The historic ‘Sleeping Lion Pearl’, a natural Blister and not a Pearl
Recently, the Swiss Gemmological Institute SSEF had the opportunity to investigate an impressive natural nacreous formation with documented provenance dating back to the late 18th century, named the ‘Sleeping Lion Pearl’ due to its baroque shape that is reminiscent of a lion.
New Beads in Cultured Pearls
by Dr. Laurent E. Cartier, first published in Facette 21 (February 2014) We were presented with samples of a new type of pearl product from French Polynesia by a pearl trader during the 2012 BaselWorld show. These cultured pearls had unusual shapes, came in large sizes (up to 23 mm) and were characterised by
Corroded Pearls
by SSEF, first published in Facette 20 (January 2013) Although pearls, as organic gems, are commonly less stable than polished gemstones, we don’t often see pearls with obvious features of surface damage as a result of unfortunate care. A few months ago, however, we received for testing a very spectacular ca
New frontiers in pearl analysis: Age dating, DNA fingerprinting and novel radiographic methods (2019)
Presentation by Dr. Michael S. Krzemnicki and Jean-Pierre Chalain at the Pearl Symposium in Bahrain in November 2019.
DNA fingerprinting of precious corals an pearls (2019)
Presentation by Dr. Laurent E. Cartier at the International Gemmological Conference (IGC) in Nantes (France) in August 2019.
DNA fingerprinting of precious corals and pearls
Presentation by Dr. Laurent E. Cartier at the International Gemmological Conference (IGC) in Nantes (France) in August 2019.
Neutron Radiography and Tomography: A New Approach to Visualize the Internal Structures of Pearls
Neutron Radiography and Tomography: A New Approach to Visualize the Internal Structures of Pearls. Published in Journal of Gemmology, 2018, 36(1), 56-63.
DNA Fingerprinting of Pearls, Corals and Ivory: A Brief Review of Applications in Gemmology
DNA Fingerprinting of Pearls, Corals and Ivory: A Brief Review of Applications in Gemmology. Published in Journal of Gemmology, 2018, 36, 2, 152-160. Author(s): L.E. Cartier, M.S. Krzemnicki, B. Lendvay, J. B. Meyer
Radiocarbon Age Dating of 1,000-Year-Old Pearls from the Cirebon Shipwreck (Java, Indonesia)
Radiocarbon Age Dating of 1,000-Year-Old Pearls from the Cirebon Shipwreck (Java, Indonesia). Published in Journal of Gemmology, 2017, 35, 8, 728–736. Author(s): M.S. Krzemnicki, L.E. Cartier, I. Hajdas
Simultaneous X-ray Radiography, Phase-Contrast and Darkfield Imaging to Separate Natural from Cultured Pearls
Simultaneous X-ray Radiography, Phase-Contrast and Darkfield Imaging to Separate Natural from Cultured Pearls. Published in Journal of Gemmology, 2017, 35, 7, 628–638. Author(s): M.S. Krzemnicki, C. Hanser, V. Revol