The Pearl Jewelry Blog

Have you ever asked a jeweler about pearls? If so, you may have discovered that many jewelers are uninformed about pearls. I have spoken with jewelers who do not know the difference between salt water and freshwater pearls. They certainly could not explain why one necklace had a $10,000 price tag. I wonder how many consumers blindly go where these unknowing jewelers lead them. Educate yourself before you go shopping for pearls. With proper knowledge, you can decide whether that pearl necklace is worth the price or not. Here is a basic lesson in how to select and grade pearls.

Pearls are unique to most jewels in that they have no grading system which is accepted world-wide. So, if you are buying AAA pearls, rest assured that the jeweler or pearl company has added that description. One jeweler’s AAA description may not compare to another one’s A description. Do you know why the best quality diamond you can buy is rated D? Before the diamond grading system was created, the market was saturated with A, B and C grades. Unfortunately, a universal pearl grading system has not been created.

To grade pearls, one must look at 7 different quality factors. These factors must be observed separate of one another before an overall grade can be determined.

Let’s get to work! First, look at the Size of the pearl. This is quality factor number 1. Sizes of cultured pearls are usually written in millimeters. The bigger pearls are typically more expensive than smaller pearls because this usually suggests that the pearl took a longer time to form.

The second quality factor is shape. Roll the pearls in front of your eyes. The most expensive pearls are the closest to round and they are described as Round. Pearls can also be described as Near Round, Oval, Button, Drop, Semi-Baroque or Baroque. These are the seven standard shapes of pearls.

Color is a quality factor than serves to describe a pearl. Look closely at the pearl. There is a basic body color and then an overtone to most pearls .The most common pearls are neutral or near-neutral in body color. Because pearls are made of layers, the layers create the overtones. Common overtones are rose or green but other colors are possible. Look closely at your pearls and see how you would describe them. This quality factor is more of a source of preference than anything else.

Sometimes, however, the rare colors are seen as more precious than the common colors. How much shine do the pearls have? Luster is the forth quality factor and possibly the most important one. Luster is critically important to the value of pearls. Pearls retain their look longer with a high luster. A pearl with excellent luster is sharp and distinct. With good luster, a pearl is slightly hazy and with fair luster, the pearl has a weak shine.

Look closely at the surface of the pearl to detect blemishes. More blemishes translate to a lower value. This is surface quality, the fifth factor, and it is an important method of determining the grade of a pearl. Surface quality ranges from Clean (which means almost blemish free) to lightly, moderately or heavily blemished. Remember, if there are no blemishes at all, it is difficult to know that the pearls are real. Completely spotless pearls are rare indeed!

Nacre is the calcium carbonate that a mollusk uses to produce a pearl. Nacre is important because many salt-water pearls are bead nucleated. This means that a round piece of shell is put inside an oyster and the oyster creates the pearl by coating the bead with layers of nacre. This nacre may only be a 1/2 mm thick. Check the pearls and make sure the bead is not visible beneath the layer of nacre. Pearls can also look chalky if the nacre quality is poor. Note that freshwater cultured pearls usually do not have a bead inside of them. This is also why freshwater cultured pearls are heavier.

The 7th and final quality factor is how well the pearls match one another in a piece of jewelry. Take the six quality factors and judge their consistency in the one piece of jewelry. Pearl matching is usually graded as Excellent, Good and Fair. Matching is another big value factor as it reflects the amount of labor involved creating the piece of pearl jewelry.

Take this knowledge with you the next time you go shopping for pearls. This information will enable you to select the best pearls at the right price. You might even be able to teach the jeweler a thing or two!
By India Rows

Pearl jewelry inspires many people as it is circular and shimmering in nature. An original pearl is difficult to find and it primarily takes hundreds of year to convert a simple oyster into a fruitful gem. That is why, pearls are very expensive and hard to resist.

Typical of Pearl: A pearl is a hard, rounded object produced by certain animals, primarily mollusks e.g. oysters. This magnificent jewel can be used elegantly as jewelry and also crushed in cosmetics or paint formulations. It has a high value as a gemstone and is cultivated or harvested with extra care. 

Pearls have a very royal beauty to them. By simply wearing a pearl jewelry, a woman looks elegant and magnificent. Earlier, only the rich people could afford to own them. Thanks to the modern pearl culturing technique pioneered by the Japanese and furthered by the Chinese, pearls have now become quite affordable even to the common people.

Any jewelry instantaneously lends an appearance of class to a woman and her attire. However, pearls are a class apart. They possess a royal air to them. It is a magical piece of jewelry, as it is, a product of nature’s bountiful ways. Since the earliest civilizations, people have believed that a pearl’s magical qualities did not end with its creation. The ancient Chinese believed that when dragons fight in the clouds, pearls would pour from the skies. Ancient Romans considered themselves to be on the good graces of Goddess Isis, if they received a gift of pearls.

Since times immemorial, pearls have adorned women, especially those from the higher echelons of society. A pearl is a heaven work of art which, when used with a grouping of platinum, gold and silver jewelry signifies a revered level of beauty and art. The impact of pearls on the people can be fathomed from the very fact that the very word has been inscribed in the English vocabulary indelibly.

Oysters naturally create a pearl. This does not however mean that all oysters will create a pearl, even though every oyster has the likelihood of creating one. The creation of a pearl takes place when a particle of sand or a piece of a shell gets ensnared inside the body of an oyster. When this happens, the oyster coats the alien particle with nacre and with the passage of time, it becomes a pearl. But this happens rarely in nature and so becomes the reason for the high price tag, it has had in the past.

Usually, rare and valuable pearls are those that are flawlessly clean. However, technology has enabled pearl companies to offer matchless pearls and some of the exclusive ones offered by them are:

• The freshwater pearls with their brilliant shape and luster.

• The high quality flower pearls also known as Hanadama.

• The very exquisite Conch pearl.

• Black Tahiti pearls, also known as, Black pearls . Careful examination and selection hinders mass production of this pearl. Rare and mysterious is used when describing black pearls.

• Keshi pearls, also described as accidental pearls are found around Philippines, Australia, French Polynesia, Japan and Indonesia.

By Pattrick Jhonson

Pearls are one of the most popular items amongst the other precious jewelry. No other jewelry has received such enduring demand from people, as pearl does. Pearl Jewelry is a precious possession of the humans from the olden days.

Its attractiveness and magnificence makes pearl a famous jewelry. The nature of pearl earrings offers an extreme value as it turns into a face of love and affection and sometimes, it is a necessary issue among the people and members of the family to wear it. It is also considered as the most important asset in life by most of the people in different cultures. Unique and pure pearls are very expensive. So you should always choose them carefully while you about to buy them. It could also be worthwhile for you to invest on pearl jewelry as the value rises from time to time.

Pearls are essentially worn as rings in the fingers of married couples and engaged people. Apart from this, pearls are also considered as lucky charms in some cultures. But most of people use pearl Jewelry in their finger as rings. Before buying a pearl earring , there are certain major things to be kept in mind. The most important thing is that the quality of pearl is measured by its purity. The higher the purity, the more valuable it is. Pure pearl can be put into other designed jewels made out of other metals like silver, gold and copper etc.

Due to the fact that pearls are beautiful, they are characterized as exotic, diverse and unique. Certain countries such as France , Japan , and Indonesia produce a decent quantity of good quality pearls. Most of the pearls are man-made and have varying colors. White round pearls are the most common pearls found in the world and they are used to make earrings, necklace and rings.

Pearls are cleaned and cultured to raise its value higher in the market. Good quality pearls are quite expensive, rare and also looks unique. While buying a pearl you will find pearls of two different kinds. Expensive pearls are smooth without any blemish and have a distinct shape and size. Pearls are very popular nowadays as they are considered as gemstones, which bring lucky charm to the one wearing it. Wearing a pearl in the evening party sets your mood glowing so one should include pearl as an elegant jewelry in his/her collections.

If you like creativity in your Pearl Jewelry, mixing it with colored pearls would be an interesting preposition. You can also match it with Pearl Earrings to get a complete look.

By Pattrick Jhonson

At one time not too long ago, Freshwater pearl necklaces would be made of keshi pearls, those little pearls that look like rice krispies. Even though the Chinese were making some cultured pearl Buddhas around 600AD, when they entered the pearl culture world in the last century, they began with nothing.

With perseverance of dedicated capitalists, they kept growing pearls and getting better results year after year. Finally the best freshwater pearl, in my mind, rival the higher priced akoya pearls.

The real beauty in a fresh water pearl necklace is the nacre. Because of differences in pearl culturing, from different mollusks to different techniques of starting the pearl, Freshwater pearls are solid nacre; whereas, in the saltwater pearl culturing, the technique is to take a “mother of pearl” bead and implant it very carefully into an akoya oyster’s gonad. They must do it carefully because this surgery often kills the mollusk, and the mollusk even at this point reflects a substantial investment.

The culturing of the freshwater mussel, requires taking small pieces of mussel mantle, this is the soft membrane of the mussel that is the layer in direct contact with the shell. The technique itself is much less invasive, and hardly ever kills the animal. Because of the relatively non-invasive nature of the culturing, these mussels are able to be grafted many times.

The akoya pearl oyster is only able to handle up to a maximum of 4 or 5 pearls before death. The freshwater process is able to get 40 to 50 pearls per mussel. And this in its own right is one reason for the inexpensive price. And that many freshwater pearl farms are also the family’s fish and duck pond, tripling its use. China’s pearl production is measured in metric tons.

Finally, the point to examine the reason why freshwater pearls are less expensive than salt water pearls. The big reason is the quantity of pearls produced versus the cost of production.

Salt water production is more expensive because of the reasons above, and also when storms hit or red tides, or desalination of the area because of heavy rain, small temperature changes can destroy a pearl farm.

The saltwater is a coating of nacre on the “mother of pearl” bead. This is important for a couple of reasons. The lower grades of akoya pearl nacre can chip and crack; whereas, a solid nacre pearl cannot crack and chip.

Another thing a solid pearl has is the beautiful pearl feature called orient. Orient is the subtle shimmering color that looks like the way that oil looks when poured on water, or the look of gasoline. It is the natural rainbow that shines through on Freshwater pearl.

The thinner nacre of a low quality akoya pearl can’t produce the orient; because, orient only happens when the nacre is very thick as in freshwater pearl necklace.

Freshwater pearl price price is only a fraction of saltwater pearls price. The improvements in culturing have brought major improvements in quality. Freshwater pearls of the higher quality are indistinguishable from higher prices akoyas. They are a really great bargain.

Freshwater pearls are becoming more and more popular look at the good looks and value our pearl jewelry.

By Patrick Cavanaugh

Pearls also been used as natural trinkets, along with their pronounced use in making of breathtaking bracelets. Their existences start from the shell of a mollusk and black lipped oyster’s resource. Eventually, the alien element originating in the oysters gets coated with layers, as well as, with nacre. This coagulates into the captivating shape of exotic beauty called pearl.

Due to their natural charm and elegance, pearls are embedded in bracelets. Their beautiful colors and shapes are a favorite for designing of pearl bracelets. Their prominence can be accepted by the fact that pearl bracelets are desired amongst women but are also equally preferred by men.

Innate pearl for bracelets are considered rare, as well as reasonably expensive. Bracelets containing natural pearls are difficult to search due to the scarcity in their availability. The majority of retailed pearl bracelets are those prepared of cultured pearls .

Cultured pearls are, more or less, related with innate pearls, apart from the difference of human involvement. Following the natural mechanism, a shell is cautiously unlocked and then a tiny blob is placed in it. Though, the figures of the placed particle may vary, depending on the preferred concluding shape. The broader is the nacre covering, the superior is the quality and strength of the cultured pearl.

Pearls for jewels can be both from sea water and freshwater. These are also categorized by their outlines. If you scrutinize them patiently, you will observe that no two pearl bracelets are similar in terms of style, embedded pearls and outlook. This in itself provides an impression of exceptionality and value of the rare jewelry item before you. The selection of pearl bracelets demands judicious investment of time, so that you can purchase the pearl that appeal to your persona.

Dress in your pearl bracelet only after you have spirited zed on your desired perfume and as well as, the lotion. Later, when taking it off, wash it and clean with a soft fabric which should be hair-free, dry or slightly humid. If you clean it with a humid cloth, be sure to dry the pearls before storing them. This would enhance their luster and longevity.

Pearls are simple yet sophisticated. They can complement both official and unofficial chores. Buying the ideal string of pearls for your subtle wrist is just so essential to enhance your entire outlook and bestow modernity into your personality. Thus, be ready to pamper yourself with the best possible benediction you can endow for your individuality.

The Pearl Bracelets which is prepared from Cultured Pearls have been successful in engrossing the temptations of millions, due to their modern and classic look.
By Pattrick Jhonson

One of the best gift ideas is to give your mom jewelry this Mother’s Day. Jewelries are classic and lasting. Since the beginning of time humans have been adorning themselves with jewelry made of twigs, leaves, flowers and animal bones! To this day, almost any woman would love to receive a piece of jewelry as a gift. The key is to make the gift unique.

It’s a mystery why women love jewelry. But you can be sure that your mom will love a piece of jewelry as a gift. It’s probably because jewelry is known to last, and it is worn to somehow represent the personal taste and style of the wearer. It says something about the wearer and it does have sentimental value.

Timeless - Today, jewelry has evolved. We cannot stop buying jewelry because there are so many designs available. These designs can now conform in many different ways onto the body. This is due to innovation in both the aesthetic and function of a piece of jewelry. Now you have lots to choose from as gift ideas for Mother’s Day.

The Material - For gift ideas think about which material you want to go with. What do you think is mom’s favorite stone when it comes to jewelry? Take notice of the jewelry she already wears. Are they simple, modern and elegant? Or are they more intricate, classical and highly decorative?

Gemstones enhance the value and beauty of a piece of jewelry. You can choose from diamonds, rubies,sapphires and stones. Synthesized stones are great, but the real thing is always the best, since they are more durable, long-lasting and do not easily lose their sheen and brilliance.

Type of Jewelry - When thinking of gift ideas for Mother’s Day also consider where your mom likes to wear jewelry. Does she usually wear a necklace, bracelet, pair of earrings or combination of these? If she likes to match her jewelry it might be a good idea to get a set of jewelry. Usually you can receive discounts for sets. When buying just a single piece of jewelry, it is best to look for something more unique and out of the ordinary. For instance, you may ask a jeweler to personalize a piece of jewelry or find something like an inscription or peculiar design on a piece of jewelry that symbolizes your appreciation for mom.

The possibilities are endless. One of the most popular inscriptions in a piece of jewelry for women are those that have something to do with time. For instance, your mom will be touched with the message “I loved you yesterday, and I’ll love you tomorrow”. Pendants with a mother and child design are also popular.

Another thing to consider is the design. Great gift ideas for mom when it comes to jewelry are also “circle” jewelry designs. Many pendants nowadays have an infinity design. A piece of jewelry can be a simple “O” studded with diamonds or other precious stones. These represent an everlasting love for a person, and mom will definitely love this classic and enduring style.

Presenting Your Gift - There are also gift ideas in presenting your piece of jewelry. Don’t just place it in a jewelry box. You can put it in a tiny gift basket or chocolate box. Your mom is going to expect chocolates or fruits, but once she opens her gift she’ll be delightfully surprised!

Grab more mother’s day gift ideas. Grab the most affordable deals for mothers day gift online.

By Rashel Dan

You may wonder what is the amazing thing behind Pearls? Well, Pearls are a complex object, to start the iridescence that pearls display is caused by the overlapping of successive layers, which breaks up light falling on the surface. In addition, pearls (especially freshwater pearls) can be dyed yellow, green, blue, brown, pink, purple, or black. I love Black Pearls, they are amazing.

This was the main reason why pearls fetched such extraordinary prices in the past. Imitation or fake pearls are also widely sold in inexpensive jewelry, but the quality of the iridescence is usually very poor, and generally speaking, fake pearls are usually quite easy to distinguish from the real thing.

You need to understand what sort of pearls you are buying, if you buy Pearls that come from Pearls farms you need to understand how they are picked up, these sort of pearls are carefully selected from long-established pearl farms. And then range in size from under 1mm to 20mm giants. Usually this farm pearls are harvested in the cooler winter months, after about two years of cultivation.

Like natural pearls, cultured pearls grow inside of a mollusk, but with human intervention. Cultured pearls are sold by their size in millimeters. Saltwater pearls originate within a saltwater mollusk. Saltwater pearls can be either natural or cultured.

Obviously it is not a surprise for anyone to understand that natural pearls are more expensive and if you are really interested in getting the best pearls in the world, well, you need to Travel all the way to Japan.

When you buy a Pearl you need to ask about the origins and their shapes. This is the way they get classified.

So where do Pearls come from ? Well [earls are formed inside the shell of certain bivalve ollusks: as a response to an irritant inside its shell, the mollusk creates a pearl to seal off the irritation. Pearls come in eight basic shapes: round, semi-round, button, drop, pear, oval,baroque, and circled.

Pearls where before only for fashion, but now you can find pearls have also been crushed and used in cosmetics, medicines, or in paint formulations. Pearls with the smoothest surfaces are the highest-quality, most sought-after pearls.

Regarding buying Pearls as part of Jewelry, you need to know the following: almost all pearls used for jewelry are cultured by planting a core or nucleus into pearl oysters. Abalone from along the Pacific Coast, primarily California, produce both blister and free pearls and their shells are used for inlay in jewelry and other items.

