Lucky Eddie
Sr. Member
- Feb 9, 2010
- 358
- 187
They should be graded in natural/diffused light.
The size is also an indication. Not a great %age of seeded pearls come out perfectly round without defects in the nacre coating of the seed.
When we re established the farm in 2007 after the cyclone wiped it out in 1999, the lads had to re establish all the pearl lines and floats washed away in the cyclone.
This meant diving each day within the pearl farm lease area to find all the stainless sea anchor pins - to re attach floats and lines etc to hang the cages on for the spat to be placed into out of the hatchery when the sea plane delivered them.
In doing this diving they found a LOT of old pearl shell panels that had come off the lines and sunk to the sea floor in the cyclone in 1999.
They had been there 8 years and they were all seeded before being lost!
Many of the wire cages had rusted away and the oysters had established themselves in the mud on the sea floor they way natural occurring pearl oysters do!.
The boys brought a few handfuls up out of curiosity and we opened them to look for pearls and of course eat the pearl shell eductor muscle (a lot like abalone and very expensive - over $100.kilo)
Anyway having been there so long the pearls we did find were around 13mm in dia, so quite large. Missus and daughter kept a few and we later had em made into Jewellery.
so in a normal farm environment you don't leave them 8 years past seeding un - harvested.
At first seeding after year 2 they get a small seed that 2 years later at year 4 makes a small pearl (4-6mm)
Those year 4 shell are then re - seeded with a larger nuclei - that when harvested at year 6 makes a 6-8mm pearl.
those year 6 shell are then re seeded with a even larger nuclei - that when harvested around year 8 makes a 8 - 10mm pearl!
Usually after year 8 the shell is discarded (ie the mother of pearl shell is sold for jewellery making & the eductor muscle for pearl meat.
So you see you get losses over each successive harvest where some shells don't take the seed (spit it back out) & some die of disease /predation etc
So yours probably came from a 6 year old Oyster... with 2 years nacre coating.
Its not unless you understand / appreciate the process and capital costs / losses etc that you get areal idea of value.
Typically after we sell a harvest at average of around $50 a pearl, the Jewelers will get 300% plus markup for grading sorting color matching etc and "setting" them into Jewellery or stringing them .
You can't string pearls with nacre or shape defects in shape size color etc coz the defects are visible all around the pearl - you CAN set them into Jewellery with the defect side hidden but not so strings coz every side is visible so only the BEST graded pearls (i.e. most expensive) go into strings!
Classic Akoya Cultured Pearl Strand Necklace in 18k White Gold (7.0-7.5mm) | Blue Nile
There's a 18ct white gold set of 7-8mm akoyas (58 of) and a 24 inch string is around $1100
Its all about color rarity etc
Anyone buying them off you to re - sell has to get them around 50% retail value to make it worth them turning around and re-selling them!.
Just get them appraised!
AAA DOUBLE STRAND IVORY CREAM AKOYA PEARL NECKLACE-XaXe.com = double strand of ivory color akoya's with retail value $13K (but actually for sale at only $1250).
Its really hard to value pearls. Color is everything There's all different 'marketing' names for the colors Baroque pink for e.g.
Do some searches on google images for terms:-
Range of Color Akoya Pearls
Range of Color Maxima Pearls
Range of Color Pinctada Pearls
You'll be surprised what you find out - the thing is you have to know what your selling coz a buyer won't necessarily tell you if you don't know, if they can make a killing on the purchase and re sale.
It's your role to get an insurance valuation & also know the rarity etc and value of what you have when it comes time to sell.
At $30 buying them you cannot lose.
https://www.pearlparadise.com/t-information-akoya.aspx
Not all pearls are the same value!.
The size is also an indication. Not a great %age of seeded pearls come out perfectly round without defects in the nacre coating of the seed.
When we re established the farm in 2007 after the cyclone wiped it out in 1999, the lads had to re establish all the pearl lines and floats washed away in the cyclone.
This meant diving each day within the pearl farm lease area to find all the stainless sea anchor pins - to re attach floats and lines etc to hang the cages on for the spat to be placed into out of the hatchery when the sea plane delivered them.
In doing this diving they found a LOT of old pearl shell panels that had come off the lines and sunk to the sea floor in the cyclone in 1999.
They had been there 8 years and they were all seeded before being lost!
Many of the wire cages had rusted away and the oysters had established themselves in the mud on the sea floor they way natural occurring pearl oysters do!.
The boys brought a few handfuls up out of curiosity and we opened them to look for pearls and of course eat the pearl shell eductor muscle (a lot like abalone and very expensive - over $100.kilo)
Anyway having been there so long the pearls we did find were around 13mm in dia, so quite large. Missus and daughter kept a few and we later had em made into Jewellery.
so in a normal farm environment you don't leave them 8 years past seeding un - harvested.
At first seeding after year 2 they get a small seed that 2 years later at year 4 makes a small pearl (4-6mm)
Those year 4 shell are then re - seeded with a larger nuclei - that when harvested at year 6 makes a 6-8mm pearl.
those year 6 shell are then re seeded with a even larger nuclei - that when harvested around year 8 makes a 8 - 10mm pearl!
Usually after year 8 the shell is discarded (ie the mother of pearl shell is sold for jewellery making & the eductor muscle for pearl meat.
So you see you get losses over each successive harvest where some shells don't take the seed (spit it back out) & some die of disease /predation etc
So yours probably came from a 6 year old Oyster... with 2 years nacre coating.
Its not unless you understand / appreciate the process and capital costs / losses etc that you get areal idea of value.
Typically after we sell a harvest at average of around $50 a pearl, the Jewelers will get 300% plus markup for grading sorting color matching etc and "setting" them into Jewellery or stringing them .
You can't string pearls with nacre or shape defects in shape size color etc coz the defects are visible all around the pearl - you CAN set them into Jewellery with the defect side hidden but not so strings coz every side is visible so only the BEST graded pearls (i.e. most expensive) go into strings!
Classic Akoya Cultured Pearl Strand Necklace in 18k White Gold (7.0-7.5mm) | Blue Nile
There's a 18ct white gold set of 7-8mm akoyas (58 of) and a 24 inch string is around $1100
Its all about color rarity etc
Anyone buying them off you to re - sell has to get them around 50% retail value to make it worth them turning around and re-selling them!.
Just get them appraised!
AAA DOUBLE STRAND IVORY CREAM AKOYA PEARL NECKLACE-XaXe.com = double strand of ivory color akoya's with retail value $13K (but actually for sale at only $1250).
Its really hard to value pearls. Color is everything There's all different 'marketing' names for the colors Baroque pink for e.g.
Do some searches on google images for terms:-
Range of Color Akoya Pearls
Range of Color Maxima Pearls
Range of Color Pinctada Pearls
You'll be surprised what you find out - the thing is you have to know what your selling coz a buyer won't necessarily tell you if you don't know, if they can make a killing on the purchase and re sale.
It's your role to get an insurance valuation & also know the rarity etc and value of what you have when it comes time to sell.
At $30 buying them you cannot lose.
https://www.pearlparadise.com/t-information-akoya.aspx
Not all pearls are the same value!.
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