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Pearls

Pearls. History and characteristic

The pearls always symbolised joy, love and happiness. They are one if the most magical and feminine jewels ever.

One of the oldest pearl necklaces dates back to around 4 000 BC. Already in the thirteenth Century the Chinese pearl covered Buddha statues. The first pearl farms arose in the early twentieth Century.

 

It is noteworthy that natural pearls are formed by chance, without human intervention. Once anything gets into the oyster’s shell and is perceived as an intruder, it starts producing a concentric layers around it for protection. Due to the circumstances of their formation, natural pearls are extremely rare on today’s global market, and their number is constantly decreasing. Currently they make up to only a few percent of all commercially available pearls

Culturing A Pearl

Growing demand has led to the advanced pearl farming methods. Roughly it involves placing an implant (usually a shell particle) inside the shell, so the oyster starts to roll layers around the intruder. Today this method is almost perfectly polished and can produce beautiful round pearls. Japan and China are the world leaders in pearl culturing, which is a very delicate and time consuming process.

Cultured pearls are divided into two basic groups:

  1. Saltwater – marine:

-          AKOYA pearls farmed in the akoya oyster (Latin:  Pinctada Martensi Fucata)

-          SOUTH SEA pearls farmed on the Pacific Ocean (Latin: Pinctada Margaritifera Cumingii)

-          TAHITIAN cultured pearls (Latin: Pinctada Margaritifera Cumingii)

-          BLISTER cultured pearls (Japanese: Mabe pearl)

Cultured pearl triplet (from Lat. Mabe)

  1. Freshwater:

-          from Japan (Unio Margaritifera, Hyriopsis Schlegeli)

-          from China (Hyriopsis Zchlegeli, Hyriopsis Cumingi, Cristaria plicata)

 

Hints On Buying A Pearl Necklace

A necklace of round shiny pearls, strong pearl mass and smooth surface - this is certainly the perfect necklace every woman dreams of. When you have a limited budget, remember that the colour and gloss affect the overall impression significantly. Less important would be minor, small disparities. Baroque pearls can be as elegant as those perfectly round ones. Besides of that, better avoid pearls of uneven surface, since they’re of less value.

Pearl necklaces can vary in length and size. Most common pearl necklaces have the same size and specific length:

-          choker, 36 or 40 cm long

-          matin, 60 cm long

-          opera, 80 cm long

Growing demand for pearls results in producing also other lengths on necklaces, such as 50-55cm, and even six-foot for finesse wearing.

Remember that a pearl will always remain a pearl, no matter if it’s natural or cultured. However, pearl imitations don’t belong to any of pearl groups. There are many pearl imitations on the market, like glass marbles covered in special gloss, or such products as the “snail pearls”, in which the surface is made with chemicals.

A simple way to distinguish a pearl’s authenticity is to rub one against front teeth. The harsh surface will most likely indicate a natural or a cultured one. A smooth surface will surely mean we have an imitation. 

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