Freshwater Petal Pearl Necklace with Spinels and 18K Gold Butterfly Diamond Clasp
Pretty as a petal, layered like the wings of a butterfly, these pastel cultured freshwater pearls would be perfect wedding pearls or a decidedly feminine necklace to wear to a spring garden party. The subtle pink satiny glow of these petal shaped pearls, accented with faceted magenta spinel beads, gold rondelles studded with diamonds, and an 18K butterfly shaped clasp with diamond solitaire all complement each other perfectly.
designer: atelier bento
details:
$1600
item: N 00013
availability: one-of-a-kind
CONTACT: 520-906-7187
about freshwater cultured pearls:
Freshwater cultured pearls have come a long way in recent years in terms of quality. The often almost metallic colors of pink, peach, lavender, gold, and silver, combined with distinctive shapes and improving lustre make these an attractive choice for design with pearls. Produced almost exclusively in China from the freshwater mussel Hyriopsis cuningii (also known as the triangle mussel for its shape) and Hyriopsis Schlegeli ('Biwa'), these mollusks are grown in freshwater ponds reminiscent of rice paddies, often on family farms.
The pearl is initiated from multiple grafts of mantle tissue inserted into the valves, allowing for the production of up to 32 pearls per mollusk. As a result, the sheer quantity of pearls produced is astounding. Shapes are referred to as potato, button, petal, corn flake, coin, baroque, stick; really, you can call them whatever shape they may remind you of! Near-round shapes are becoming more available and recent efforts to produce bead nucleated pearls (similar to the salt water culturing process) have produced some interesting large shapes like 'fireballs' and the surprise ‘soufflé’ pearl.
about spinel:
Spinel is one of the most beautiful mineral species and gemstones, unknown to most, and certainly under appreciated. It is one of my favorite gemstones because of its often red trending to magenta color. A red spinel is a compound of magnesia, iron, oxygen and chromium, whereas ruby is a type of aluminum oxide. Spinel can also be blue, violet and pink. Violet to blue spinel can be colored by trace amounts of iron, and vibrant blues owe their saturated color to trace amounts of cobalt.
Historically, a red crystal gem would have been called a ‘ruby’, however, many historically famous ‘rubies’ are actually spinels. It wasn’t until 1783 that mineralogist Jean Baptiste Louis Rome de Lisle identified that spinel is a different mineral than ruby.
The 14th century crimson red jewel that has been in the possession of England’s rulers since 1367, known as the ‘Black Prince’s Ruby’ (Edward), is in fact a spectacular 170 carat uncut polished spinel set in the Maltese cross on the British Imperial State Crown. The stone is also the current Queen Elizabeth II’s favorite jewel in the crown which she wore with the spinel facing to the front at her coronation in 1953.
partial source: GIA.edu
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CONTACT: 520-906-7187
atelier bento