a daydream.....or a nightmare.

 

[pearls92]

Caitlin,

I’s real or a dream?

With your help, I think it will be a daydream.

I have given the name Lavinia (my daughter) to my Pinctada shell and the name Aghata (our female cat) to my baroque gray pearl.

Thank you very much.

Gianpiero

 

[CortezPearls]

Hi Caitlin,
A question for Douglas: you wrote that you found a Pteria sterna pearl oyster with 121 small (0.9 to 3.5 mm) natural pearls...all of them embedded in the mantle, this means that they are blister pearls and that you cut them from the mantle?
Gianpiero

Hi Gianpiero!
I just recently found this entry...sorry for not replying earlier. The 121 pearls were all loose-pearls, the shell had blisters as well...too many for me to count!
I just sent them for analysis to Granada, Spain...where they will be analyzed to help understand the process of natural pearl formation better...the Guinness World record doesn't really do anything for me, but SCIENCE does!

 

[pearls92]

Hi Douglas,

thank you for your reply, also I am looking for a help to understand the process of natural pearl formation of my Pinctada, CISGEM Certified that they are all salt water natural pearls and made radiography of the shell but I am a private and I don’t know a laboratory of a Museum or University who can analyze my Pinctada like your Pteria sterna


Please let me know of response of analysis from Granada.

Gianpiero Piva

gppiva@libero.it