Post subject: Re: Conch pearl from San Andres Islands Colombia
Posted: Fri Jul 23, 2010 6:47 am
Lovely pics and an interesting set of links. Many thanks.
A while back, I lived in Belize for a couple of years, did a lot of diving and self-caught conch would be on the menu at home not less than once a week. In this way, I must have examined the contents of about a hundred Queen Conch but never found a pearl They were, occasionally on offer (in quantities of 1-3) from street vendors by the Haulover Creek market in Belize City. They were not cheap, even 35 year ago and I never bought, relying on the advice of local friends that the stones would fade quite quickly.
Not having owned one, I can't say for sure whether or not they do - but the lustrous shell lining which is of very similar appearance and, I imagine, identical in physical and chemical qualities, most surely does. Left outside and in tropical sun, the shell lining will lose its lustre and most of its colour in about a year; in two years, the colour is all but entirely gone and the inner surface has acquired almost the texture of emery paper. When the shells are kept indoors and looked after reasonably, they don't lose their lustre - but still lose their colour, albeit more slowly. I still keep one once particularly glorious example of form and (original) colour which still almost has all its original luster but the colour has nearly all gone, being now but a pale reminder of what once was. The loss of colour does not seem to be linear with time. Most of the colour loss in my fine specimen occurred in the first five years I'd say, with an ever-slowing rate of loss since then.
This 'fading' characteristic is not unique to the Queen Conch but is exhibited most strongly in that species over the 3 - 4 other specimens I have observed over years. The Horse Conch I kept originally had a deep orange colouration and that hardly faded at all before it met with an accident after about 20 years. The lustrous creams, browns and near-black of the two sub-species of Helmet Conch I still have most if not all of their original colour - but have lost a little of their lustre.
Sooo.... I'd say that conch pearls could be a fun holiday buy - so long as you don't expect too much life out of them. For me, then and now, they are too expensive to be considered a 'fun buy'.
This is a bit of a late addition to the thread I know, but I've only just joined.....
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