The Houston Museum of Natural Science is currently running an exhibit about pearls -- how they're formed, how they're harvested, and how they've been used throughout history. It's FABULOUS! Lots of information about all the different kinds of critters which can produce pearls (I never had any idea there were so
*many*), and then there were the actual examples of pearls both loose and in use. Pearls in jewelry, pearls on objects, pearls on clothing, the pearl button industry, imitation pearls and methods of making them, teeny-tiny little pearls the size of 11-0 seed beads or even smaller, huge baroque pearls half as big as my fist -- it was amazing.I fell in love with a choker of giant baroque South Sea pearls in the gift shop section -- each of them at least 20mm! (No, I didn't even ask how much it was. The prices in that cabinet *started* at $2,800.) They had some nice polished NZ paua shell halves, and I thought of you, Harry! Didn't buy that either, since they were $28 each and I wanted a book instead. My friend who went with me is now nuts over pink Queen Conch pearls... which are unfortunately quite rare and incredibly expensive.
Oh, and the really funny thing. One of the jewelry pieces on exhibit was Barbara Bush's famous 3-strand pearl necklace... with a handwritten note from her in which she admits that they're fakes! Designer necklace, imitation pearls. I think this is one reason I like baroque and imperfect pearls so much; you *know* they're real.
Got some egoboo, too. I wore one of my own pieces, a dark-grey mabe pearl pendant on a strand of matching baroque pearls, and the person behind me in the line at the cash register said it was prettier than half the stuff in the gift shop! They had pieces featuring pearls from 3 Houston artisans. One of these days I hope to have MY work in museum gift shops.
Celine