Pearl Facts:
Pearl luster is an intense glow emanating from within the pearl as a result of good nacre quality. Pearls with thicker nacre have higher luster. Layers of nacre that have crystallized and aligned properly create pearls with intense glow. When nacre is well-formed, a pearl will exhibit orient. Orient is a prismatic effect that is created in pearls with thick, high quality nacre.
Pearl Sizes
Cultured pearls are measured in millimeters. Pearls are measured in diameter if round and length and width if off-round. The larger the pearl size, the more valuable the pearl.
Is there a grading system for overall quality?
There is not an industry-wide grading system for pearls. For comparative purposes, many pearl companies use the A, AA, AAA system to grade cultured pearls on overall quality.
Luster is the glow that emanates from within the pearl as a result of light reflection. The higher the pearls reflective qualities, the more intense the luster. Quintessential Bling offers pearls with high to exceptionally high luster with orient. Luster can range from poor, fair, medium, high, very high, or exceptionally high. Orient is the result of the nacre layers aligning perfectly on top of one another which creates a prismatic effect.
Among all of the gemstones available in this world, the pearl is absolutely unique. This is due to the fact that it is the only one which is formed entirely within a living being. Pearls are produced in two basic ways: the Natural way without human intervention and the cultured way when they are farmed by people.
Natural pearls occur when some form of irritant be it a piece of shell, bone, scale, or even a parasite lodges itself into a pearl producing mollusk such as an oyster, mussel, or abalone. To protect itself from the foreign body, the mollusk forms a nucleus over the foreign element, and continues to coat it with layers of nacre over the next several years. The factors that determine the size, color and shape of the pearl have to do with the size and shape of the nucleus, and the region of the ocean in which the mollusk resides.
Almost any pearl that youd encounter today is a cultured pear. Desirable natural pearls are extremely rare, and hence are quite prohibitively expensive. In fact, only one in approximately 10,000 oysters not in farms will ever produce a pearl, and of those, only a very small percentage would ever yield a gem that is the right shape, size and color of something desirable.
The primary difference that exists between cultured and natural pearls is in the thickness of the nacre the outer shell that holds the color and luster of the pearl. In order to make pearls more quickly, cultured pearls are usually implanted with larger nucleuses than those which would begin a natural pearl. Even with the larger nucleus, it still takes two to three years to grow a fine pearl.
Types of Pearls:
Akoya pearls are produced from the oyster known as Pinctada fucata martensii, which is the smallest pearl producer known in the oyster family. These pearls are known for their pristine round shapes, which make them an ideal and popular choice for necklaces and matching earrings. However, aside from being consistently round, they can also have a semi-round, baroque and semi-baroqe shape.
The average size of Akoya pearls range from as tiny as 2 mm to 9.5 mm. All sizes of these pearls can be used for jewelry purposes, but it is commonly the 5 -8 mm sized pearls that are used when making necklaces. Due to the different size range of the Akoya pearl, it is one of the most popular pearl choices among woman.
Akoya pearls come in a variety of colors, such as blue, green, pink, rose, cream, white, silver and gold. The characteristic hues are attributed to the nacre structure of the pearl, and for this reason, cultivators focus on producing pearls that are made with the right quantities of each ingredient.
Conch pearls are a rare and beautiful type of pearl which occur in the Carribean from the sea snail called the Queens Conch, or Stombus gigas. It is the rich and swirling array of colors that defines conch pearls from the rest, and makes it so unique and desirable.In its natural state conch pearls are among the rarest pearls anywhere in the world. In nature, they occur by chance, and as there are only so many conch pearls ever naturally formed, and among them, only 15-20% are suitable for jewelry making, it makes them extremely rare.
Unlike other pearls, conch pearls are measured in carats, like traditional gemstones. A normal conch pearl will usually weigh somewhere between 2 and 6 carats, while rare conch pearls have been known to weigh between 8 and 12 carats.
Tahitian pearls, also referred to as black South Sea pearls, are grown in the oyster called Pinctada margaritifera. This is, obviously, a pearl producing oyster, and is unique for its black lip, and its notably large size, with specimens commonly reaching a foot across and weighing as much as ten pounds. The only place in the world that this type of oyster can be found is in Polynesia (Tahiti) and a few other Pacific Islands.
Tahitian pearls are usually larger in size than the classic white Akoya pearls, ranging in size from 9mm to 18mm. Tahitian pearls are best known for their dark colorings. Though considered to be black pearls, Tahitian pearls actually come in a range of different colors. These include: Black , Green, Purple, Grey , Cream, White, Aubergrine, and Peacock green (the most desired color). Even Tahitian pearls that are referred to as are rarely true black, but are instead grey, gun metal, or charcoal. This makes the truly black pearls extremely rare, and quite valuable.
