Pearl and precious…are they not two closely related terms, we always relate a pearl to something invaluable, something beautiful, something pleasant and lovely to look at. Pearls are definitely beautiful gifts of Mother Nature, truly a gift to treasure and nurture, a gift that needs to be received and taken care of with love and wisdom. One needs to have a thorough knowledge about these priceless gems before trying to embark on any business venture or probably even buy them for some special purpose so that you do not get deceived with artificial gems.

Creation of pearls – A scientific insight

When a parasite or a piece of organic matter gets embedded in the tissue of a mollusk or an oyster, the mantle tissue begins secreting nacre which gradually surrounds the small object and begins to form a number of layers on it which eventually results in the formation of a pearl. Nacre is a composite material, composed of hexagonal crystals of Calcium carbonate arranged in continuous parallel layers. The layers are separated by sheets of elastic bio polymers. The combination of the crystals and thin layers of biopolymers make the final product strong and resilient. Pearls may come from salt or freshwater sources and saltwater pearls are considered to be of higher quality than freshwater pearls.

Real Pearls and Cultured pearls

We need to understand the two basic types of genuine pearls – real pearls and cultured pearls. In the past, pearls were truly priceless and the cost could actually be compared to real estate prices. This was because thousands of oysters and shells needed to be searched before one could find a pearl. So these could be termed as real pearls.

But after research and after scientists discovered how exactly a pearl was created, they began to introduce a bead into the oyster or shell and return it to the water. When these oysters are later harvested, one could find that there are several layers formed on the object and a pearl has been formed. These pearls are termed as cultured pearls.

World’s best producer of pearls:

If you base your findings on history, the world’s best pearls came from the Persian Gulf especially Bahrain, all of them were natural pearls discovered by divers and had a special luster because of the unique mixture of salt and freshwater in the area. Once the oil reserves were discovered the pearl industry abruptly ended in the 1930’s. Pearl culture was discovered by a Japanese man by name Kokichi Mikimoto in the year 1893 and from then on Japanese have become experts the field of seeding oysters and can be considered as the world’s best producer of pearls today. 80-85% of the world’s pearls come from Japan with Australia and China following close behind.

Pearls – Standard Colors

We are all familiar with elegant white pearls but do pearls come in other colors too? Ye s actually they do. Natural and cultured Pearls come in white, cream and pink colors as well as silver, black and gold. Deep lustrous black pearls have been found in the South Sea near Australia and are probably as costly as they are rare.

Precious Gems – How much do they cost

Pearls are available in different prices and ranges depending on a number of factors. You will pay more for a natural pearl than a cultured pearl, you may pay more for a black pearl than a white or pink pearl and so on. Pearls may begin from prices of $25-30 and even range up to $2.3 million, hence a lot depends on the size, luster, shape, color, surface perfection and thickness in nacre. The larger the size of the pearls, the more precious it is and the cost is obviously higher. It is difficult to make sure that a pearl is created perfectly round, hence spherical pearls are very rare and are more costly.

The more the thickness of the nacre again is directly proportional to the cost of the pearl.

Standard sizes of pearls:

A pearl’s size is generally measured in millimeters. Sizes range from less that 1 millimeter to maybe around 25 millimeters in diameter. Most pearls are in the 7 to 7.5 mm range.

Fresh water and South Sea Pearls

South sea pearls are probably the largest commercially harvested cultured pearls in the world. These pearls are harvested in the South Sea, lying between the northern coast of Australia and the southern coast of China and are native to the oyster the pinctada maxima. The oyster grows up to 12 inches in diameter hence pearl sizes range from 9 mm to 20 mm. Unique characteristics of the south sea pearls are that the nacre is unusually thick, luster is satiny and fine and come in elegant colors like white, silver and golden. Fresh water Pearls may not be as round or have the luster as saltwater pearls but are definitely of a lesser cost and come in different colors. Fresh water pearls have solid nacre and hence are wear resistant and durable.

Buy pearls online:

We have moved from the days of searching for the rarest pearls and paying high prices to the days of logging in to technology and buying the pearl of your choice…what a wonderful transition. While going for online shopping of pearls ensure that you get appraisal certificates and that you are buying from well known companies. This will make sure you do not end up with fake pearls.

Some of the sites worth shopping at are:-

www.bluenile.com It is a well known, highly popular jewelry website for online purchase of pearl bracelets, earings, necklaces and so on. You can also get a lot of information about pearls on the site.

www.pearloutlet.com This is a famous website for online purchase of pearls and comes with a 60 day money back guarantee and appraisal certificated. If you are not satisfied you may return the item.

www.premiumpearl.com – Premium Pearl specializes in cultured pearls offering pearl necklaces, bracelets, earrings etc.

Purchase of real pearls – where to buy

A pearl is a real precious commodity especially because it is entirely formed inside a living being and the only gem to be created that way. Today most pearls are cultured pearls and a real pearl is very expensive and very rare to find. Hence if you really would like to purchase a real pearl, buy only if it comes with an official gemological x-ray certificate, proving that it is natural and endorses its quality.

While dealing with pearls, be sure to do your homework and research well so that you do not end up with an imitation jewelry. Pearls are priceless and they need to be dealt with care especially during purchase.