Pearl Information

Cultured Pearl

At the beginning of the 20th century, pearl farmers have discovered new techniques of pearl cultivation.  Today the majority of the pearls
sold on the market are cultured pearls.  Many people misconstrue the term cultured pearls to refer only to pearls cultured in saltwater
oysters.  In fact cultured pearls can be from saltwater of freshwater mollusks where a shell bead is introduced into the oyster or mussel and
the mollusk deposits layers of nacre around the bead to form the pearl. The process of making freshwater pearls are the same as salt water
pearls. The only difference is that freshwater pearls are from mussels while saltwater pearls are form oysters.

Pearl Shape

Many people consider round to be the most important factor to determine the value of a pearl. On the other hand the most valuable pearls
are often not round as size and luster are also very important.  A lustrous pearl is more that just shiny, it has a glow from within.

Pearl Luster

Luster is the light reflected off the internal layer of nacre which are formed as the secretion of protective layers of pearly substance by the
mollusk (oyster or mussel).  Thus the luster of a pearl depends on the quality of nacre and also its transparency, smoothness,  and the overall
thickness of the layers of nacre. A pearl coated only with a thin layer of nacre, its color, luster and appearance won't last many year. The
most important quality of a pearl is the thickness of its nacre.

Pearl Colors

There is no standardized system to grade the color of a pearl.  When judging what color of pearls to buy, one should look for what best
on you.

Pearl Size

The standard measurement unit of pearl size is expressed in terms of their diameter in millimeters (mm).  In the case of a non-round pearl,
its size is expressed in terms of their longest width and length in some cases depth.  In the pearl market, dealers increase the price  of the
pearls as size becomes larger.  Price usually jumps between pearl sizes tend to be uneven.  Pearl sizes reach the 7 to 71/2 mm mark or
higher increases more.  Pearl size below 5 mm range has the least effect on price.