Talk:Pearl

Calcareous Concretions

Would it be a good idea to have a separate article on calcareous concretions? Not only does the pearl article have an entire paragraph devoted to the largest "pearl" ever found even though it isn't really a pearl at all, but there is also an entire paragraph on conch pearls which are also calcareous concretions and not true pearls. Besides, there are other types of calcareous concretions or non-nacreous "pearls" such as melo melo pearls and scallop pearls, so there might be sufficient content to justify its own page.

And if the consensus is that calcareous concretions deserve their own page, what should it be called? In my opinion, "calcareous concretions" is too technical and intimidating, but "non-nacreous 'pearls'" might be misleading. Thoughts? SirenDrake 05:49, 7 October 2007 (UTC)

It would be good to include a separate article on calcareous concretions. At the moment bits and pieces are strewn about the main article in ways that do not fit, and may be confusing. The following paragraph is a fine example.

One other kind of gemstone-quality pearl is created by a large sea snail or marine gastropod. These large, deep pink pearls are not very "pearly" although they can have a good luster. They grow between the mantleand the shell of the queen conch or pink conch, Strombus gigas from the Caribbean. These conch pearls occur naturally, although they are very rare. They are a by product of the conch fishing industry.

This is in the first section under pearl. While it is technically correct, it does not really fit into the section. Conch pearls are non-nareous, and if they are to be mentioned we should also mention melo melo, tridacna, scallop, penn, abalone, etc. JPShepherd 15:16, 18 October 2007 (UTC)

- Please note that this discussion on 'calcareous concretions' is rather out-of-date as the GIA has fallen into line with most other gemmological authorities and now refers to non-nacreous pearls as pearls rather than 'calcareous concretions'. It was always a rather artificial distinction as the definition of 'pearl' and 'calcareous concretion' appear to be indistinguishable. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 90.195.137.125 (talk) 22:42, 2 October 2008 (UTC)

This is not necessarily the case. The referrenced article shows the opinion of one individual at GIA, it does not indicate an official change in policy. Quote from article: "Kenneth Scarratt (GIA Thailand) described the wide variety of mollusks that can produce pearls and argued that the term "pearl" should be applied to both nacreous and non-nacreous materials, such as conch pearls."JPShepherd (talk) 18:12, 12 October 2008 (UTC)

Illustration

Strand of akoya pearls from China

The picture used as illustration ("White pearls strung on a necklace") features imitation pearls. They are not real pearls. Effisk 21:42, 2 December 2006 (UTC)

Here's a pic I just shot of 2 strands of akoya pearls. This is not a necklace. Akoya pearls are sold in hanks wholesale. Hanks are made of several strands such as these two. Usually 16" long. These strands comes from a Chinese wholesaler. Effisk 21:53, 2 December 2006 (UTC)

ok, I'll just go ahead and replace the pic in the article.Effisk 02:33, 3 December 2006 (UTC)

Why did someone revert my change? Would you illustrate an article on diamonds with a piece a glass? No. Then why illustrate an article on pearls with imitation pearls? Effisk 10:29, 4 December 2006 (UTC)

Huh, looks like I have just been fooled by my computer's cache. My change hasn't been reverted. [/end of monologue] Effisk 10:31, 4 December 2006 (UTC)

myth?

I just watched an episode of The Avengers about a black pearl, and at the end they say that pearls dissolve in wine. Is that true? - Corby 23:01, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

No way. >Eventually<, maybe, but not anytime soon. 65.41.47.6 17:51, 29 April 2006 (UTC)

It will dissolve... when the wine turns to vinegar (acidic) Effisk 21:31, 2 December 2006 (UTC)

.

Pearls can be manufactured by hand. In Manacor, Mallora (Spain) there are pearl factories that makes 'Majorcan pearls'. These are made with a glass centre, onto which the layers are added one by one. The pearls are polished extensively between layers to remove any imperfections. As far as I remember, the material for the layers consists of such things as fish scales...

...And therefore they are not true pearls. But you're right, perhaps some mention of imitations could be made.--Joel 22:19, 10 May 2005 (UTC)

Why no picture of an actual pearl, alone or in the context of jewelry? Surely someone reading this owns both a pearl and a digital camera.--Joel 22:19, 10 May 2005 (UTC)..

• I came here to say the same thing... --RealWingus 06:05, 13 August 2005 (UTC)

reverted bad edit

I reverted the edit by Nameneko 19:31, May 10, 2005. I changed the unit back to cm instead of mm. It is impossible for a 7mm oyster to produce a 10mm pearl. Kowloonese 22:38, August 19, 2005 (UTC)

Nonsensical sentence and Titian

and is finer in proportion as the layers become thinner and more numerous.

