Hi All!
I just want to add that you will probably get an uptick of people because ladies on the new social app Tiktok do lives selling shells. It’s like a live opening of a mystery box. It’s fun entertainment if u know what you’re paying for but many are suing they are super valuable so you might get traffic.
I attended a “Pearl Party” decades ago and got a relatively large pearl, off-whitish in color. I initially had it attached to a silver seashell charm for a bracelet, but never really liked it. A jeweller helped me choose a 10k gold band and set the pearl. Now, it’s a pretty, little ring that looks expensive and set me back $500.00, so it kind of is!
Hi Sasha!
Thank you for reaching out with the links and your thoughts on that particular practice. I’ve seen one or two myself, and initially thought that looked pretty cool, but then realized it was cleverly staged – due to the colors of the pearls (and the fact that when you paused the video and zoomed in a bit you could see existing drill holes in the pearls), turns out the the video was faked. It’s a cool idea though, and I bet you might be able to find one or two posts that are genuine, but they’d be the exception and not the norm, that’s for sure!!
From the standpoint of a pearl specialist, I was able to look at a few issues that caught my attention and flagged them for further evaluation:
1) Colors of the “harvested” pearls. Freshwater pearls are ONLY available in pastel shades of White, Pink to Peach and Lavender hues. Any other colors like Midnight Blue, Saffron Yellow or Red are the result of a color-treatment process, usually dyeing.
2) Presence of tiny drill holes in the pearls – dead giveaway.
But those two points lead you back to reconsider the initial premise of the video itself, and then you realize:
3) Kinda unbelievable that they’d find such HUGE mussels in easily accessible streams and SO many in a single spot. And wow, they’re pretty easy to just pluck right out of the stream bed, aren’t they?! Like they never anchored themselves to a sunk rock or a ridge or other natural feature under there. That’s odd.
4) For mussels of that size, you’d think that the seal keeping the hinges closed would present an absolutely monstrous challenge to open with just that shucking knife. Yet, snip, snip – she gets those suckers open in no time. Maybe the mussel was already dead?
Anyways, those are just a few of my initial thoughts on that whole scenario … hope you find them helpful when examining other similar videos. Who knows? You may find a real one! Have fun with your hunt!!! -A.
I recently found YouTube videos that Chinese ladies gets heaps of pretty pearls from large shellfish
https://youtu.be/lOgMPXRK40o
https://youtu.be/kXqEqvRM_iM
https://youtu.be/MSXA4sFG6QA
Are they real?? If so, it’s amazing but it’s hard to believe.
I do realize that a lot of people aren’t educated on how a pearl is formed in the oyster naturally, but I myself have purchased from a Pearl Live show through Pearl Chic. In all honesty, I think it’s just “fun”. It’s like a scratch off ticket, and Easter Egg Hunt. If anyone seriously thinks that they are getting a valuable pearl, I think the mystery is solved when you see how “inexpensive” the jewelry that they mount them in is. It’s just fun ! Who cares, let it be.
Hi Tracy!
Thank you for reaching out with your questions on the Wish Pearl topic. I’ve seen and handled the Sea World Wish Pearls once or twice, and overall I’d say they’re a slightly higher quality in terms of pearl types and value, but of course I can’t guarantee that … the pearls that I have seen were a dyed Black Akoya, and one that – looked a lot like – a Tahitian, but again, it was close to 5 years ago and I’m going off memory. ;)
As long as the oyster shell has been sealed in formaldehyde, then the tissues of the animal should remain intact – I would worry that the chemical solution would dry out the pearl sitting inside though. The longer it sits in there, the more formaldehyde it absorbs. Pearls are pretty tough little guys, but I don’t think they can handle sitting in an acid bath for years on end. Recommend opening your oyster ASAP to avoid any damage. Hope that helps!
~ A.
is the ones they do at SeaWorld fake also?they also claim that they come from a farm
Do they have expiration dates? Do they need to be opened right away or can I hold it for a while?
Are the pearls real ? Do they put the dye in the oyster to get these coloured pearls why? Do they open them and reseal them up.. my granddaughter loves these if they’re not real it’s a shame I hope you can answer these questions please, thank you sally
I just bought oysters from wish and i know how they get the pearls in just google it snd videos pop up …….i bought some just to have the pleasure of saying i got to open and find one …..maybe one day i will get to find a real real pearl lol
Many thanks to have posted it. I was about to buy one, when I found your site. The fact that formhaldeyde is dangerous and mortal, is something these frauds didn’t tell to the customer.
I sell pearl jewelry as a side job. I have done research and I continue to do research because I like to know all the ins and outs. Thank you for the info and for not badmouthing any companies.
I always wondered about how the pearl would fall out of the oyster and how they already knew what color of pearl was in my package.
I would love to have the real experience of opening an unopened real shell and getting my own pearl. I dont mind if it is cultured.
Is there anyone who would send me an unopened cultured pearl so i can get my hands messy , looking for a naturally , undyed pearl.
Please send me an address and the price please. thank you.
A boy gave this to me and i thought it was sweet. I wished for something but oh well! It didn’t turn the color I thought it would! So I looked up this and now I know!
Great article! Answered my question on authenticity of these pearls from Wish before buying. Still a great gift idea in the long run. Thankyou for posting :)
We all know these Pearls from the pearl parties and wish Pearls are cheap, I always wpndered how you got an oyster with a mint green, a screaming hot pink, and a navy blue pearl all in one oyster. Not only are the colors completely unnatural, but it is surprising that people dont seem to know that fact. The big clue is that these Pearls are loose inside that shell you pry open, unlike the ones you pop out of the mantle of an oyster. Those ones are natural colors, never the wild ones you see at these pearl parties.
How do they re-seal the oyster?
This article was very informative! Written well, thank you for this. I received one of these from my mom for Christmas. When I got it my kids and me were just like “WTH is this”..LOL I had never heard of them. People loose sight of the REAL reason for gifting one of these wish pearls. It’s not so much " OMG how much is the pearl worth!?" but more along the lines of, this is a neat little gift, unique and fun. So, look at it that way instead of worrying how much it’s worth. Mine, it’s priceless to me because it came as a gift from my mom and dad. Thanks again for the good article!
Early morning scrolling on FB and I find this “Debunking”! Whoever wrote this deserves a huge “Atta…person”! This was done informatively, kindly and without harmful words. I learned from this statement. Well done, if all other “debunkers” used knowledge and grace as shown here, we might all take up learning the truth about stuff! Thanks for teaching me something I wondered about, now I know!
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Adele
October 20, 2022
My daughter asked for one of these but I’m a skeptical person by nature so researched and read reviews first. Luckily I came across this page which answered all my questions extremely well. I’m not against the idea of it but I wish they were more transparent with their information and at least now I know what I think the kits are worth without being ripped off so thank you.