The Value and Beauty of Saltwater Pearls

If you want high quality pearls that can catch everyone's attention the moment you wear them, then you should opt to wear saltwater pearl jewelries. Saltwater pearl jewelries made in big in the market during the 1930's. Since then, it has become one of the most sought after set of jewelries in the world. It was loved because of its simple elegance and captivating beauty.
Saltwater pearl jewelries are, of course, as the name implies, cultured in seawater. These are pearls that grow out from oysters. Saltwater pearls actually results from an oyster's natural process of protecting themselves from foreign materials.
Saltwater pearls are made up of aragonite (calcium carbonate), water and conchiolin. Its hardiness is around the scale of three and has a density of about 2.71 g. Saltwater pearls differ in sizes and colors. The variation largely depends on the particular oyster each pearl is being bred on as well as the exact location where the pearls are being cultivated. Because only one saltwater pearl is harvested in a single oyster, it is close to impossible to find pearls that are exactly alike in every sense.
A notable saltwater pearl with the thickest nacre is the South Sea pearl. It has a nacre coating of about 2-6 millimeters. Tahitian pearls come in next with 2-3 millimeter thick nacre coating. Akoya pearls from Japan have a half-millimeter nacre coating.
Saltwater pearls may take years to fully breed. This would be the length of time they need to be cultivated for them to be deemed as useful pieces for jewelry making. For Tahitian and South Sea pearls, it can up to 24 to 36 months cultivation time. For akoya pearls, the process is a lot faster and can take less than 2 years.
Most saltwater pearls originated from the South Pacific Sea. The famed South Sea pearls, which by far is the most popular and valuable saltwater pearls, is just one of type of saltwater pearls. Some South Sea pearls may be almost perfectly round. South Sea pearls with this kind of shape are quite rare, therefore very valuable. Other saltwater pearls may not be as perfectly round as others but they still maintain a dear price. Saltwater pearls with irregular shapes are also referred to as baroque pearls and have a lower market value.
Saltwater pearl jewelries are natural pearls. Some jewelers also modify them to add more shine and color to the pearls. Culturing saltwater pearls naturally begins with a shell nucleus that is harvested inside pearl oysters. After some time, these oysters would secrete certain calcium, also called as nacre, which would cover the shell nucleus. Thicker nacre results to a more lustrous saltwater pearl. Since pearls are organic products, they have the possibility to decay. Because nacre adds protection to decay and add durability to the pearls, it is recommended to buy pearls with thick nacre.
Saltwater pearl jewelries are truly valuable pieces. It's a timeless piece of accessory that can even pass on to other members of the family as heirloom. They are perfect gift ideas for weddings and for all types of occasions. And the best thing to do with such an outstanding piece of jewelry is, of course, to wear them!

An In-Depth Look At Freshwater Pearls

Freshwater pearls were known to originate from oysters that live in saltwater environments. However, mussels that live in freshwater have also been known to have the ability of producing pearls. Although, because of the price, some people are pushed away from buying freshwater pearls. Freshwater pearls do happen to lie in the middle of some of the most liveliest activity of pearling today.
Freshwater pearls come in an assortment of sizes and colors, it all depends upon the type of mussel that they originate from. Most of the time, a pearl will assume the color of the shell in which they originated from. Also, you can find freshwater pearls being produced in the United States, China, and Japan. They used to be produced in Scotland as well. Freshwater pearls are known mainly for their wide array of colors and different sizes.
The demand for freshwater pearls depends on a quite a few factors. These factors include the quality, color, size, texture, ability to match/blend, luster, and the degree of translucency. In most instances, the quality of a freshwater pearl is excellent, or the best among any pearls.
Freshwater pearls have some very distinguishing features. One of the major features to be considered is that they come in a wide assortment of colors. The water contained within a pearl farm has a very limited amount of metal added to it. This results in producing a wide array of differently colored freshwater pearls. Most of the colors that are found among freshwater pearls are not able to be found within saltwater pearls. Also, freshwater pearls can be found in a large assortment of shapes as well.
China exports a great deal of freshwater pearls to places all around the world. The freshwater pearls that are produced in China come in a large variety of shapes that range from flat to round, this includes any sizes that are found in between. There are a lot of attractive colors that these freshwater pearls in China come in as well. The popular colors are pink, lilac, and white. Remember, the colors aren’t limited to those three that were just stated, those were just the most popular. Good flexibility, quality, and affordability are the most important traits of Chinese freshwater pearls.
For some, freshwater pearls may not be an alternative one is willing to take for saltwater pearls. However, for a lot of people, it has pleased them more than what they had expected in the beginning.

Pearls Have Been Known To Benefit One’s Health

Many leading professionals in the health care industry have recognized that pearls in fact do contain special healing abilities, particularly for the eyes, melancholy or depression, and diseases of the blood. Others have also believed that pearls contain the remarkable power of allowing one to see into the future, and translate dreams. By the 13th century, the beliefs of pearls would be effective for car obligations and diseases that were caused by depression. One could cure 8 different conditions, just by swallowing a blend containing a Pearl. The benefits of pearls would also be used in helping clear a persons sight, it was known to dry a moisture that runs into the eyes while strengthening the nerves.
During the 14th and 15th centuries, drops of Pearl powder in distilled water was known to create a cure for insanity as well as other sicknesses. The famous ruler of Florence, Italy, Lorenzo was dying of a fever. He was given a similar blend and this did not cure him, eventually, he passed away.
It’s not the time to start doubting the usefulness of pearls when it comes to using it for medicinal purposes. The pharmaceutical industry still uses pearls in modern medicine. Pearls that are found to be substandard in quality are ground down to a fine powder. This powder is considered to be a high-quality, pharmaceutical-grade calcium. There is a person in history that once said if you wear a pearl that was put in the navel, it would cure stomach disorders.
As we can see, pearls are used for a wide variety of ailments. A few more ailments that pearls have been known to cure include asthma, heart problems, memory loss, snake bites, insomnia, infertility, and jaundice.
As with anything, there is always both positive and negative experiences when it comes to pearls being used as a cure. For those it has helped, it is a miracle that they were seeking all along. Even stated by an icon in history that was dying of a fever, it has been considered the best taste that a dying person could experience. Even though it didn’t work, it provide those facing death the ability to reach a level of certainty that they were seeking all along. Now, we can not only think of the beauty of pearls, and the use of pearls in jewelry. It is also shown to make a mark in medical history that will be remembered for years to come, just like it is still being remembered today.

Pearls wholesale

As many people know, when you can buy jewelry at various stores, there is still something very exciting to make your own jewelry. For these pieces of jewelry designer you need a lot of equipment. In most cases you can find these tools to your home. The main point that you will find is that of jewelry or gemstones. These are usually beads that are in many different types. The best way dobtenir these wholesale beads is a store that sells quality products such as pearls.

When you look at the various wholesale bead, you find that it is quite a variety for you to choose. These beads wholesale stores will be able to provide high-quality pearls like pearls Cats eye semi-precious gemstones pearls, sterling silver beads and many others.

The quality of these pearls depends on lendroit you bought them from. This means that if you want your jewelry to look fantastic, you have to buy wholesale beads are a great value and look. Monday places where you can buy wholesale beads is costume jewelry stores or dartisanat stores. At these places you can find a large number of beads in different styles and forms.

Before dacheter these beads wholesale, you should take the time dinspecter beads of good quality. Choose only the best dentre them, you should see what other things you can buy to complement these large pearls. This is important because you will soon have the chance to do the bulk of these beads that you purchased, glamour jewellery designs that person dautre na.

You can also buy your beads wholesale various Internet wholesale distributors. If you do look at these pearls in person, you can see if the wholesale price of these pearls is reasonable. With an affordable price on these large beads you can choose different models that you want to buy and to make a big search for jewellery. The next time you need larger pearls, you know the best places you can get to them at affordable prices and high quality products.



All that remains is for you dacheter a good book on the manufacture of jewelry and various tools that you need to May. With a little dimagination, you can transform these pearls wholesale magnificent creations that are clearly something you and that person does dautre.

Pearl jewelry - The Best Gift For All Occasions

A Pearl jewelry is one jewelry that enhances a woman's beauty and self-confidence. It gives an added appeal to the lower arm and boosts the overall aura of a woman. And what better gem to use for this type of jewelry than the beautiful freshwater pearl. By its natural beauty alone, a pearl is a perfect symbol of serenity and timelessness which can be worn or given as a gift on any occasion.
Freshwater pearls are a real treasure being very rare and expensive these days. Although similar in appearance to the natural and seawater pearls, the edge of freshwater pearls lies in their luster and depth. They are also well known for their wide range of color. Apart from the standard white, these freshwater pearls are also available in pastel colors like pink, rose, purple, blue, cream lavender and yellow as well as silvery white, salmon, red, copper bronze, brown and green.
While they have different colors, freshwater pearls also come in a variety of shapes such as drops, eggs, pears, dome, rounds and baroques. The baroque type are further classified into various shapes like wings, hammers, twins, barrels round-a-circle, rosebuds, nuggets and dog tooth.

Pearl knowledge-Fresh water vs Akoya pearls

Freshwater and Akoya pearls, while both genuine pearls, differ greatly in value and composition. The three main differences are the culturing process, the nucleus, and the shape.
Fresh water pearls are mantle-tissue nucleated, whereas Akoya pearls are bead-nucleated. Instead of inserting a mother of pearl bead and a piece of mantle tissue into the gonad of a freshwater mollusk as is the process with an Akoya oyster, only a piece of mantle-tissue is used, and this is inserted into the mantle tissue of the freshwater mollusk, not the gonad. The result is a pearl composed of solid nacre, and the mantle tissue is eventually dissolved or drilled out.
Fresh water pearls are nucleated in the mantle tissue which is on either side of the oyster. This tissue is much larger than the gonad of an Akoya oyster. Therefore the freshwater mollusk can be nucleated up to 25 times on either side, for a total of 50 nucleations. An Akoya oyster, on the other hand, can handle a maximum of 5 nucleations in its gonad, but very rarely is nucleated with more than 2 beads at a time. So upon harvest, a freshwater mollusk may produce up to 50 pearls at a time, while the Akoya oyster has a maximum production of 2.
Freshwater mollusks are also much easier to farm. The mortality rate is much lower than that of the nucleated Akoya oysters, and fresh water farms rarely deal with natural disasters such as typhoons and red tides that plague Akoya pearl farms.

Pearl knowledge-South Sea pearls

South Sea pearls are among the largest commercially harvested cultured pearls in the world. The average size of a South Sea pearl is 13mm, with most harvests producing a range of sizes from 9mm up to 20mm.
The South Seas lie between the northern coast of Australia and the southern coast of China. These waters are the native habitat of the large oyster, the Pinctada maxima. This oyster grows up to 12 inches in diameter, and can be nucleated with a much larger bead than other saltwater oysters such as the Akoya.
There are two varieties of Pinctada maxima: the silver-lipped and the gold-lipped. The two are distinguished by the coloration of the outer edge of the interior. This shell is also known as mother of pearl, and is responsible for the coloration of the cultured pearls produced.
Unlike the Akoya oyster, the South Sea oyster will only accept one nucleation at a time. The oyster is nucleated when it is only about half developed, from 4.7 inches to 6.7 inches in size, or about 24 months old. Although the South Sea oyster will only handle one nucleus at a time, this oyster (like the Tahitian pearl producing Pinctada margaritifera) can be nucleated up to three times over the course of many years.
There are four reasons South Sea pearls can grow to such large sizes dwarfing many of their other salt water pearl counterparts. The reasons consist of: the large size of the Pinctada maxima, the size of the implanted bead, the length of time the pearl is left to grow in the oyster, and the oyster’s environment. Due to the size of the oyster it is able to accept a large bead. The gonad of the Pinctada maxima is several times larger than that of the Akoya. Because of this same reason the South Sea oyster deposits nacre around the nucleus at a much quicker rate, especially in warm water which speeds the oyster’s metabolism. The South Seas are also extremely clean, and filled with plankton - the Pinctada maxima’s favorite food source. The clean waters and abundant food supply also speeds the nacre production. The growth period for South Sea pearls is also substantially longer than that of the Akoya. Akoya pearls are harvested after only 9-16 months, where as South Sea pearls are harvested after at least 2 years.
South Sea pearls have several distinct characteristics that are unique to this gem. The nacre is unusually thick, ranging from 2-6mm compared to the .35-.7mm of an Akoya pearl. South Sea pearls also have a unique, satiny lustre that comes from the rapidly deposited nacre and warm waters of the South Seas. South Sea pearls also have a subtle array of colors, typically white, silver, and golden, that are rare in other pearl types.

