Care of Pearls: Wipe pearls with a damp soft cloth.

Colors: Permanent color enhancements bring a varied spectrum to pearls. This is done through heat, laser or irradiation technologies.

Shapes: Whatever shape you put into the mussel or oyster, it sees it as an irritation and covers it with its nacre.

Type: At present we use Freshwater Cultured Pearls from China. China produces most of the Freshwater Pearl Market. Additionally, Saltwater pearls are grown in Australia, Tahiti & the South Pacific.

Natural: Natural is used to describe colors like white, black, peach and pink. Natural is also used to describe pearls that are formed from a grain of sand (Keishi Pearls, a byproduct of pearl farming.)

Clasps: We sometimes use magnet clasps so if you have a pacemaker research has shown that magnets have an effect on these devices. Most persons who have pacemakers know this, and I have a number of clients with pacemakers who have tested the magnets clasps and have found no effect. This warning comes with the magnets and we pass it along.

Definition: A white or grey mass, formed by an oyster, and prized as a gem for its luster. Pearls are nacreous, made of mother of pearl (nacre). But not all pearls are nacreous, and not all come from oysters. A more precise definition for a pearl is a calcareous body, composed of concentric layers around a central nucleus, and organically produced by a living mollusk, a soft bodied invertebrate animal bearing a hard external shell. In most cases, a pearl is the mollusks response to invasion by a foreign body; the creature coats the invader to lessen the irritation.

Properties of Pearls

The Intensity of a pearl’s luster depends on a number of properties;

Surface: Pearls with cracked or pitted surfaces have low luster.

Thickness of Nacre: Among pearls of a single type, the thicker the nacre the higher the luster.

Structure of the nacre: Pearls in which the nacreous crystals are well formed and aligned will sow the highest luster.

The Orient: Is best defined as the iridescence or the play of rainbow colors across the surface of the pearl. It differs from luster, although the two terms are sometimes used interchangeably.

Luster: is explained by the reflection of light while the orient is determined by the refraction and dispersion of light.

Hardness: Hardness is described as how easily one substance scratches another. In this respect, pearls are relatively soft compared to other gemstones. In everyday terms a pearl can be scratched by a knife blade or a piece of glass but not by a fingernail.

Strength: Pearls are relatively strong and cannot be crushed. The strength is due to both their composition and Shape.

Color: Pearls come in nearly every color of the rainbow. Both naturally and treated.

Size: In nucleated pearls, the size of the pearl also depends on the size of the inserted bead and length of the culture period. Some of the largest pearls on the market today are South Sea pearls, produced by Pinctada Maxima in Australia, Indonesia & The Philippines. They generally range from 10-18, but have reached 24 millimeters.

Shape: A pearl’s shape, whether cultured or natural, originates in the shape of its nucleus. The most prized shape being Spherical, called ‘round’ in the pearl industry. A perfectly round pearl should roll in a straight line.

Shapes & Characteristics

Rounds & Semi Rounds: Spherical in appearance.

Potatoes: Resemble corn kernels.

Button Pearls: Rounded tops and flattish bottoms.

Keishi pearls: Also know as a Chance pearls. The term is derived from Japanese, meaning poppy seed. A by-product of pearl farming and tend to have a high degree of orient. One of the main Baroque pearls on the market today.

Baroque: Pearls with irregular shapes.

Circle: Characterized as thickened rings around pearl. Historically known as Rings of Love.

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