Pearls - What You Need to Know
Confused about Pearls? Don’t worry! You wouldn’t be the only one. There are many different kinds of Pearls available to us such as Freshwater, Cultured, Akoya, South Sea, Tahitian, Synthetic and of course Natural. It can be hard to understand or differentiate what the differences are between all these different kinds of Pearls, but we are here to help!
Lets get started with Natural Pearls! Natural Pearls are formed by Oysters or Mussels. The Pearl begins to form when something like a grain of sand or small crab randomly floats in to the shell of the Oyster or Mussel, this small grain will then be covered with shiny Nacre, and eventually become a beautiful Natural Pearl. Before 1910 when Pearls could be farmed, Natural Pearls were the only ones available. Now, however, Natural Pearl diving is banned in most of the world after significantly exhausting the worlds natural Oyster and Mussel beds. Natural Pearls are now almost exclusively traded as antiques as they are hugely valuable and extremely rare.
What about Synthetics? Synthetic Pearls are not real Pearls. They do, however, vary in quality and are made in a number of different ways to get them to look as much like the real thing as possible! They are also known as glass beads, plastic, shell-based, simulated, faux or imitation ‘Pearls’. If you own a Pearl necklace and are curious to know whether they are synthetic, a good way to tell this is to lightly rub two of your Pearls together. If they feel very smooth, they are almost certainly synthetic. If they feel slightly gritty, they are real.
Now Cultured! Cultured Pearls are Pearls that are made when a bead or piece of tissue is physically placed (by a person) inside any Oyster or Mussel shell. Once this is placed inside the shell, the process of creating the Cultured Pearl is the same as for a Natural Pearl. The tissue or bead is covered with shiny Nacre, and the Oysters and Mussels are unaware if the nucleus was put there or floated in randomly. Due to constantly improving farming techniques, the quality of Cultured Pearls is getting better and better.
So now we have cleared something up - Cultured Pearls are in fact real! With our help real Pearls can be formed in molluscs by placing Nucleus inside their shells, and then letting nature run its course! So now we know what Cultured Pearls are, lets find out a little more about them…
Firstly Freshwater! Freshwater Pearls are grown inside the Hyriopsis Cumingi Mussel in the freshwater lakes, rivers and ponds of China and some parts of the USA. These Pearls are unique as they are all Nacre, because they are cultured using a piece of another Mussels tissue rather than a bead. This means there is never any need to worry about Nacre thickness with Freshwater Pearls. Up to 40 Freshwater Pearls can be grown at a time! And they can be pink, white, peach or purple. Usually measuring between 1-12mm.
On to Akoya! Akoya Pearls are grown in a saltwater Oyster called the Pinctada fucata found in Japan, China, Vietnam and Thailand. Up to 5 Pearls can be grown in one of these Oysters! These Pearls are usually white or cream coloured but can also be pink, blue or silver. Akoya Pearls also usually measure between 5-9mm in diameter.
Lets talk about Tahitian! These Pearls are grown inside a saltwater Oyster called Pinctada Margaritifera in French Polynesia, Malaysia and Mexico. Tahitian Pearls can only be grown one at a time, however the Oyster can be nucleated again. This means that although this Oyster can only handle one Nucleus at a time, the process can be repeated with a new Nucleus being placed into the same Oyster at a later date. These Pearls can be black, green, grey, silver, purple and even orange. They are usually between 8-15mm.
Lastly, South Sea! South Sea Pearls are grown in a saltwater Oyster called the Pinctada Maxima. This is found in the waters off North Australia, Indonesia and the Philippines. Like Tahitian Pearls, only one Pearl can be grown at a time in these Oysters, however one Pinctada Maxima can be nucleated up to three times over a period of time. South Sea Pearls can be silver, golden, white or blue and usually measure between 9-16mm.
If you’re looking for Pearl Jewellery in Hertfordshire, please contact us anytime so we can explain all of your options!