Pearl knowledge-Fresh water pearls

Although the traditional source of pearls has been oysters which live in saltwater, mollusks which live in freshwater lakes and rivers can also produce pearls. China has harvested freshwater pearls for many a millennia. The first record mentioning pearls in China was from 2206 BC. The United States was also a major source of freshwater pearls from the discovery of the New World up through the 19th century, when over-harvesting and increasing pollution significantly reduced the number of available pearl-forming mussels.
Freshwater pearls are often somewhat less lustrous than their salt water counterparts. However, they appear in a wide variety of shapes and colors, and they tend to be less expensive than saltwater pearls, making them quite popular. Freshwater pearls are also quite durable, resisting chipping, wear, and degeneration.
Freshwater pearls differ from other cultured pearls in that they are not bead-nucleated. Freshwater mollusks are nucleated by creating a small incision in the fleshy mantle tissue and inserting a piece of mantle tissue from another oyster. This process may be completed 25 times on either side of the mantle, producing up to 50 pearls at a time. The mollusks are then returned to their freshwater environment where they are tended for 2-6 years. The resulting pearls are of solid nacre, but without a bead nucleus to guide the growth process, the pearls are rarely round.
In recent years the Chinese have been able to take the art of culturing freshwater pearls to new levels. In the last decade the quality of pearls produced have become so high that many pearls in the top percentage of a harvest are nearly indistinguishable of their saltwater relatives. Gone are the rice-shape seed pearls as they are now being replaced with round, lustrous pearls of sizes as large as 16mm, mimicking large South Sea pearls. This has created a renewed interest in freshwater pearls as an affordable alternative to the higher priced saltwater..

Pearl knowledge-Pearl cultivation process

Pearl, unlike gemstones or precious metals, is a kind of lively gem. A natural pearl forms when an irritant, such as parasite or a piece of sand, accidentally enters the body of a particular species of oyster, mussel or clam and cannot be expelled. As a defense mechanism, the mollusk secretes a smooth, crystalline fluid, called “nacre” (the same secretion it uses for shell-building, composed mainly of carbonated calcium), to coat the intruder. As long as the irritant is present, the mollusk continues to add a layer upon a layer of nacre on the irritant until a lustrous pearl is formed.
A cultured fresh water pearl, which is grown in a clam undergoes exactly the same process. The only differentce is that the irritant is a surgically implanted piece of mantle tissue. To culture fresh water pearls, skilled technicians slightly open a host clam’s shells up to 1 - 1.2 cm, cut small slits into the mantle tissue inside both shells, insert a small piece of epthelial membrane (the lip of mantle tissue) from another clam into those slits, and using a fine needle to shape it into round. After implanting, it takes five to seven days for a host clam to cover an irritant with its own tissue and 10 days later it begins producing centric layers of nacre. Tendering pearl-bearing clams is a continuous process aiming at smoothly developing the pearls to minimize blemishes. The pains-taking process can last four to five years long.
Apparently, in fresh water clams, the insertion alone is sufficient to start nacre production. No artificial nucleating bead is needed. Therefore cultured fresh water pearls are composed entirely of pure nacre, making them “real” pearl, just like their natural fresh water and natural salt water counterparts.