NECKLACE Multicolor South Sea PEARLS Gemstones Gold Vermeil 925 Sterling SILVER

SOUTHSEA PEARLS,TAHITIAN PEARLS GEMSTONES & GOLD VERMEIL on 925 STERLING SILVER NECKLACEItem # :180 1471___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Type of jewelry:Necklace with genuine multicolor South Sea& Tahitian PEARLS, assorted gemstones and 24K Gold Vermeil over solid 925Sterling Silver granulation beads and clasp Amount:1 (one) necklace* All photos are taken from theactual item *Material:Assorted genuine multicolor SouthSea baroque pearls, South Sea Keshi pearls, Tahitian baroque pearls, Tahitian Keshi pearls, Kasumi freshwaterpearls, assorted gemstones and 24K Gold Vermeil over 925 Sterling Silver Clasp:24K Gold Vermeil S-hook &eye-claps ~ 3-micron Gold-plated on solid 925 Sterling Silver Gold Vermeil:3-micron yellow Gold plating onsolid 925 Sterling Silver ~ strong and durableOrigin:Handmade in Bali (Indonesia) by our in-house mastersilversmithTotal weight :approx. 73.12 gramsSize of pearls:Assorted from approx. 15.55 x 15.05 x 14.24mm (the largest pearl in this necklace) to approx. 6.35 x 3.74 x 3.70 mm (the smallest pearl in this necklace)Origin of pearls:South Sea pearls from MalukuIslands / IndonesiaTahitian pearls from TahitiKasumi Pearl from JapanType of gemstones:Amethyst, Green Chrome Diopside and Ethiopian Welo OpalLength of necklace:With opened clasp this necklace is approx.64.5 cm = 25.39 inches long Hallmark stamp:This necklace is hallmark stamped 925on the claspHand-crafted:Our 24K Gold Vermeil over genuine solid 925 Sterling Silverjewelry are made using ancient traditional techniques. Each piece is handmadeand is not a machine mass produced item. Each piece, granulation or wire isapplied one by one which make each piece a one-of-a-kind.Enjoy using and wearing our jewelry as much as we enjoyedmaking them. Definition South Sea pearls:South Sea pearls are often referred to as the queenof gems.A South Sea pearl is a pearl produced by thePinctada maxima mollusk. South Sea pearls are among the largest andmost valuable commercially harvested cultured pearls in the world. Theaverage size of a South Sea pearl is 12 to 13 mm in diameter, with mostharvests producing a range of sizes from 9 mm to sometimes even 20 mm. South Seacultured pearls are currently produced in the saltwater eareas throughout theIndian and Pacific Oceans, primarily in Indonesia,Australia and the Philippines. These waters are the native habitat of a large oyster known as Pinctadamaxima. This oyster grows up to 12 inches in diameter, and can be nucleatedwith a much larger bead than other saltwater oysters. The pearl-bearing mollusks found in this area are much larger than theJapanese variety and can accommodate a much larger nucleus. They also producenacre at a greater rate, allowing the pearls to grow very quickly. There are two varieties of Pinctada maxima, the silver-lipped and thegold-lipped. The two are distinguished by their distinct coloration of theouter edge of the interior. This type of shell is also known asmother-of-pearl, and is responsible for the coloration of the cultured pearlsproduced, therefore the name. The South Seas are also extremely clean, andfilled with plankton – the Pinctada maxima's favorite food source. The cleanwaters and abundant food supply also speeds the nacre production. The growthperiod for SouthSea pearls is a minimumof two years allowing for a larger size. South Sea pearls have several distinctcharacteristics that are unique to this gem. The nacre is unusually thick,ranging from 2 - 6 mm. South Sea pearls have a unique, satiny luster that comesfrom the rapidly deposited nacre and warm waters of the SouthSeas. SouthSea pearls also have asubtle array of colors; typically white, cream, silver, and golden, that arerare in other pearl types. Valuable pearls occur naturally in the wild, but they are extremely rare!Cultured or farmed pearls make up the majority of those that are currentlysold. Pearls from the sea are valued more highly than freshwater pearls. Due to the extremely high cost of production, they remain among the costliestpearls on the market today The colors of genuine cultured SouthSea pearls arecompletely natural without any treatment. Definition Tahitian Pearls:TAHITIAN PEARLS are grown inblack-lipped pearl oysters (Pinctada margaritifera). The size of the oystervaries from 15 to 25 cm. It is know as variety cumingii in FrenchPolynesia and variety galtsoffii in Hawai. Tahitian pearls don’tactually come from Tahiti, but rather from FrenchPolynesia, and other small atolls throughout the South Pacific. Tahitian pearls or “Black” pearls come in a variety of exoticcolors. Tahitian pearls are gray to black with green, blue, rose or rainbowovertones and range from 10 to 18 mm in diameter. The largest Tahitian pearlevery cultured is 26.9 millimeters in diameter. Definition of Keshi pearl:A Keshi is a pearlwithout a nucleus formed by accident as a by-product of a pearl