Can Perfume Harm Pearls?

Most of us get dressed in a hurry…whether it's for work in the morning or for the evening affair that we thought we had set aside time for but, Alas!, we're still rushing. It is the reality we live with: multi-tasking busy people that we are. Something that many of us do not consider is the best method for applying one's signature scent while keeping your favorite jewelry in its best condition. Or perhaps you have noticed that your jewelry is looking a little lackluster lately?

Often, we hurriedly apply our signature scent to the pulse points of neck, wrists, ears, and even ankles where the skin is warmest. Incidentally, that is also where we most often adorn ourselves with jewelry: necklaces, bracelets, watches, earrings, and anklets. In the randomness of our routine, we often put the jewelry on first and apply our fragrance around and about. What one may not realize is that, when this is the case, more product settles on the jewelry than is readily discernible.

"It is very apparent when clients bring in their low luster pearls and ask: ' what happened?' " says Gina Latendresse, President of American Pearl Company, owner of a collection of rare pearls, three of which have been displayed at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, "They have been exposed to lots of product. It's caked on the pearls! In some instances, we can wipe them down and restore their beauty. But in some cases, the wear is too much for the pearly nacre and it remain dull."

Read entire article here.

Picking the Best Pearls

by The Star--Online

IS there such a thing as the perfect pearl? Toshiyuki Kumai, managing director of Mikimoto South-East Asia, certainly thinks so.

Here, the House of Mikimoto reveals a few ways to determine the quality of a pearl:

Lustre: A rich lustre is one of the important elements that determine the quality of a pearl.

The distinguishing features include the smoothness of the surface, the content of impurities and the evenness of the nacre layer (the substance which is secreted by oysters and mollusks to form the inside of their shells. When nacre secretions are deposited around a foreign substance, they build up to form a pearl).


Read entire article here.

How to Travel with Pearls

First, when you travel, you will want to use a first-class approach for pearl jewelry!

"This is not the type of jewelry that should be jumbled together with other pieces as pearls are delicate and can be scratched or cracked if they rub, or bump against gemstones or metal," says Miller.

Remember to protect the family jewels and pearls! Your best bet is to find a special compartment in a jewelry box or jewelry roll.

"For extra protection," says Miller, "store pearls in a soft, lint-free bag to add protection against scratches and dust."

Pearls Hold Sentimental Value & Memories

by Margie Boule
(Oregon)

It's almost impossible to separate pearls from sentiment. Youth passes, friendships fade, love dies, but ask a woman about her pearls, and here comes the emotion.

Last month I wrote about a local woman who was able to have her mother's precious pearls restrung shortly before her mother's death. A family friend saved the day, stringing the pearls in the back seat of his car in a parking lot.

Like many other women, the dying woman had worn her pearls for special occasions. Her heart was not on her sleeve; it was gracefully draped around her neck.

Read entire story here which includes a traumatic pearl experience.

Pearls for 30th Anniversary

They're there if you look, around the necks of women thought to be among the world's most beautiful. Poets, philosophers and artists try to capture them with words or pictures. But really, it is about just getting lost in their deep luster.

People have been using pearls since ancient times to adorn themselves. And over the course of that long history, a lot of traditions have been created. The one we still celebrate today is about giving the woman you love pearls on your 30th wedding anniversary.

But while Queen Elizabeth could afford all the expensive natural pearls she wanted, it took the persistent son of a Japanese noodle maker named Kokichi Mikimoto to invent affordable cultured pearls with a big thank you to the United States.

What he discovered in the 1890s is used to this day. The single best material for creating the nucleus of a pearl comes from a Mississippi River clam called the pig toe. How? Oysters find the nucleus an irritant and begin coating it. In two or three years, a pearl is born. And a rare 5 percent make it Mikimoto's Tokyo showroom.

Read entire article here.

Read about Kari's visits to Mikimoto stores around the world here.

Professional Get Up and Go Wardrobe

by Canadian Press

Pearls.

"If in doubt, pearls always work," Maskiewicz says. To keep them from looking stuffy or stodgy, try layering jewelry pieces of different sizes and with varying sizes of beads.

-Black turtleneck or a sleeveless black turtleneck, depending on climate.

Maskiewicz paraphrases Yves Saint Laurent, saying that a black turtleneck is the ultimate in elegance - and an item that could take a woman anywhere, anytime.

