A natural abalone pearl, moonstone and diamond butterfly brooch hand crafted by Collector Fine Jewelry in a photo courtesy of Pala International. It’s an ideal brooch for anyone born in June since it has two of June’s birthstones: pearl and moonstone. It took a year and 2 months to create this brooch. Bill Larson, president of Pala International, bought the pearls while he had a condo in La Paz.
The local residents knew he was a gem dealer so they brought a variety of unique local gems for him to examine, hoping he would buy some. Baja California and California have been important sources of natural abalone pearls.
An abalone is not q bivalve mollusk like an oyster or mussel. It is technically classified as a large snail of the family Haliotidae and the genus “Haliotis,” which means sea ear, referring to the flattened shape of the shell. It can produce colorful nacreous pearls that consist of many concentric layers of nacre.
Abalone pearls usually have unique baroque shapes which are sought after by designers, and their iridescent colors may be any combination or shade of green, blue, pink, purple, silver, or on rare occasions cream white.
Blue and green are the most common colors. Their size can be as small as a tiny seed. The largest abalone pearl on record weighs 810 carats. It was found near Cedros Island, off the coast of Baja California, and sold to the late pearl dealer James Peach, who named it “Le Perle Venetia “after his wife.
Based in Fallbrook, California, Pala International has been a direct source of some of the world’s finest colored gemstones since 1969 and has also been involved in mining tourmaline in San Diego County. To learn more about the company and their gems, go to www.PalaGems.com.
I used this photo in the chapter on “Creating Unique Pearl Jewelry with Colored Gems” in my upcoming book, “Pearls; Their History, Sources, Types and Qualities,” which is scheduled to be published September 15. Info is at
www.reneenewman.com/Pearls.htm
About the author:
Renée Newman is a gemologist (GG, GIA), lecturer, writer and author of 15 books on gems and jewelry. Her goal is to provide consumers and jewelry professionals with unbiased, affordable information on how to buy, evaluate and appreciate gems and jewelry. She can be reached through her website:
