Nice people thread part 8 - worth the wait

neverdespairgirl

silvercar wrote: »

Clever PN.

I'm assuming that forging involves heating. Does heating risk damaging the pearls? It may be a stupid question, I know nothing of pearls.

Heat ruins pearls. They are organic, so they'd burn at forging temperatures.

Those earrings were made by adding the top bits to the pearl - that's why you can see a gold-coloured head pin going through the pearl from top to bottom.

lostinrates wrote: »

So, where should I look?

Do you want that sort of pearl? Do you want gold-coloured or silver? If gold-coloured, do you want actual gold or plated?

tomterm8

GDB2222 wrote: »

I'm sorry to hear that, but It's turned my world view upside down. I'd always had the idea that humans have trouble giving birth because we only started walking upright fairly recently, and I presumed animals just manage splendidly because they've had millions of years to adapt.

Most domesticated animals have been bred for size, over a relative handful of years. Most sheep are two or three times as large as their wild ancestors, and they have been bred to have more twins than natural.

Of course, ewes are larger too, but not really designed to give birth to giant lambs.

zagubov

neverdespairgirl wrote: »

Animals do, in general, give birth a lot more easily than humans. But there are, of course, exceptions.

Horses are also spectacularly poorly-adapted for survival, I reckon - lots of them would've become extinct if they'd not been domesticated, I think!

Death rates are very much higher in some species.

As a first-born I'm glad I'm not a spotted hyena.

First-born-death rates are 60%.

NPs read if you dare. Actually maybe better not.:)

neverdespairgirl

I'm glad you aren't, too. NPs don't like being bitten by large cats, much.

chewmylegoff

neverdespairgirl wrote: »

Heat ruins pearls. They are organic, so they'd burn at forging temperatures.

Those earrings were made by adding the top bits to the pearl - that's why you can see a gold-coloured head pin going through the pearl from top to bottom.



Do you want that sort of pearl? Do you want gold-coloured or silver? If gold-coloured, do you want actual gold or plated?

My chemistry is rusty, but I'm pretty sure that pearls are inorganic. Organic compounds contain carbon-hydrogen bonds and pearls are calcium carbonate. I doubt setting them on fire would help with anything though!

zagubov

chewmylegoff wrote: »

My chemistry is rusty, but I'm pretty sure that pearls are inorganic. Organic compounds contain carbon-hydrogen bonds and pearls are calcium carbonate. I doubt setting them on fire would help with anything though!

Having said that, diamond jewellery needs to be kept in a fireproof safe.:eek::eek::eek:

GDB2222

zagubov wrote: »

Having said that, diamond jewellery needs to be kept in a fireproof safe.:eek::eek::eek:

Is that to protect the diamond crystals from splitting along fault lines? Or just to protect the mountings?

lostinrates

GDB2222 wrote: »

Do wild animals have the same issues as domesticated ones?

And Chewie, I can assure you that some of us have remained immature since birth.

Well....free living ( as opposed to truly wild' ) yes. Domesticated have much higher incidence when you consider we have bred for certain traits ( like the dog breeds that need Caesarian as natural births just aren't possible :mad:). And management can impact. But like and like......free living 'primitive types' compared to domestic 'primitive types' I think but am not certain, the statistical incidence of problems would be equal, and the chance of successful births and survival for most higher in domestic situation. That's a guess though.

You cannot compare say, a tb to an ex moor pony, or a bull dog to a wolf, but you can compare a domestic native pony breed to its free living ( not wild ) cousin, and a wolf to a more wolf shaped and sized dog.

( it took me ages to type that.....every one else's answers are good. To terms sheep size is essentially the same as my type point, but his is clearer. It's part of why wild v freeliving is an important distinction you see, but not wholly.

neverdespairgirl

chewmylegoff wrote: »

My chemistry is rusty, but I'm pretty sure that pearls are inorganic. Organic compounds contain carbon-hydrogen bonds and pearls are calcium carbonate. I doubt setting them on fire would help with anything though!

Pearls are produced by shelled animals, such as oysters - that's what I mean by "organic".

Pearls aren't all calcium carbonate - there's another substance mixed in, called conchin (might not be how you spell it).

lostinrates

neverdespairgirl wrote: »

Do you want that sort of pearl? Do you want gold-coloured or silver? If gold-coloured, do you want actual gold or plated?

Gold coloured, would consider plated. As a non pearl expert open to opinion. Generally prefer pearlier pearls to that one. But open minded! ( apart from gold coloured...ring is a nice rich buttery 18 k)