Anyone know what this is supposed to mean? Also, why are Tahitian pearls known as Titian pearls? There's no explanation anywhere, and that makes it seem to me that the link to Titian is wrong. FireWorks 19:11, 29 December 2005 (UTC)

Layers of nacre. They are deposited on the shell bead. One layer is a few micron thick. The thinner the layers, the higher the luster. The thicker the nacre (total of nacre layers), the higher the luster. In cold water, the layers deposited by the 'oysters' are thinner, hence the higher luster on akoya pearls (compared to south-sea pearls luster for example). Effisk 21:31, 2 December 2006 (UTC)

Npaspaley 12:32, 15 February 2007 (UTC)The concept that the colder the water - the higher the luster - is not correct. Luster is dependent primarily on the quality of the nacre tiles produced by particular pearl oysters. If the quality is fine, and there are thousands of thin layers of nacre, the luster will be fine. However, the relationship between cold water and luster can best be described as follows: it is a fact that a pearl oyster will produce finer layers of nacre during the cold winter months than in hotter summer months. It is NOT correct that Akoya pearls in Japan's cold water have a higher luster than south sea pearls from tropical warm waters. When harvested, south sea pearls generally have a much higher luster than freshly harvested Akoya pearls. Akoya pearls have quite poor luster when harvested, and it is the polishing process which delivers a high luster. Artificial luster can be as shiny as the polishing process is intended. e.g. even mirror finishes can be achieved through modern polishing processes. However, this is not the natural luster of pearls in nature.Npaspaley 12:32, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

okay I must admit my comparison between south sea pearls and akoya pearls wasn't appropriate. The concept that the colder the water - the higher the luster is still valid for a given oyster species though. Effisk (talk) 11:58, 12 December 2007 (UTC)

Animal rights

There should be an Animal Rights section discussing the fact that pearl oysters are animals too, and have rights too. 201.23.64.2 00:46, 2 June 2006 (UTC)

Symbolism

Pearls are a beautiful thing created by a reaction to suffering. For this reason it is sometimes used symbolically. --Zerothis 02:44, 31 August 2006 (UTC)

What is the best way to integrate this information into the article? Is an L2 headline "Symbolism" appropriate? Should there be more info or does my short sentence suffice? Zerothis 05:29, 23 September 2006 (UTC)

Information wrong for subject

The subject of this article should be on the middle English poem Pearl and not on actual pearls. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Mango79 (talk • contribs)

See: Pearl (poem). Also note the disambiguation note at the top of this article. Vsmith 13:08, 2 September 2006 (UTC)

Grain of sand

I have impetuously substituted the idea that a parasite acts as the seed for the pearl, as per this page. But is this just a theory? I'm not sure. This page is perhaps more reliable.--Shantavira 12:28, 18 September 2006 (UTC)

First page is more accurate. Effisk 21:31, 2 December 2006 (UTC)

Vinegar?

I opened a Snapple bottle today, and it had a 'Random Real Fact' that pearls dissolve in vinegar. Maybe that's where the wine thing came from too-wine can turn to vinegar-can anyone verify this? -Rmeskill 14:58, 29 September 2006 (UTC)

It's the acidity of the vinegar that dissolves the calcium carbonate. Effisk 21:31, 2 December 2006 (UTC)

Color

I think we need a short explaination of what causes different color pearls to be produced. Kerowyn ^{Leave a note} 08:57, 22 October 2006 (UTC)

Color of pearls primarily depend on the 'oyster' or mussel species. Pinctada margaritifera will produce darker pearls (Tahitian pearls), Pinctada maxima will produce white or golden pearls (south-sea pearls, depending on the subspecies, 'white-lipped' or 'silver-lipped'), etc. Another factor is the nacre color of the donor mollusc (mollusc whose mantle tissue is implanted (grafted) along with the bead. That is for natural colors. Effisk 21:31, 2 December 2006 (UTC)

student research

this page does not have stuff about how pearls are retrived!

Needs to be added!

Depends. If the 'oyster' is not be reimplanted with another bead, then the oyster is simply open and the pearl retrieved by hand. The mollusc obviously dies. If the 'oyster' is reimplanted, which can happen up to 3 or 4 times depending on the species, then the process is quite similar to the implanting (grafting): the oyster is held slightly open, a nucleator (the guy who implants the bead nucleus) cuts open the pearl sac using a sharp blade, removes the pearl, then implants a new bead (usually of the same size as the retrieved pearl) in the pearl sac. Please don't hesitate to add this to the page. My English is not so good... Effisk 21:31, 2 December 2006 (UTC)

Resource for Prl locations and types

Came across this table on the GIA site, and thought editors of this page might find it useful. Gems & Gemology data depository: Expanded localities for cultured pearls, natural pearls, and calcareous concretions. Cheers. SauliH 21:41, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

December 2006 (UTC) Found a pearl the size of a small marble in my oyster stew.I assume, having been "cooked',its only value is as a novelty?