Read entire article here.

GIA to Offer Pearl Grading Lab at Hyderabad, India

The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) announced that GIA India plans to offer a pearl grading lab class and a retail jewellery management (RJM) business course, and is now taking registrations. The pearl grading lab class will be held on May 18-19, while the RJM course will be available on May 21-23 and May 24-25 at the Golconda Institute of Diamonds in Hyderabad.

“Hyderabad has a large population of professionals who are discerning customers,” said Nirupa Bhatt, managing director, GIA India/Middle East. “The programs have been offered based on the significant number of retail businesses with large showrooms and multiple locations, and the need to meet their demand for educated retail sales associates. Hyderabad is also the pearl capital of India, creating significant potential for our offerings.”

GIA’s pearl grading class provides all the product knowledge people need to buy inventory, build confidence and increase profits. In this hands-on class, participants will practice with cultured pearls graded by the GIA Laboratory, learn how to evaluate cultured pearls, and talk about the beauty, value and quality of the merchandise.

Read entire article here.

How to Care for Pearls

Fine cultured pearls should last for many years, even generations---but only if they are properly cared for.

Cultured pearls should be kept free of perfumes, cosmetics, perspiration and dirt, advises Tiffany & Co. Acid and akali substances can be harmful to pearls, including chemicals found in perfumes, skincare products, hair products and even perspiration due to the salt content. On the other hand, the body's natural oils (apart from heavy perspiration) are actually beneficial for pearls and keeps them from drying out. The issues are the same for colored pearls. A cultured South Sea, Tahitian and golden pearl necklace with a diamond clasp by Tiffany & Co. is seen above.

Tiffany & Co. advises pearl owners to follow the old adage "pearls should be the last thing you put on and the first thing you take off". Avoid getting your pearls wet and don't wear them when bathing.

Read entire article here.

Freshwater Pearl Jewelry Workshop at AMNH

by New York Academy of Sciences
(New York , New York)

Freshwater pearls have been prized for thousands of years, and culturing has made them affordable and accessible. In this workshop, gemologist and historian Reema Keswani will provide an overview of culturing, and jewelry instructor Marsha Davis will guide students through a series of basic techniques to create their own freshwater pearl necklaces, bracelets, and earrings.

Six Thursdays, March 6–April 10, 7:00–9:00 p.m.

Enjoy the American Museum of Natural History's online pearl info here .

Pearls: Gem with a past, a still lustrous future

by Kari
(Iowa)

By Karla Klein Albertson

From The Inquirer Read entire article here.

Ah, pearls: lustrous to the eye, smooth on the skin, and very hard to resist. Maybe you're thinking of buying some for your valentine.
Virtually since the first explorers came ashore from the Atlantic, pearls have been an American favorite. The Western Hemisphere became known as the "Land of Pearls" when Columbus discovered an abundant supply of saltwater pearls off the coast of Venezuela in 1498.

John Loring, design director at Tiffany's, estimates that more than 13 tons of the shimmering gems were taken to Europe by the Spanish in the early 16th century.

Chunky and colored styles are pearl trends

by Samantha Critchell
(ASSOCIATED PRESS)

The chunky - and sometimes colored - pearls that Michelle Obama and Cindy McCain have been wearing on the campaign trail are not your grandmother's pearls. They are trendy pearls and styles that are still selling strong even in this economic downturn, according to pearl jeweler Tara.

CEO Sonny Sethi reports sales are up in all categories of pearls, but especially rare and expensive black Tahitian and gold South Sea pearls. There is a lot of interest in free-form baroque pearls, which have more of an artistic look than a strand of perfectly rounded, perfectly matched pearls, he says.

Otherwise, there is a lot of experimentation in the industry mixing more traditional pearls with other materials, including diamonds, beads and metals.

Read entire article here.

How to Pick a Pearl

by Lucia Blash

Some of the most iconic women in fashion history have been a fan of pearls. Think Princess Diana, Jackie Kennedy, Coco Chanel, Princess Grace, Audrey Hepburn – all of them rarely seen without a strand of pearls. With old-style Hollywood glamour set to be this season's fashion du jour expect to see pearls making a huge comeback. Here, Lucia Blash shows you how to pick the perfect pearl.

Thickness in nacre. The thicker the nacre is, the longer the pearls will last, and usually the better their lustre will be.

Lustre. Always choose pearls with the deepest lustre within the budget, if necessary compromising on size and blemishes, as it is the lustre which will flatter the wearer’s face.

Read entire article here.

Antiques bargain hunter: Don Rodgers

The price of pearls has fallen now they can be ‘grown’ in controlled conditions, so there are plenty of bargains out there.

THE beauty of pearls has been appreciated, not just for centuries, but for millennia. Until the 20th century, all real pearls were natural and either came from a saltwater oyster or a freshwater mussel. Saltwater pearls were the more highly prized but harvesting them was a difficult and dangerous process involving diving for pearl oysters, mainly in the Indian Ocean.

Bringing up the oysters was one thing, finding a pearl quite another: three tonnes of oysters generally only yielded three or four pearls of any quality. As a consequence, natural saltwater pearls were rare and expensive.

Read Don's entire article here.

Pearls from the sea

SILENT AND quiet it looks but within it lie the secrets of the sea. It adds a classic regal look no other jewel can surpass. Regardless of the growing quest for sparkling jewellery, the simple and plain pearl has its own place for its followers, the same admiration royal families across the world have held for it since time immemorial.

Though not as publicised as diamonds or gold, we still come across pearls all the time when celebrities walking on the red carpet in their unicoloured black, white, maroon, sea green or ocean blue evening gowns adorn the ‘Queen Gem’. The names include all famous Bollywood women to American first ladies (who wear a pearl necklace with formals) to the Queens and princesses from the British royal family. Of course topping them all was the late Maharani Gayatri Devi.

The emblem for wisdom, modesty and prestige has a huge following in the West where girls add it to their beach wear to look sensuous. Nevertheless, the traditional handloom sarees or synthetic ones, specially white and black coloured ones go wonderfully well with a white pearl necklace and earring. Multiple strands of pearls also compliment Indian wear, be it gorgeous or simple. A V-neckline or a round neck can be well decorated with layers of pearl strings where the pearls in each string vary in size. A single pearl looks elegant on the ear bob whereas bangle-like danglers or pearl drops also make beautiful earrings. Pearl finger rings have also now come of age, ornamented with diamonds at the periphery and embellished on a gold ring which sometimes is combined with platinum.




Read entire article here.

Are your pearls worth less than you think?

by Joe Ducey
(abc15.com)

Kari's Note:

This is an important consumer report I thought you should all see. It exposes the fact that some pearls are lower quality than portrayed and only have a thin coating of nacre which will soon crack or chip.

That is the main reason that I like to major on freshwater pearls here on KariPearls.com. Freshwater pearls are generally all or mostly nacre and not just a shell bead coated with a very thin layer of nacre. (Although some freshwater pearls also have a bead inside. That's the technique used here in the USA in Tennessee.)

One reason I love sharing lots of pearl education on my site is because it's very helpful to learn about pearls before purchasing them.

So, be sure to educate yourself before making a major purchase of pearls and buy from jewelers you can trust....there are lots of those out there too.

It's unfortunate that they don't mention the fact that lots of pearls are mostly nacre. That's one weakness in this article and interview. I think they should have pointed out that distinction.

Here is the start of the article, click the link below to read the entire article and to watch a short video interview.

Wedding and graduation season is here and in many families that means giving the traditional gift of a strand of pearls. They can last for generations, but many of us are buying pearls that chip, crack and just don’t last.

Most pearls on the market are cultured, meaning a bead is inserted into the oyster then left in the ocean to grow. A good pearl is left in the ocean anywhere from two to six years.
But the demand for pearls has pearl farmers taking short cuts.

Read entire article and see video here.

Women Want Carats in Pearls & Diamonds

Zeringue says women are wearing diamonds to the office and for everyday events, as well as for special occasions. “A lot of women think they can’t or shouldn’t afford diamonds. However, every woman should have a basic “wardrobe” — a pair of earrings, a pendant, a bracelet and a good strand of pearls, a pair of studs.”

Her diamond counter reflects the industry trend: Diamond “huggies” (short loop earrings that hug the ear, worn by Meg Ryan recently on an In Style cover) as well as large diamond hoops in eight different sizes. Some have white pave diamonds on one side with black diamonds on the other. Another trend is stacking bands for right hand rings. Slane & Slane has diamond bees and bangles in a choice of rose, white or yellow gold. One trendy black diamond bangle rings the cash register at $6,750, its provocative dark color the result of a concentration of nitrogen and hydrogen in the stones.