culturingoperation.Keshi pearls are formed when theoyster rejects and spits out the implanted nucleus before the culturingprocess is complete, or the implanted mantle tissue fractures and formsseparate pearl sacs without nuclei. These pearl sacs eventually producepearls without a nucleus.Because the oyster has expelled the implanted nucleus of thepearl, the resulting Keshi pearl is 100% nacre. This gives it an especiallylustrous and shimmering surface quality. Most Keshi, in fact, have a greaterluster than even the highest quality cultured pearls. The fact that Keshi pearls aresolid nacre does not, however, give them the classification of naturalpearls. This is because Keshi are a bi-product of the culturing process, andnot a natural occurrence.Keshi pearls, especially Tahitian and South Sea Keshi, wereonce quite the bargain, yet beautiful and unique pieces. Today, Keshi pearlsare much rarer. This is because Tahitian and South Seapearl farms are now x-raying oysters to determine whether or not the nucleushas been expelled. When a nucleus-free oyster is found they are thenre-nucleated before a Keshi has time to form. This practice has made Keshipearls much more of a rare find than they once used to be. The word Keshimeans "poppy seed" in Japanese, and these pearls are often alsoreferred to as "poppy seed pearls."Definition of GRANULATION:Old-world Gold and Silver smithing brings the past into thepresent with detailed surface decoration that suits antique and contemporarydesignsGranulation, the art of creating a surface pattern on jewelrywith tiny silver or gold balls, dates back to the third millennium BC. Thetechnique, invented in the Eastern Mediterranean and Egypt and later refined byEtruscan goldsmiths, looks as fresh and inventive today as it must have then.The process begins when wire is cut into short lengths andmelted into round granules that are placed on the jewelry in the desiredpattern. They’re held in place with temporary “glue” made from plant sap. Inthe best examples, the balls are attached permanently with heating (whichevaporates the glue), not soldering. But it’s a difficult process because thetemperature has to be hot enough to fuse the tiny ball to the surface, butnot enough to melt the ball into an amorphous puddle.Granulation involves only high-karat Silver or Gold. The purerthe material, the easier it will be to achieve the fusion required forgranulation.People are instantly attracted to granulation because of theconnection to ancient cultures.What is Gold Vermeil?:VERMEIL, which ispronounced "vehr-MAY," is 925 Sterling Silver with is plated withGold. Vermeil is a combination of Sterling Silver and Gold commonly used as acomponent in jewelry. A typical example is Sterling Silver coated with 18K or24K Gold. To be considered VERMEIL, the gold must be at least 10 karat (42%)and be at least 2.5 micrometers thick. In the US and various other countries,Sterling Silver covered first with a base metal (such as nickel) and thanplated with Gold cannot be sold as vermeil without disclosing that itcontains base metal.The word "VERMEIL" is a French word which came into use in theEnglish language, mostly in America,in the 19th century as an alternative for the usual term silver-gilt.Vermeil can be produced by either fire-gilding or electrolysis. The originalfire-gilding process was developed in Francein the mid-18th century; however, France later banned theproduction of vermeil because over time artisans developed blindness due tomercury involved in the process. Today, VERMEIL is produced by electrolysiswhich is much safer than fire gilding yet produces a very similar resultThe White House has a collection of vermeil tableware kept on display (whennot in use) in the Vermeil Room.The Code of Federal Regulations 16, Part 23.5 defines Vermeil: "Anindustry product may be described or marked as 'vermeil' if it consists of abase of Sterling Silver coated or plated on all significant surfaces withGold or Gold alloy of not less than 10 karat fineness, that is of substantialthickness and a minimum thickness throughout equivalent to two and one half(2 ½) microns (or approximately 1/10000ths of an inch) of fine Gold."Less than 2.5microns is NOT Vermeil and is considered as simple Gold plating only. Vermeil JewelryVermeil is a more expensive version of Gold plated jewelry. It consists of a925 Sterling Silver base that is coated or plated with Gold. And again, if the longest lifespan is in the first place for you, your optionis VERMEILVermeil is much more durable than simple very thin gold plating. No wonder that theprice is also high. Gold plated jewelryGold plating is the term used to describe the process of plating jewelry madeof either precious (silver) or non-precious base metal (zinc, nickel, copper)with a thin layer of gold, which is depositing their by electrochemicalmethods. As it was said the layer is very thin and thus easy to scratch. Italso naturally wears thin with time, exposing the