A Tahitian pearl of satisfactory quality at about 9mm in size will usually cost around $200, while you could pay a few thousand dollars for the larger, 12 to 13 millimeter pearls of high quality. These pearls are notably larger than the average pearls, and are stunningly smooth and round. They are likely the rarest and most extraordinary pearls to be found in jewelry.
When it comes to South Sea pearls, the larger they are, the more valuable they are to collectors. However, the formation of South Sea pearls, like other kinds of pearls, is quite unpredictable, and even the slightest environmental change can produce changes in shape, or blemishes, or even no pearl at all. This is the reason that a perfectly spherical South Sea pearls are considered to be the ideal of the gem.
The three most common South Sea pearl shapes are round, semi-round, and button.
Round these pearls are perfectly round, and when theyre measured with a caliper, the variation in the circumference is less than 2%· Semi-Round a pearl that appears to be round to the eye, but when measured with a caliper, the variation in the circumference is 2% or more.
Button this type of pearl has a variation in circumference of about 20%. Within this style, there are alsotall buttons which are button pearls that appear round.
South Sea pearls are only grown in tropical and semi-tropical regions called the South Seas, usually in the areas around the coast of Australia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. They are cultured, saltwater pearls available in shades of white, silver and gold.
South Sea Pearls range in color from light dove gray to darkgunmetal gray and come in a wide array of overtones. The highly treasured, exotic Tahitian pearls in our boutique feature rich, brilliant luster and smooth, clean nacre.
A freshwater pearl is produced when twenty or more tiny tissue grafts are implanted into the thick mantle of a living mussel. Depending on the species, different results will be produced. These outcomes can range from odd, crinkly-surfaced pearls, with a mid-level luster, in about the size of crisped rice. From the point when the injections are made, it takes between 2 and 6 years to produce the pearls, with each mussel producing up to 50 pearls. Typically, though, freshwater pearls will form with a lower amount of organic material in their nacre than those which are created as a result of marine pearl oysters. This lacking in organic material allows the freshwater pearls to have a unique, glassy luster.
Freshwater pearls are especially desirable for rope necklaces made of several strands which are twisted about each other or long opera-length strands.Another advantage of Freshwater pearls is their innate durability, which naturally resists chipping, degeneration, and wear.
An interseting fact is that freshwater pearls have been harvested in China for thousands of years. There are records of Chinese Freshwater pearl harvests dating back as far as 2206 BC.
The Japanese have also had a distinguished freshwater pearl farming history. In fact, Lake Biwa was once recognized worldwide for its high quality freshwater pearl production.
Pearl Care
Quality pearls are very durable, but proper care is necessary to keep them beautiful and lustrous. Here are important tips to care for your pearls.
Gently wipe the pearls with a warm, damp cloth to remove body oils or dirt (which may harm the colors) before putting them away.
Pearls should be stored away from other objects or jewelry that may scratch the pearls surface. Wrap the pearls in linen, soft cloth, or place in a soft pouch. Do NOT store pearls in an airtight package such as a plastic bag because pearls need moisture. If the environment is too dry, the pearls may crack. If placing the pearls in a safety deposit box or in a hot environment, leave a damp cloth nearby.
Wash pearls periodically with mild soap (NOT detergent) and a soft cloth. When finished washing the pearls, rinse them in clean water and wrap them in a thin, damp cotton towel to dry. If the pearls are especially dirty, wipe the pearl with acetone polish remover. Acetone will not hurt pearls. DO NOT use jewelry cleaners with ammonia or vinegar in them. DO NOT leave your pearls in direct sun unless they are being worn.
Keep pearls away from chlorine bleach, vinegar, ammonia, hairspray, perfume, and cosmetics, as these substances will damage the pearl surface. Make sure to put pearls on after finished spraying perfume or hairspray and putting on makeup. Be very careful with substances as they will eat holes in the pearl nacre.
Restring pearls once a year if worn often. Be sure to have each pearl knotted separately, preferably with silk, so they do not rub together and wear on the pearl nacre.
Contrary to belief, you can wear your pearls while exercising as your body oils restore the natural luster to pearls.
Mother of Pearl
Mother of pearl is the common name for iridescent nacre, a blend of minerals that are secreted by oysters and other mollusks and deposited inside their shells, coating and protecting their bodies from parasites and foreign objects.
Nacre is the same substance that is deposited around an object that becomes lodged in the mollusk--either naturally or inserted by humans--to become a pearl.
Although pearls are popular today, some past cultures regarded colorful pieces of mother of pearl as more desirable decoration for jewelry and other objects.
Jewelry made from mother of pearl is in the group called organic jewelry, which includes all jewelry that originates from a living creature, plant or other living organism.