“Black diamonds are the sexy, dark side of diamonds, and very now,” said Zeringue, adding they can be paired with any jewelry a woman already owns. “Lafayette is a more classic town and usually trails a few years behind the trends. Every year — and this is my 15th Christmas — it’s diamond earrings, bracelets, strands of pearls and watches. You can buy them, women will have them for years and pass them on,” said Zeringue, who still has her grandmother’s 80-year-old Bulova.


Read entire article here.

CIBJO Pearl Commission Report

by Kari
(Iowa, Muscatine)

Last week, CIBJO's Pearl Commission released its 2008 Pearl Commission Report to be read at the CIBJO 2008 Congress on April 14-16 at the Grossvenor House hotel in Dubai, UEA. The Commission is headed by Martin Coeroli (president) from French Polynesia and Shigeru Akamatsu (vice president) from Japan.


As stated in the press release, the Pearl Steering Committee has identified three main topics of discussions at the 2008 CIBJO Congress in Dubai, which include:
• The disclosure of traditional or modern luster enhancement;
• The restriction of the nature and type of beads used for cultured pearls to nacreous material only; and
• A solution to the issue of nacre thickness, which affects the durability of pearls cultured in seawater.


In the wake that the demand for official reports on natural pearls and cultured pearls is constantly on the rise, the Pearl Steering Committee is thoroughly investigating new developments in the pearl and cultured pearl industry. Such reports inform on the origin of the pearls and their specific gemological characteristics.

Getting Top Dollar For Jewelry Requires Knowledge, Patience

by Mark Huffman
(ConsumerAffairs.com)

In hard economic times, people often resort to selling personal jewelry items, especially if they need cash in a hurry. While its never advantageous to sell anything under pressure, there are some rules you should follow in order to maximize what you can get for an individual piece.

Joe Brandt, who has been in the jewelry business for nearly four decades, says a seller should understand that value, when it comes to jewelry, is very subjective. It all depends, he says, on who is buying it.

Just because you have had an appraisal done on Aunt Hilda's broach, and the appraisal came in at $1,000, it doesn't mean you can get that much in the marketplace.

Read entire article here.

Birthstones Gems of Power

by Mary Immaculate School
(Berhampore )

Did you know that the significance of birthstones is based on the months of the year? Provashis Ghosh enlightens us:

Long, long ago in the first century, a writer called Josephus spoke about the virtues of various gemstones. The stones in the breastplate of the high priest were set in four rows, with the names of the children of Israel engraved on each stone. Perhaps the custom of wearing gemstones grew out of this. People have now started wearing birthstones and the custom is said to have started in Poland among Hebrew gem-traders.

Stones for every month of the year

January: Garnet, the birthstone for January, is usually a dark red stone but may be yellow, green, brown, or even black. The name comes from the Latin word, granatus, meaning seed-like because the stone resembles the seed of the pomegranate. Garnets are as hard as quartz. The clear red garnets come from Bohemia, Peru, Greenland and the Cape of Good Hope. The stones are often so beautiful that they may be cut into gems of two or three carats.

See complete list of birthstones here.

Advice on Re-Gifting Pearls

by PHILIP GALANES

I gave a pearl and gold necklace to a woman I was dating. She wore it frequently. A month later, she ended our relationship and insisted that I take the necklace. I half-heartedly tried to sell it, but given the times, I don’t imagine seeing fair value in a resale. Would it ever be appropriate to give the necklace to a future girlfriend? Anonymous, Burlingame, Calif.

Because you’re looking for pearls of wisdom, Scottie, let’s make it a triple strand — for the three different types of guys in the world. The answer lies not at Van Cleef & Arpels, but in yourself.

The first type of guy thinks: It’s just a necklace, and gives it to his new girlfriend without a word of its history. Because he’s callous enough to overlook the recycling of a romantic gesture, everyone’s happy — for a while.

Read entire article here.

