MARGARITOLOGIA is a Pearl Newsletter by Elisabeth Strack, author of the book PEARLS. The title name denotes the science of pearls. 

The Newsletter is dedicated to the knowledge of pearls and seeks to cover all aspects of natural and cultural pearls, from natural science to history and new developments, pearl farming, pearl grading, testing procedures, price information and market situations. The author aims at creating a forum for sharing her own observations with a worldwide circle of pearl enthusiasts. 

MARGARITOLOGIA is published four times a year in German, English and Russian languages.

The yearly subscription rate is 70€.

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In Fokus: 

• Japanese maki-e and Mosaics on Pearls
• Bahrain natural pearls offered at the RAPAPORT JEWELRY AUCTION
• Pearl Symposium in Bahrain
• New Books: Marchands de Perles / Pearl Merchants by Guillaume Glorieux and Olivier Segura 

IN FOCUS:

• Pearl culture in Iran
• Pair of rare Abalone pearls sold in Hamburg
• Pearl news: Pearls from the marine gastropod Tutufa bubo / Cultured Abalone pearls from Chile / Will we see cultured pearls from the Ukraine in the future?
• Pearl Topics at the 36th IGC in Nantes, 27- 31 August 2019 / A pearl mussel station in Brittany
• Pearl Topics at the 6th GIA International Conference 

In Fokus:

Sinkankas Symposium 2019. An Update on Pearl Localities

• Natural pearls
• “Exotic” natural pearls • Freshwater pearls
• Cultured pearls:

           –  Akoya cultured pearls
           –  South Sea cultured pearls
           –  Tahitian cultured pearls
           –  Further pearl culture in the Pacific Ocean
           –  Freshwater cultured pearls 

Freshwater pearls of the world

• Europe
• North America
• East Asia: Japan and China
• Distinguishing natural from cultured freshwater pearls

FRESHWATER PEARLS FROM RUSSIA

• INTRODUCTION
• PEARL MUSSEL DISTRIBUTION IN RUSSIA
• PEARL USAGE
• FIELD RESEARCH
• THE PEARLS
• SUMMARY 

• AN OVERVIEW OF PEARL TESTING METHODS
• INTRODUCTION
• GEMMOLOGICAL STANDARD METHODS THE OPTICAL MICROSCOPE
• ULTRA VIOLET FLUORESCENCE
• ACID TEST
• ADVANCED METHODS 
• X-RADIOGRAPHY
• NATURAL PEARLS
• CULTURED PEARLS WITH A MOTHER-OF- PEARL BEAD
• CULTURED PEARLS WITHOUT A BEAD
• SEPARATING SALTWATER FROM FRESHWATER PEARLS
• X-RAY FLUORESCENCE AND EDXRF
• CHEMICAL MANGANESE TEST

• Testing the Durability of Pearls 

• A "field" study: The test series documents the durability of pearls when exposed to vinegar essence, white wine vinegar, lemon juice, white and red wine.
• Discoluration of pearl jewellery by Red Wine
• Pearls and the Human Skin

100 Years Of Cultured Pearls - Part 2

• The early beginnings of South Sea pearl culture
• First experiments on the Ryu Kyu Islands
• The Palau Islands: an early vision of a pacific cultured pearl industry
• Australia
• Burma
• Indonesia
• The Philippines

• 100 Years of Cultured Pearls – Part 1
• Akoya Cultured Pearls – The Beginnings in Japan
• Kokichi Mikimoto
• The Chinese Method
• Friedrich Alverdes in Germany 
• The way to the fully round cultured pearls
• The Mise-Nishikawa-Method
• The “Bead” Issue
• The 1920s and Onwards

• In Focus: Australia
• 7th IMEHA International Congress in Australia: Study of pearling trade to shed light on cultural history of the material world
• LUSTRE – PEARLING & AUSTRALIA exhibition at the Western Australian Museum 
• Memorial to the Pearl Industry in Broome
• Memorial for Aboriginal woman divers
• Secret Life of Pearls – a new Paspaley documentary
• THE ART & SCIENCE OF GEMS exhibition in Singapore
• New Books: Bill Reed – The long road to Broome

• CULTURED PEARLS FROM LAKE KASUMIGAURA IN JAPAN
• The beginnings go back to Lake Biwa
• The 1960s till the 1980s: Lake Kasumigaura becomes an independent pearl producer
• The 1990s until today: The Yanase/Sakai method
• Hybrid mussels
• The Pearls – Quality characteristics
• “Kasumigaura Type” cultured pearls from China

• FRESHWATER CULTURED PEARLS FROM CHINA
• Stage 1 – The Beginnings, 1962 – 1980
• Stage 2 – The 1980s
• Stage 3 – The 1990s
• Stage 4 – The Years 2000
• Cultured Pearl Production in the New Millenium
• New Chinese Grafting Methods: The use of mother-of-pearl beads
• Method 1 – Mantle implantation: “Fireballs” and variations thereof
•  Soufflés and pearls with “pearl beads”
• Method 2 – Gonad implantation: Beginnings in Japan – China catches up – Edison Pearls
• The overall situation today

• In Focus: Cultured pearls from Vietnam

• Pearls at the IGC in Hanoi in October 2013
• DNA fingerprinting of pearls
• Spondylus pearls
• A Mikimoto “3.5 Momme” necklace
• Exhibition at the Schwerin Museum in 2013