The Pearl Exhibit

The Houston Museum of Natural Science is currently running an exhibit about
pearls -- how they're formed, how they're harvested, and how they've been used
throughout history. It's FABULOUS! Lots of information about all the different
kinds of critters which can produce pearls (I never had any idea there were so
*many*), and then there were the actual examples of pearls both loose and in
use. Pearls in jewelry, pearls on objects, pearls on clothing, the pearl button
industry, imitation pearls and methods of making them, teeny-tiny little pearls
the size of 11-0 seed beads or even smaller, huge baroque pearls half as big as
my fist -- it was amazing.

I fell in love with a choker of giant baroque South Sea pearls in the gift shop
section -- each of them at least 20mm! (No, I didn't even ask how much it was.
The prices in that cabinet *started* at $2,800.) They had some nice polished NZ
paua shell halves, and I thought of you, Harry! Didn't buy that either, since
they were $28 each and I wanted a book instead. My friend who went with me is
now nuts over pink Queen Conch pearls... which are unfortunately quite rare and
incredibly expensive.

Oh, and the really funny thing. One of the jewelry pieces on exhibit was
Barbara Bush's famous 3-strand pearl necklace... with a handwritten note from
her in which she admits that they're fakes! Designer necklace, imitation
pearls. I think this is one reason I like baroque and imperfect pearls so much;
you *know* they're real.

Got some egoboo, too. I wore one of my own pieces, a dark-grey mabe pearl
pendant on a strand of matching baroque pearls, and the person behind me in the
line at the cash register said it was prettier than half the stuff in the gift
shop! They had pieces featuring pearls from 3 Houston artisans. One of these
days I hope to have MY work in museum gift shops.

Celine

--
Handmade jewelry at http://www.rubylane.com/shops/starcat
"Only the powers of evil claim that doing good is boring."
-- Diane Duane, _Nightfall at Algemron_