Identifying Pearls and Nuclei by Optical Coherence Tomography

Identifying Pearls and Nuclei by Optical Coherence Tomography

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) has been utilized to evaluate pearls including their nuclei noninvasively. By visualizing the internal structure of a pearl, we could measure the thickness of its nacre layer, observe the fine sub-structure of the nacre, and inspect the nucleus through the nacre. The system also allowed us to classify pearls into beaded- and non-beaded ones; usually, the saltwater ones have nuclei even though there are beaded freshwater pears and non-beaded saltwater pearls. Any cracks, crevices, or blemishes not only in the nacre but in the nucleus of a pearl could be clearly visualized. The OCT system was based on a 20 kHz swept-source of a 1.31μm central wavelength and an 110 nm full-width-at-half-maximum (FWHM) bandwidth. To get the 2-D images all around the circumference of a pearl, the pearl was rotated by a motorized rotating stage. And to achieve 3-D volume images, galvano-scans were made along two axes. Of all things, the OCT allowed us to check the use of a forbidden nucleus, usually made of a Giant Clam shell thus fragile, without hurting the pearl. With this modality, we believe, it would be possible evaluating pearls both in qualitative and quantitative. Comparison with the images taken with an optical microscope and X-ray radiograph gives the refractive index of pearl as about 1.53 in average.

Entire article about Identifying Pearls and Nuclei by Optical Coherence Tomography

Pearl Advice

by Sabra

Pearl advice by Sabra


Hi Kari, I love your site. You provide so much good information.

Mikimoto's lower grade lines used to be available at many discount stores during the '80s and 90s, probably earlier. (I only know from the time at which learning about jewelry first started to pique my interest, when I was a preteen in the 1980s.) The lower grade Mikimoto and the higher Mikimoto pearls were available at Best, The Present Company, Service Merchandise, and many other stores. (Not sure if they ever made it to WalMart, but anything is possible.)

I purchased a matinee length strand of 7.5mm white pearls secured by a 14K gold filigree clasp (which was used extensively on the lower lines -- the fish hook was marked 14K M) for $600, half off when Best went out of business in the mid '90s.

Sometime in 2009, I lost the strand. It may have ended up the computer bag of my employer one day when my neck was bothering me. I didn't enjoy working there, so later, when I returned the computer and bag to the company -- probably with my pearls still in it -- I truly was throwing pearls to swine! :-)

As an update on the value of Miki's lower grade pearls since the mid 90s -- extensive cultivation of Chinese freshwater pearls and Japanese akoyas imported into China for restringing, manufacturing, and export has widely reduced the value and the price of cultured pearls, saving the consumer a great deal of money.

My former necklace is worth a maximum of $200. My replacement strand cost me half that.

Advice to the wise is -- unless you find antique pearl jewelry with substantiated provenance, pearls are not an investment.

When selecting a strand to wear, select the set with the highest luster and best matched pearls with a body color and overtones that look best on you.

I still have not found a strand like the one I lost because, evidently, in that size, it is hard to find a very nice white or light, light cream with green, silver, and pink overtones, but I have found several beautiful estate strands for incredibly reasonable prices -- and so can today's buyers.

All the best, and keep up your terrific site and blog. Sabra

Pearl Commission Edits Pearl Blue Book

Pearl Commission Edits Pearl Blue Book

The Pearl Commission of CIBJO reviewed a number of proposals for amendments to the Pearl Blue Book in a special report.

The report was released in an effort to help the Pearl Blue Book become an international standard for the understanding of natural and cultured pearls.

Several edits were made to the Pearl Blue Book, including the usage of the word pearl. Modern usage dictates that pearl should always be qualified with either natural, cultured, or imitation to reduce ambiguity.

The report also discusses the formation of a Technical Pearl Commission under the auspices of the Laboratory Manual Harmonization Committee in response to concerns expressed by Bahrain delegates during the 2010 Congress regarding criteria used for identifying natural pearls.

The CIBJO Pearl Commission will meet at the 2011 CIBJO Congress in Porto, Portugal, on March 14.

Source: JCK Online

US Cultured Pearl Market Report

US Cultured Pearl Market Report


GIA announces the release of a US report on Natural and Cultured Pearls markets. The US market for cultured pearls is projected to exceed $1.6 billion by the year 2015. The weakening dollar is creating opportunities for other countries to buy top-quality pearls in each category. The US market is witnessing an increase in the number of international buyers, leading to a scarcity of superior-quality pearls. International clients are taking full advantage of the lowered exchange rates due to the fall in the US currency.

