KESHI PEARLSKeshi is from the Japanese word keshinomi, meaning “poppyseed”, and it is used in Japanese for all salt water oyster pearls that are grown without a nucleus. Keshi pearls are a by-product of a farmed oyster that has rejected it’s nucleus, thus they are also called accidental pearls. Not farmed, but not wild.  They are primarily from farms in the South Seas/Tahitian area. The way a keshi is formed is when the mollusk expels the bead, or the tissue piece and bead separate. Then nacre will form around the loose tissue to produce a keshi pearl instead. Thus they are formed without a nucleus and are all nacre with an amazing lustre. Because they are all nacre with no nucleus, keshi pearls are usually very baroque (or bumpy and oddly shaped) and all very individual. Since they are all nacre, they are sold by weight like gemstones, whereas cultured pearls are sold by their size and the smoothness of their nacre. Today, true keshi pearls occur far more rarely. Current practice includes the use of x-rays, which allow technicians to observe the rejection of a nucleus early enough to intervene. Re-nucleation usually prevents the growth of a keshi pearl. Because of this their rarity now renders them a collector's dream. And finally, there are no freshwater keshi pearls! There is a Chinese market that refers to second harvest freshwater pearls as keshi, but this is a misnomer.

OPALSAustralian opals are multi-colored and consist of small spheres of silica arranged in a regular pattern, with water between the spheres. The spheres diffract white light, breaking it up into the colors of the spectrum. This process is called 'opalescence'. Larger spheres provide all colors, smaller ones only blues and greens. Opals that have a predominantly red color are very rare as they only occur where larger silica spheres were deposited. White opals have delicate, pale colors on a lighter background. Black opals (very rare and valuable) have a dark background and colors ranging from brilliant reds to greens, blues and purples. Australian Boulder opals are the second most valuable type of opal (following black opal). Boulder opals are easily distinguished by their layer of solid brown ironstone left on the back of the stone. Many solid opals are cut to irregular shapes in order to preserve as much as possible of the original opal and the majority of boulder opals are cut in this manner. As a consequence, each individual opal requires a specially designed setting.In Australia, precious opal is found in Cretaceous age sandstones and mudstones. These sedimentary rocks were deeply weathered and this weathering released silica into the groundwater. Small faults and joints in the rocks formed pathways for movement of the groundwater as it penetrated downwards. Impermeable barriers between the sandstone and the underlying rocks trapped the silica-carrying groundwater where it slowly hardened into a gel forming opal in veins and lenses. Opals are frequently layered and if a rare red layer is present it is at the base in the thinnest portion of the vein and indicates that gravity played a part in the arrangement of the silica spheres. Australia is the only part of the world where opalized animal and plant fossils have been found, such as belemnite and wood replacement opals.Ethiopian Welo opals have existed for centuries, but are a fairly recent gem in the jewelry market due to their discovery in the Stayish mine in 2008. While some Ethiopian opals are known to be fragile, Welo opals are a stable gem and do not usually crack or craze. These opals are created through volcanic activity. The GIA has performed extensive tests on Welo opals, exposing them to water and intense heat, and they have concluded that this gem is unlikely to crack under extreme conditions. Ethiopian Welo opals are a variety of hydrophane opals, which means they absorb water and their color changes with water content from opaque to clear. Thus it is important that one keeps their Welo opal away from water as much as possible. High quality Welo opals can display intense color flashes throughout every color of the rainbow and from every angle. They can range from transparent to opaque, and in colors from white to tan to black. 

JEWEL BEETLESJewel beetles have been used in adornment in the Western world since Victorian times during the “Grand Tour” trips that were taken by tourists to India, Egypt and the mideast. Scarabs in particular, but many other beetles such as buprestid or chrysomelid beetles were also used in jewelry that was sold to foreign visitors. Jewelry settings ranged from brass to 18k gold, and could vary from one beetle in a ring or stickpin to a brooch or necklace with more than twenty scarabs in the design. Victorian ladies even took up the fashion of wearing live beetles tethered by tiny golden chains. I have been collecting Victorian jewelry with jewel beetles for thirty five years, and it is a testament to the ruggedness of these beetles that the pieces have endured for one hundred and fifty years and more.

Please see the FAQ page for instructions on care for these categories of jewelry.