April Bead Society Program Meeting: Pearls!

Bead-nucleated Chinese freshwater pearls which became available in 2022 *1

A 112-carat abalone pearl was found in Sonoma County, California in 1990 by West Rankin. *2

Surprising Facts about Pearls
​The April Program Meeting of the Bead Society will be held in person in the Uruapan Room of the Veterans Memorial Building in Culver City on Tuesday, April 7th at 7:00 pm Pacific Time. Normally we meet on the first Wednesday of the month, but due to holidays and scheduling, we’ll meet on Tuesday! Our speaker will be in person only, no Zoom. 
 
We welcome back Renee Newmann, author and gemologist. She spoke last year about Diamonds!  She will regale us with some fascinating information about Pearls! Here’s a taste:
A 112-carat abalone pearl was found in Sonoma County, California in 1990 by the late Wesley Rankin. After the pearl was appraised at $144,000 by John Latendresse, Wes decided to go into the natural pearl business and started the Pacific Coast Pearls company.
Abalone fishing has been illegal in California since 2018 in order to save the dwindling population of abalone. However, it is still allowed in Baja California, Mexico during non-spawning months. Besides briefly discussing natural pearls from California and Mexico, Renée’s PowerPoint presentation will also include other topics such as

• The American pearl rush
• The highest priced pearls
• Bead nucleated freshwater pearls
• South Sea pearls that resemble Chinese freshwater baroque pearls and how to distinguish them
• How Australia became the first country to produce cultured saltwater round pearls
• How pearl oysters improve our atmosphere and the oceans.

Renee Newman GG (GIA) is the author of 16 books on jewelry and gems. Her interest in pearls developed when she was an international tour director and visited Japan, China, Australia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and French Polynesia. After obtaining her GG from GIA, she became a gemologist and jewelry control manager for the Josam Diamond Trading Corporation in downtown Los Angeles. Even though their focus was on diamonds, they realized that mounting diamonds with colored gems and pearls gave them a wider variety of jewelry to sell and higher profit margins. Armed with trade experience and gemological credentials, Newman decided to create books that helped readers visually evaluate the quality of gems.

Her latest book is Pearls: Their History, Sources, Types & Qualities. The books will be available for sale at the meeting for a discounted price. Bring cash or check. You can access more information about Renée and her books here. You can also connect with her on Instagram @reneenewmangg and Facebook. 
 
The Bead Society will bring some of their pearls from the Bead Shack if you are interested in looking at them! The Business Meeting will be at 6:30 pm on Zoom as well as in person. The meeting itself is in person only! So be sure to join us!  

Topic: TBS April Business Meeting
Time: Apr 7, 2026 06:30 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting, (business meeting only)

Meeting ID: 899 883 2615
Passcode: Beads

Thanks to Renee Newmann for the pictures and text. 
 
*1 Bead-nucleated Chinese freshwater pearls (3–3.5mm), which became available in 2022. Pearls and photo from Betty Sue King of Kings Ransom.
 
*2. A 112-carat abalone pearl was found in Sonoma County, California in 1990 by the late West Rankin. Photo from Pacific Coast Pearls.

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Renee Newmann's Latest Book on Pearls!