San Jose, California (PRWEB) February 16, 2010 -- Natural pearls are very rare as well as expensive, which makes cultured pearls the only alternative for majority of the consumers desiring to own real pearls. High quality natural and cultured pearls appear identical to naked eyes, and often only those who are experts in pearls or are trained can identify the difference using an X-ray instrument. The core of cultured pearls is larger as compared to natural pearls. While, white, pink and cream have always been popular pearl colors, black, gold and silver are as well turning popular these days. Among the pearl producers, Australia, Myanmar and Indonesia hold recognition as key producers of large and white pearls, whereas the Japanese pearls are renowned for their lustrous appearance.

The demand for natural and cultured pearls is expected to grow at a flat rate in the US, as stated by the new market research report on natural and cultured pearls market. Low consumer awareness about the different types and qualities of available pearls negatively impacts the business of pearl producers. Various global organizations including Cultured Pearl Association, Australia's Licensed Pearl Producers, World Pearl organization, and Japan Pearl Promotion Society fund are undertaking initiatives to inform consumers about the wide variety of pearls available and the appeal of pearl jewelry.

More about

MOIC Directorate of Precious Metals & Gemstone Testing, and SSEF collaborate in pearl research

MOIC Directorate of Precious Metals & Gemstone Testing, and SSEF collaborate in pearl research.

The Ministry of Industry and Commerce (MOIC) is pleased to announce the signing, a Memorandum of Understanding between the MOIC Directorate of Precious Metals & Gemstone Testing (DPMG), and the Swiss Gemmological Institute (SSEF).

The MOU is an important landmark in terms of the future of international collaboration at a time when the natural pearl trade is being challenged by increasing amounts of beadless saltwater cultured pearls (also called Keshi cultured pearls). The MOU is particularly important to Bahrain, which has a long tradition in pearls, and remains to this day, a major hub for the natural pearl trade.

Both organizations have strong international reputations in pearl certification, and believe that the MOU will enhance their respective ability to maintain the quality of their service, and will serve to strengthen their historic collaboration.

The MOU, which is intended to establish mutual co-operation in research and training on pearls and to harmonize the testing of pearls, and in particular to develop criteria for distinguishing natural pearls from cultured pearls, was signed on behalf of MOIC by Mr. Ali Safar, Director of the DPMG, and by Dr. Michael S. Krzemnicki, Director of SSEF.

The MOIC is confident that this MOU will help in maintaining the integrity of the international natural pearls trade, and looks forward to cooperating with SSEF in this regard.

Article from AMEinfo.com

Buy natural Bahraini pearls

GIA eLearning Course for Pearls

GIA eLearning Course for Pearls

The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) is offering a new distance learning course that incorporates the latest research, market trends and grading processes for cultured and natural pearls. This eight-assignment course gives professionals the opportunity to broaden their careers by developing their pearl knowledge and skills. It also enables those just entering the industry to get a jumpstart on building their pearl expertise.

“Our pearl experts, recognized around the world, share the latest discoveries and findings through our educational programs,” said Duncan Pay, director of course development for GIA. “The pearl market continues to flourish and expand globally, so our goal is to ensure we provide the most comprehensive education about them available. The up-to-date content in this course reflects GIA’s rich 80-year history in pearl research.”

Read entire article about GIA eLearning Course for Pearls"

New Tahitian Pearl Information Site

New Tahitian Pearl Information Site

Tahitian Pearl.com and Miriam Reed are pleased to announce the celebration of a new website dedicated to providing information about pearls. It also provides a meeting place for those who are enthused about Tahitian pearls, Akoya pearls and other types of pearl jewelry.

Tahitian pearls, the focus of the new information website, are cultured in various parts of French Polynesia but not in Tahiti itself. The process by which the black-lipped oyster is induced to produce the costly pearls is known as grafting. Because the largest pearls require more than one grafting process, a period of two to three years may be needed to produce the most valuable pearls.

The surgical precision that is required to successfully accomplish the grafting process begins when the oyster is about thirty months old. It may be repeated a second and sometimes even a third time to produce pearls of the large size that today's market demands.



Enjoy the new Tahitian pearl information site.

Buy Tahitian pearl jewelry.

2010 Pearl Blue Book

2010 Pearl Blue Book

Jewelers and manufacturers that sell cultured pearls have a new set of guidelines in regards to nomenclature, grading standards and terminology thanks to the recent release of a new Pearl Book from CIBJO.

Following the 2010 CIBJO Congress meeting held in February in Munich, Germany, CIBJO, the World Jewellery Confederation began releasing the latest, updated versions of its Blue Books. The CIBJO Blue Books are a definitive set of standards for the grading, methodology and nomenclature standards for diamonds, colored gemstones, pearls, precious metals, and recently, also for gemological terminology and nomenclature.

The Pearl Book, which was the first book to be released since the 2010 Congress meeting, is 48 pages long and includes details on everything from abalone to waxing of pearls. Click here to download the book.

Among the sections that are most applicable to retailers is a section on the type of information that should be declared to the customer at the point of sale.

CIBJO Pearl Book section 4.3 on modifications and treatments, for instance, explains that there is no requirement to declare at the point of sale that cultured pearls have been drilled, polished, buffed, peeled and/or cleaned.

However, the section says that bleaching, coating, cutting, dyeing, including tinting, filling, heating, irradiation, oiling, waxing and working are modifications and treatments that must be declared at point of sale. For example, jewelers should use terms such as black (irradiated) cultured pearl, or yellow heated cultured pearl in describing the materials.

GIA Introduces Advance Pearl Testing Technology

GIA Introduces Advance Pearl Testing Technology

The Gemological Institute of America announced a new technology that enables laboratories to assess much larger groups of pearls more quickly and in greater detail than any previous technology.

After months of tests and evaluations, micro-CT X-ray units that produce high-definition 3-D images of individual pearls have been installed. The units allow the GIA to gain fully rotational 3-D images of the internalgrowth structures of pearls in 15 to 20 minutes.

The technology is in addition to the high-resolution real-time 2-D radiography that the GIA has used in pearl testing for the past several years. Both micro-CT and real-time microradiography are processes that examine the internal structures of small objects in minute detail, which iscritical in determining whether a pearl is natural or cultured.

“We are confident these state of the art units will give unparalleled service to the pearl industry,” Tom Moses, GIA senior vice president of lab and research, said in statement.

Read entire article about GIA Introduces Advance Pearl Testing Technology

Pearl Matters-Conchs, Pens & CT Machines

“Pearl Matters-Conchs, Pens & CT Machines”



By

Nicholas Sturman

Supervisor Pearl Identification

GIA Laboratory Bangkok


Venue: The White Room, Lower Lobby of the Crowne Plaza Bankok Lumpini Park

Date: July 27th, 2011

Time: 6.00 pm. – 9.00 pm.

Contact: GIA Laboratory Bangkok 02 632 4090

GIA Thailand Campus 02 237 9575

Website: www.giathai.net



Speaker, Nicholas Sturman, has over 22 years of detailed experience in the examination of pearls. He obtained his FGA and DGA qualifications in the UK prior to joining the world famous Gem Testing Laboratory of Great Britain, and continued with 16 years studying pearls in the Kingdom of Bahrain where he was the gemological adviser to the Bahrain Government's Gem and Pearl Testing Laboratory. As well as writing contributions to various gemological publications he has also given presentations in the Middle East and several other countries, including The United Kingdom, Switzerland and Thailand.

Source for Pearl Matters-Conchs, Pens & CT Machines

Gem grader GIA cuts jobs at Carlsbad headquarters

by Penni Crabtree

The Gemological Institute of America, the nation's top rater of diamonds, has cut 117 jobs at its Carlsbad headquarters, citing the global recession that has taken the sparkle out of the jewelry trade.

The nonprofit trimmed 11.3 percent of its 1,642 worldwide employees last week as part of a cost-cutting plan that also reduces work hours for some remaining employees, imposes a 10 percent pay cut on executives and halts company contributions to employee 401(k) retirement plans.

“It was a really, really sad day, and we did everything to avoid it,” said Laura Simanton, a spokeswoman for GIA, which employed 976 people in Carlsbad before the cuts. “But the diamond and gemstone industry has been having a difficult time. The pipeline is not flowing.”

That pipeline – from the stones that come out of South Africian diamond mines, to diamond cutters and polishers in India, to swank jewelry stores in Manhattan – has been squeezed by the credit crisis and softening demand for luxury goods.

Read entire article here.