Seed pearls

Seed Pearls " When this pearl is brought into existence in the gonad of the mother oyster, it is very small, resembling a poppy seed. The finished pearl is also quite small, and is produced without a man-made nucleus.

Seed Pearls
Seed pearls are tiny, round pearls that are less than 2 mm in diameter and weigh under 1/4 grain.

Seed Pearls
Tiny natural pearls weighing under 1/4 grain, usually less than 2 mm in diameter.
Semi Mount ...

Rice or Seed Pearls: Tiny pearls resembling puffed rice, these look wonderful as multi-strand necklaces with dramatic pendants. The rice pearls are uneven in shape but after being strung together in strands they look spectacular.

Seed pearls, so named for their smallness in size, were popular during the period between 1840 and 1860[1] when they were used to create 3-dimensional jewelery, strung together with very fine horse hair.

Seed pearls are tiny, round pearls that are less than 2 mm in diameter and weigh under 1/4 grain.

These free form pearls may be referred to as "seed pearls". Kite Gemstone Shape:A gemstone shape resembling a traditional kite.

~Keshi - Also known as seed pearls, these tiny pearls can be as small as a grain of sand and form accidentally in many cultured pearl oysters.
~Baroque - Cultured pearls that are irregularly-shaped, yet often lustrous and appealing.

aka Cornflake Pearls, Keshi, Petal Pearls, Poppy Seed Pearls
Keshi is the Japanese word for poppy seed. Named for their tiny size, true keshi are small irregular pearls formed by accident during the cultivation process.

They were usually decorated with seed pearls and had a tassel as a pendant.
Scarab: Known as the sacred beetle in Ancient Egypt; a very fine, gold, original scarab pendant, as shown at right, is in the collection of the Brooklyn Museum of Art.

They vary in size from seed pearls to pigeons egg. Pearls are graded in different categories - luster, color, size and pore size. A high white pearl with high luster and small or no pores is what is most desirable.

They can be smaller than one millimeter, in the case of seed pearls, or as large as 20 millimeters for a big South Sea pearl.

Half-Pearls: Parts of pearls and seed pearls that were popular in making designs of flowers and scrolls starting about 1890, sometimes mingled with coloured gemstones. Popular for many decades and not always an aid for circa dating.

A Keshii Pearl (aka Seed Pearls or Keshis) is a "non-nucleated" pearl that is an accidental byproduct of the cultivating or culturing process, resulting from the oyster spitting out the implanted nucleus before the formation process has completed.

But what will really entice intermediate jewelers, beaders, and other general crafters are the pieces themselves a balloon ring, festooned with seed pearls; chandelier earrings with sparkling, dangling stones; and a fireworks necklace of citrine, ...

Bayadere: (French) a necklace composed of several strings of seed pearls that are twisted together in a rope-like manner. The strings may be contrasting colors.

They were most popular in the Victorian era when they were set in gold, mounted alone or with seed pearls, and used for delicate pendants or small brooches. They were usually cut in emerald style for brooches and pendeloque (pearshaped) for pendants.

dust pearl
The historical term used for seed pearls
freshwater pearl
Those pearls that are harvested from mollusks living in freshwater, usually irregular in shape ...

A type of bracelet that is decorated with a portrait usually enamelled on a plaque and sometimes framed with seed pearls or half pearls.
From: An Illustrated Dictionary of Jewelry, autor: Harold Newman, publishers: Thames and Hudson ...

As the vast majority of pearls that were collected were tiny, those who could afford pearls, but didn't have the budget of Cleopatra or a Roman Emperor, often used seed pearls (2 mm or under).

Sautoir: (Soh-TWAH) A long rope style necklace popularized in the Edwardian era because Queen Alexandra often wore them. They were usually decorated with seed pearls and had a tassel as a pendant.

Early in the century, brooches began to look like the lace that many of them held, with mixed wire-work and fancy stones. Later, the vogue was a brooch made with pavé turquoise and tiny seed pearls threaded on horsehair.

Tabasheer (also spelled tabashir) or pearl opal is an organic stone that forms in damaged joints (nodes) of bamboo plants. This hydrated form of silica appears as a rounded mass of opal, and looks like seed pearls.
TABLE ...

Pearls are made with no human interference; Cultured Pearls made by inserting a bit of a mother-of-pearl or foreign tissue; Baroque Pearls are irregularly-shaped pearls; Freshwater Pearls from fresh water mollusks; Seed Pearls are ...

with no human interference), cultured pearls (pearls made by inserting a bit of a mother-of-pearl) into [nucleating] a living oyster or by inserting a bit of foreign tissue), baroque pearls (irregularly-shaped pearls), freshwater pearls, seed pearls ...

freshwater pearls (pearls which form in fresh water mollusks and resemble puffed rice),
Mabe pearls (cultivated blister pearls ),
seed pearls (small, tiny pearls used in Victorian jewelry and sewn on clothing).

The characteristic features are the abundant use of unfaceted polished gemstones and seed pearls in combination with polychrome enamel decoration. This style has been revived throughout history.

See also: Pearls, Seed pearl, Pearl, Jewel, Jewelry