Scallop pearls
The newest type of natural pearl available to collectors is the scallop pearl. It is found in a marine bivalve scallop that is native to the coast of Baja California, and is just beginning to be harvested. Highly variable in size and shape, they have mosaic-like patterns and cream to salmon or mauve colors with a semi-metallic to chatoyant sheen.
Lion's Paw pearls are natural pearls from the scallop "Nodipecten subnodosus
".
They
are calcareous concretions that are created by a bivalve organism whose shell
resembles a lion's paw, hence their native name Mano de Leon or "hand of the
lion".
Lion's Paw pearls are found off the coast of Baja California and until the year
2000 no one in the gem industry had ever seen a natural pearl from this scallop. These
natural pearls that are found within the organism are mostly symmetrical. There
are buttons, rounds, drops, and ovals and they are in sizes from seed to 40
carats. Some
of the shapes are baroque and quite interesting. These
pearls are byproducts of harvesting scallops in the wild and they are very rare.
Lion's
Paw pearls range in colors from white to deep royal purple with varying shades
of oranges, pinks and plums. They
are non-nacreous pearls with a mosaic pattern with a flash effect similar to the
flame-like pattern on a conch (strombus gigas) and melo melo (melo
amphora) pearl.
However, unlike the conch and melo melo, which are univalves, the scallop is a
bivalve filter feeder much like an oyster. The
mosaic pattern that covers the entire surface of the pearls has a sheen-like or
metallic three-dimensional effect when viewed in light.
Scallop pearls
have been found casually for years by fishermen, but the shucking process is so
fast that any pearls on the shell or within the mantle are not likely seen
before shells and viscera are thrown overboard. The shucking process must be
quick--- a matter of seconds only—because the volume and quality of the meat are
of prime importance.
Information from a mollusk expert at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans
indicates that pearls can form within the scallop’s body or between the mantle
and the shell. The pearls are usually irregular and small, only 1-2 mm, although
some reach 5-6 mm in older animals. Larger pearls are very rare. Only 1-5% of
scallops produce pearls. (S.E. McGladdery, pers. Comm.. 2003).
The Scallop pearls have a silvery sheen, and some of the most attractive
specimens are used for jewelry. Craig Fancy of Fancy jewelers in Annapolis
Royal brought the existence of scallop pearls to the author’s attention in 2001.
The first specimens submitted for study ranged from tiny to 10mm in length. The
pearls were mostly off-white to pale tan in colour, and baroque in
shape---definitely irregular, perhaps even "lumpy". As might be expected, some
showed a much more attractive sheen than others. Some of the pearls were
multiples.
SCALLOP PEARLS IN JEWELRY
Craig Fancy has been making jewelry using scallop pearls since about 1989,
when a fisherman brought in some scallop pearls and asked him to set them in a
pendant for his wife. Over the next six to eight years, he set many different
shapes and sizes of scallop pearls in custom- made mountings for customers. In
the 1990s, he began to design pieces of jewelry that were attractive and
affordable for the local and tourist markets. These are now sold at the family
jewelry stores in Annapolis Royal and Digby.
A visit to Fancy Jewelers in Annpapolis Royal, Nova Scotia permitted me to see
and to photograph various pieces of jewelry made by Craig Fancy. Craig has
developed several designs for earrings, pendants and rings in 14K gold that suit
the delicate nature of the pearls very well. People bring the pearls in all
kinds of containers: a 35-mm film canister holds about 200 pieces depending on
the size. Of these there may be about ten pieces (round and half round) that
have near perfect symmetry and the best colour. Of the rest, there will be about
30 pieces that have good colour and some symmetry----these can be ground or
polished to make setting easier. The rest are too small, misshapen, or an
undesirable brown colour.
The scallop pearls are usually cleaned in an ultrasonic cleaner with a mild
detergent, and then buffed lightly and cleaned. There is no other
treatment—these are natural gems.
Most of the pearls used in jewelry are almost spherical, white to light tan in
colour and about 3-5 mm in diameter. Pearls of >5 mm in diameter and of near
spherical shape are not at all common. Three exceptional specimens were on hand
at the time of our visit. Two were "button" shape, round, but flattened on one
side. The tan one measured 9 x 10 mm d. x 9 mm high; the white one measured 12.2
mm d. x 8.5 mm high. The largest baroque pearl measured 20x9x8 mm. Over the
years, Craig’s biggest and best specimens were four large rounds of 8-11 mm that
he set in cage-style pendants. He has also seen one that resembled a .44 caliber
bullet.
The chances of the Digby scallop pearl becoming a major new industry in Canada
are remote. Although scallop pearls have the advantage of being a natural gem in
a world where consumers must consider country of origin, treatments, and
disclosure , the supply is small and unreliable. For the small business now in
place , it is likely that the market can be expanded somewhat, with more
knowledge and awareness of the scallop pearl. Craig Fancy is doing well to
concentrate on a line of moderately priced jewelry of good quality. A scallop
pearl makes a wonderful and appropriate souvenir of the Maritimes. Digby
scallops pearls are certainly a worthy addition to the list of Canadian
Gemstones