It isn't a "pearl" in the technical sense because edible oysters don't produce nacre (it is then called a "calcareous concretion"). It does not have the luster, orient, etc. that real pearls display and which make them valuable. So yes, its only value is as a novelty, and its uniqueness to your eyes. Effisk 19:10, 15 December 2006 (UTC)

Natural Pearl Edit

While an expansion of natural pearling is welcomed the recent edit was very non-NPOV, and required extensive editing. The article now needs further copyediting and expansion to remove duplicate information, as well as some citation work. SauliH 18:24, 16 January 2007 (UTC)

Page to be merged with Pearl

I have been working on the pearl page (and organizing it as well as will add more info on specific pearls). In due time this article will completely cover colored (whether natural or cultured) pearls. What I WOULD suggest however is to create some info pages (in due time) dealing with individual pearls such as Keshi, Melo, Tahitian etc etc. Colors are not really a way to structure pearls (one can think of natural/cultured, saltwater/sweetwater etc). Gem-fanat 10:25, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

NPOV dispute Pearl intro section

"Freshadama" is a registered trademark of Jeremy Shepherd, the founder and owner of Pearl Paradise a small company in Los Angeles. Pearl Paradise uses it as the product name for their best freshwater pearls. It is absolutely not an industry accepted term for describing the quality of pearls. None of the recognized pearl grading and description systems, such as the GIA's Pearl Description System, use this word.

This is advertising a product name in disguise. It is inaccurate and misleading.

Use of this term violates Wikipedia's core principles of NPOV and Verifiability.

Here is the trademark information from the US Patent and Trademark Office website www.uspto.gov:

Word Mark FRESHADAMA

Goods and Services IC 014. US 002 027 028 050. G & S: Pearls. FIRST USE: 20060200. FIRST USE IN

COMMERCE: 20060508

Standard Characters Claimed

Mark Drawing Code (4) STANDARD CHARACTER MARK

Serial Number 78880694

Filing Date May 10, 2006

Current Filing Basis 1A

Original Filing Basis 1A

Published for Opposition January 9, 2007

Registration Number 3222436

Registration Date March 27, 2007

Owner (REGISTRANT) Shepherd, Jeremiah Paul INDIVIDUAL UNITED STATES

Attorney of Record Christopher J. Day

Type of Mark TRADEMARK

Register PRINCIPAL

Live/Dead Indicator LIVE

Pearlexpert 03:06, 28 September 2007 (UTC)

Removed freshadama from image caption pending clarification. Vsmith 00:25, 17 August 2007 (UTC)

Care of Pearls

I have heard it said that pearls need to be worn next to human skin, that it's not good for them to be kept in a box for extended periods of time. Is this true? Can anyone add a section on care of pearls? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.190.204.90 (talk) 00:45, 29 December 2007 (UTC)

Can we have some information on different types of pearls, especially the Mabe pearls, also known as half pearls? rt (talk) 04:59, 7 July 2008 (UTC)

I may be stupid, but i think this article lead me to misunderstanding...

I read in the pearl hunting section that some Spanish conquistadors came across a "bed of pearls". I haven't found an explanation of what a "bed of pearls" exactly is, but the first image in my mind is that the pearls where just lying there in the seabottom, outside any mollusks. Since i can't find a reason in the article why the pearl would be 'released' from the oyster, I assume I am wrong... But still, i'd be grateful for some clarification... Thanks! El edgar (talk) 10:53, 10 May 2008 (UTC)

I think it would better be described as a "pearl bed", not bed of pearls. In the days of the pearl divers, pearl beds were where natural pearls were collected. These were areas with high concentrations of pearl-bearing mollusks and (unbeknownst to the divers) a relatively high parasitic content in the water - parasites being the catalyst of natural pearl production.JPShepherd (talk) 22:36, 24 June 2008 (UTC)

Ethics of Pearl farming

I think a paragraph on how pearls are farmed and if the mussels/oysters are dead before the pearls are removed would be helpful. I don't know if they are or not but it would be helpful to know. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.4.85.79 (talk) 02:16, 19 August 2008 (UTC)

Japanese Freshwaters

The first paragraph is plagarized from another website. Add a citation to give credit where credit is due.

The second paragraph discusses American freshwater farming. Why is it in a the Japanese section? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Olivegreenscreen (talk • contribs) 21:36, 16 June 2009 (UTC)

Moved some religious references

the Hymn of the Pearl and The Pearl of Great Price are hardly New Testament scriptures. I've put them under the heading of Other Scriptures. However, I'm not sure if this is the best solution.