Pinctada Fucata

White & Golden South Sea
(Grown in Australia, Myanmar, Indonesia and the Phillipines)
White and Golden South Sea cultured pearls are grown in large tropical or semi-tropical oysters in Australia, Myanmar, Indonesia and other Pacific countries. They generally range in size from 10mm to 20mm and command premium prices because of their relative rarity and large size.


Pinctada Maxima

Tahitian
(Grown in French Polynesia)
Tahitian cultured pearls are grown in a variety of large pearl oysters found primarily in French Polynesia. Their beautiful, unique colors (which can range from light grey to black, and green to purple) and large size can command very high prices.


Pinctada Margaritifera

Freshwater
(Grown in Japan, China, and The United States)
Freshwater pearls can be found in bays and rivers throughout the world. They are easily cultivated from freshwater mollusks in China, Japan and the United States. Many are less lustrous than salt water cultured pearls but their low price, unique shapes and colors have made them popular jewelry items in recent years.

Hyriopsis Schlegeli

Mabe
(Grown in Japan, Indonesia, French Polynesia and Australia)
Mabe pearls are hemispherical cultured pearls grown against the inside shell of an oyster rather than within the oyster’s body. They generally are used in earrings or rings which conceal their flat backs.

Pteria Penguina




A pearl begins its life when a foreign object enters the body of an oyster and cannot be expelled.

The birth of a pearl is truly a miraculous event. Unlike gemstones or precious metals that must be mined from the earth, pearls are grown by live oysters far below the surface of the sea. Gemstones must be cut and polished to bring out their beauty. But pearls need no such treatments to reveal their loveliness. They are born from their mother oysters with a shimmering iridescence, luster and soft inner glow that is unlike any other gem on earth.

A natural pearl begins its life as a foreign object, such as a parasite or piece of sand, that by accident lodges itself in the oyster’s soft inner body where it cannot be expelled.

In an effort to ease this irritant, the oyster’s body takes defensive action. The oyster begins to secrete a smooth, hard crystalline substance around the irritant in order to protect itself. This substance is called nacre.

As long as the irritant remains within its body, the oyster will continue to secrete nacre around the irritant, layer upon layer. After a few years, the irritant will be totally encased by the silky crystalline coatings. The result — the lovely and lustrous gem called a pearl.

But how precious pearls are formed from what an oyster regards as merely protection against irritation is one of nature’s most prized secrets. For the nacre is not just a soothing substance. It is composed of microscopic crystals, each crystal aligned perfectly with each other so that light passing along the axis of one is reflected and refracted by the other to produce a rainbow of light and color. Cultured pearls are formed by oysters in almost an identical fashion. The only difference is that man surgically implants the irritant — a small piece of polished shell — in the oyster rather than leaving it to chance, then steps aside to let nature and the oyster create their miracle.

To protect its soft body against intrusion, cells within the oyster secrete a smooth and hard substance, called nacre, around the irritant.


After two to three years of depositing layer upon layer of nacre over the irritant, if the oyster survives and conditions are just right, a beautiful pearl is formed.

Sorting
Unlike imitation pearls, no two cultured pearls are ever exactly alike. Each has its own unique combination of size, shape, lustre and color. The art of assembling pearls in a necklace, a pair of earrings or other jewelry calls for refined skills in blending similar looking pearls together so they look like they match. Here, pearls are sorted by experts with highly trained eyes and years of experience.

Drilling
Drill holes must be made with care and precision. An inexperienced operator can split or ruin pearls with careless handling. A hole drilled even slightly off-center can ruin a necklace or piece of jewelry that depends upon the symmetrical assembly of its pearls. This stage in the preparation of cultured pearls for jewelry is a very delicate operation.

 

Stringing and Blending
Because no two cultured pearls are ever exactly alike, pearl dealers must cull through about 10,000 pearls to find enough that are so closely matched that they can be assembled together to make a single necklace. Here, closely matching pearls are blended to be strung into a beautiful necklace

When selecting a strand of cultured pearls, it’s best to buy them from a knowledgeable jeweler. Your local jeweler can explain how to make the most of your purchase and insure that you are getting the best quality pearls within your price range.

You can evaluate any piece of cultured pearl jewelry on the following quality factors. But always remember that the better the quality of pearls you select, the more beautiful and valued they will be over time.

1. LUSTRE: Lustre is a combination of surface brilliance and a deep seated glow. The lustre of a good quality pearl should be bright and not dull. You should be able to see your own reflection clearly on the surface of a pearl. Any pearl that appears too white, dull or chalky indicates low quality.

   2.  SURFACE: Cleanliness refers to the absence of disfiguring         spots, bumps or cracks on the surface of a pearl. The         cleaner the surface of the pearl, the more valuable.

   3. SHAPE: Since cultured pearls are grown by oysters in     nature, it is very rare to find a perfectly round pearl. However,     the rounder the pearl, the more valuable it is. Baroque pearls,     which are asymmetrical in shape, can be lustrous and     appealing, and often cost less than round pearls.

   4. COLOR: Cultured pearls come in a variety of colors from    rosé to black. While the color of a pearl is really a matter of the    wearer’s preference, usually rosé or silver/white pearls tend to    look best on fair skins while cream and gold toned pearls are    flattering to darker complexions.

   5. SIZE: Cultured pearls are measured by their diameter in    millimeters. They can be smaller than one millimeter in the case    of tiny seed pearls, or as large as twenty millimeters for a big    South Sea pearl. The larger the pearl, other factors being equal,    the more valuable it will be. The average sized pearl sold today    is between 7 and 7-1/2 millimeters.

Cultured pearls are relatively soft compared to other gemstones and precious metals. So it is important to take special care of your pearls to ensure they will remain bright and beautiful for generations to come.

Cosmetics, perfume and hair spray all contain chemicals that can dull the lustre of a pearl over extended periods of time. Even acids contained in body oils and perspiration can work to damage lustre in the same way.

Therefore, it is best to put your pearls on after applying makeup, perfume and hair spray. Wiping the pearls with a soft damp cloth after you wear them will ensure that they remain free from any harmful build-ups of these compounds. Periodically, the pearls should be washed with a mild soap.

Always keep your pearls separated from hard jewelry items, such as metals and other gemstones, to prevent them from scratching your pearls. