PEARLS
Pearls are some of the most coveted objects in the entire world and it does not seem to matter where you go. There are people who collect pearls, wear them as jewelry, and even those who go out and search for pearls on their own. Pearls are commonly worn by women as necklaces, earrings, rings, and bracelets and are generally seen as very classy and sometimes even conservative pieces of jewelry.
A pearl is a naturally occurring object. In fact, pearls are simply hard, round objects that are formed within the mantle of a shelled mollusk that is alive. Interestingly, pearls are actually made of the same substances as the mollusk shell, which is calcium carbonate, but it is found in minute crystalline form that is deposited one layer at a time within the mollusk. When most people think of pearls they think of something that is perfectly round, and while they are ideally round they also come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes.
Pearls are actually formed when a small object becomes trapped inside the folds of the mantle, which is the fleshy skin that is located on the inside of the mollusk. A true pearl is actually created when they are found in two different groups of mollusks, which are bivalves and clams. While any mollusk is capable of creating pearls those that are sought by consumers are pearls that come from the pearl oysters, river mussels, and fresh water pearl mussels.
Many people assume that the pearls that they buy occur naturally, but this is generally not the case anymore. In the past pearl hunters would literally go out and open hundreds, if not thousands of mussels, and they would only walk away with a handful of pearls, if any. Today the pearls that we purchase are usually cultured pearls, which is why they are much more affordable than a natural pearl.
Natural or wild caught pearls, as they are often referred to, are very rare today. These are pearls that have absolutely no human intervention and someone literally went out, looked for the mussels, and went through all of them to find the pearl. Natural pearls are very hard to find today, in fact many jewelry stores do not carry them at all anymore or will only order them on special order.
Cultured pearls are what you will find in most jewelry stores today. Cultured pearls are basically pearls that have been grown or formed on a pearl farm. These are still true pearls, they are just helped along by pearl farmers and there would not be near the amount of pearls on the market today if they did not help the process along at all.
The value of the natural pearl is often debated due to the fact that they are very rare. There is not a set price for natural pearls; instead the value of each one is based on the size, shape, the surface, orientation, as well as the luster or sheen on the pearl. Some of the most highly sought pearls are natural strands or double strands of pearls, which range from hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars.
Pearl farming is how most pearls come to be today. This is actually a process that dates back to the early 1900s and what farmers do is place a core into a pearl oyster and then it is left there for one to seven years, at which point a beautiful pearl is formed and can be harvested and sold. This process became widely accepted because natural harvesting took so much work and the pearls were so expensive as a result.
The advent of pearl farming is often credited to a gentleman by the name of Mikomoto, but the process of creating a cultured pearl was actually created by a group of scientists at Tokyo University from 1907 to 1916 and they actually received the patent for the process in their final year at the university. It was one of the members of this team that was married to the daughter of Mikomoto.
Some of the most popular pearls are those that are a bit different in their coloring.
Black pearls, also called Black Tahitian, pearls are very valuable even though they are cultured because they are quite rare. When you visit a jewelry store you will generally find that they have a selection of different pearls ranging from white to cream to black and there are even some that are almost pink.
There are pearls out there that are referred to as “other” pearls and they are in fact from mollusks, but they are not from the varieties that produce true pearls. Any mollusk is capable of creating a pearl like object, but they usually lack the right sheen and they are not iridescent. The largest “other” pearl weighed more than 14 pounds! This is not a true pearl, but it is awesome to see.
Pearls are seen in women’s jewelry constantly. Women of all ages can and do wear pearls. In the past pearls were generally reserved for special occasions, such as when women were going out to social functions or when they were getting married. However, today pearls are worn to the office, out to clubs, and of course on special occasions such as a wedding.
Pearls are always a great choice.
While ideally pearls are thought to be perfectly round, there are a lot of women who actually like the teardrop shaped pearls. These are actually imperfect when a gemologist looks at them, but many consumers like the look and they will pair the teardrop shaped pearls with the round ones for a fashionable look. In the past the misshapen pearls were actually thrown to the side and they were not sold, but today they are just as popular as the round ones with some customers.
Pearls are now quite affordable, especially when compared to some other precious gems that are on the market today. Cultured pearls have become so authentic looking that you need a really good gemologist and the right equipment to be able to tell the difference between the natural pearls and those that are cultured.
Today you can find pearl jewelry in a variety of forms and even have them personalized for you at decent prices compared to what was paid for them in the past.
Pearls have been around for a long time and they are still just as beautiful and sought after today as they ever were. Improved technology will only continue to make pearls more beautiful in the future.
