Wondering how much Frances Cromwell’s natural pearls fetched at auction this week? If you do not know about these pearls, captured in a painting by John Michael Wright’s painting, see our post on Frances Cromwell’s Pearls for Sale. This natural saltwater pearl necklace remained in the Cromwell family for years. The necklace features a graduated …
Large pearls are being cultured in the freshwater cultured pearl farms in China and it is with good reason. Large pearls are dominating the market. People want bold, bigger pearls. There was a time for the petite strand (okay, truthfully, there is always a time for a nice simple strand) but the trends are changing …
Bigger is better especially in the newest wave of freshwater pearls coming out of China. Are you interested in big freshwater pearls? Many of you have been asking about the rapidly increasing prices for smaller size cultured pearls. These smaller pearls are becoming more and more scarce because the newest wave of cultured pearls is …
Today, Frances Cromwell’s pearl are for sale. In 1658, John Michael Wright painted the 20 year old Frances Cromwell, youngest daughter of Oliver Cromwell. John Michael Wright was a baroque portrait painter from England. He painted young Frances along with her older sister Elizabeth Claypole, who, unfortunately, had passed away the same year. Both of …
Mother of pearl carvings from Palestine came to the U.S. via the World’s Fair in 1853. In 1852 New Yorkers learned that a World’s Fair, also known as the Exhibit of the Industry of All Nations, would be coming to what is now Bryant Park in New York City after a showcase in London the …
John Michael Wright was a baroque portrait painter. Born in London in 1617, he was trained in Scotland by painter George Jamesone and went on to spend much of his career in Rome, Italy. He was admitted to the Accademia di San Luca (Academy of Saint Luke), an association of artists in Rome. It was there he really made …
There are pearls in the Cheapside Hoard! I just happened upon a post that showed pearls as part of the collection of the Cheapside Hoard and I am so tickled that pearls are among this stash of important antique jewels! Have you heard about the Cheapside Hoard? Going on display at the Museum of London …
The largest natural pearl discovery happened in the U.S. in 1976 at Fort Gibson Lake in Wagner, OK. Workers from the American Shell Company found this three ridge mussel with 2100 natural pearls inside. Still intact to this day are all 2100 pearls, the shell and the mussel meat. This was truly an amazing discovery …
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We love how they look, how they feel and the luxurious pearl jewelry designs but is there more? What are the metaphysical properties of pearls? Well, first things first, what is a metaphysical property? Metaphysics is a branch of science or philosophy that attempts to explain the unexplainable. Where physics deals with objects on a …
Sometimes the beauty of U.S. mussels is simply in the shell. Here is a Tennessee Heelsplitter Belt made from the shell of a Tennessee Heelsplitter mussel. Which, by the way, was named due to the mussel shell’s sharp edges. Step on this mussel while wading barefoot in the river and it might just cut (or …
These are our current pearl jewelry designs including some pieces that we are in the process of retiring. Thank for understanding that some of our pieces have very limited quantities and may sell out.Also, most of these pieces are custom made in Athens, GA. If you have any questions or wish to place an order, …
On February 3, 1889, Robert Louis Stevenson presented a golden pearl and the following sonnet to Hawaii’s King Kalakaua. The Silver Ship, my King – that was her name In the bright islands whence your fathers came – The Silver Ship, at rest from winds and …
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