Try to find a company or design that offers these same finer-quality of any Japanese cultured Pearls at a fraction of traditional-store prices. It is not easy but for sure it is possible.

Pearls are a great present for many people out there, you will never look out of fashion with a nice Pearl Jewelry necklace, and for sure always buying some high quality pearls is a wise investment. Pearls are perfect for gifts and for that special and romantic occasions.

by Joaquin Costa

There are so many more necklace designs in the market that it is more and more complicated to find a necklace with good quality and adapted to our personality.

There are different types of necklaces available in the market as cheap as expensive. Obviously, the most famous are necklaces made from different type of metal such as silver, gold, titanium…but there is also others metals called precious and semi-precious.

When buying jewelry, there are many factors to be considered. A gold necklace speaks of elegance and is classy, if purchased with other factors in mind.

For women who like classical style, there are still pearls that will never go out of fashion. Diamond and gemstone pendants on coordinating gold or silver chains are also perpetually popular together with beads and crystals especially for upper middle class. But since few years, there are new trends of necklaces:

Firstly, necklaces and others jewelries which come from Hip Hip style have increased the last decade.

Secondly, ethnical and handmade necklaces because these are like authentic and unique piece.

Even if there several kinds of necklaces, we can classify the most famous:

• Layered, dual, or three strand neck jewelry

• Chunky, oversized pieces

• Celebrity-inspired necklaces

• Delicate lariats or “Y’s”

• New choker styles

• Crystal beads

• Three station and drop necklaces

• Natural beads and organic carvings

• Scalloped and collar neck pieces

• Long ropes/chains

• Colored gold

• Enamel and ceramic

• Open and hammered links in chains

• Floating heart pendant necklaces

Concerning the length of the necklaces, it depends on women. Indeed, some of them prefer it length whereas others prefers short but the most popular length is worn loosely around the neck and falls slightly below the collar bone. Chokers lie tightly against the neck itself. Chains and pearls come in a great variety of lengths, allowing you to choose the look that you desire.

Regarding men, since last years, the offer is still increasing. Indeed, in 90s they worn gold or silver necklace whereas now they wear high steel, leather or ethnical necklaces. So jewelers have to diversify their offer.

By Gerald Bergam

Searching of how to give a Mother’s Day Gift, Mother’s Day Dinner and flower….. Pearl Jewelry is the best Mother’s Day Gift if you are not able to trip her during the Mother’s Day. 

Much like fruit, a pearl is valued by an element of time. Get them before they are ripe, and you really have a problem.

Pearls are unique among gemstones – they’re not really a stone at all. The chance creation of a pearl in nature happens when an oyster has an irritation within its shell, which causes the oyster to build up layers of nacre (shell material) around the irritant. These layers eventually become a pearl, one of the most treasured natural materials in the world. This process is tricky and random at best – so science came up with a solution to obtain more of these beautiful items – cultured pearls.

Cultured pearls (the saltwater variety) were developed in the early 20th century by Japanese researchers. Before this time, other countries and cultures had been able to culture freshwater pearls from mussels, but these pearls were smaller and less perfect than the saltwater pearls being found in nature. Kokichi Mikimoto was the most well known of these researchers, because he was able to come up with a technique that assured round, beautiful cultured pearls each time.

These cultured pearls were created on pearl farms, where oysters were implanted with “seeds” (small pieces of irritants) are left to grow pearls. After two to three years, each oyster yields a pearl – which is usually discarded due to small size or irregular shape. Then, the oyster is re-seeded, and the resulting pearl (produced in another two to three years) is sold as a cultured pearl.

Over 95% of the pearls sold in jewelry today are cultured pearls, coming from places such as Australia and Japan. Before the surge in cultured pearls, pearls had to be exported from very specific places in the world. Prior to 1930, Kuwait was one of those places; the cultured pearl craze is what led them to search for oil as an alternate means of driving the economy.

Pearl jewelry has long been seen as the pinnacle of “ladylike” jewelry, with a pearl choker being the favorite necklace of many First Ladies of the United States. Jackie Kennedy, Barbara Bush and many others have been photographed and painted in their pearl necklaces. In these modern times, most of these pearl necklaces were made with cultured pearls, which are indistinguishable from “natural” pearls on sight. The only true way to find out if a pearl is natural is to x-ray the jewelry.

Cultured pearls have made it so that more and more people can afford the beauty and splendor of this natural wonder. With many more pearls being produced annually, it is easy to be able to obtain the pearl jewelry that fits in your lifestyle and budget.
By Arsene Bergkamp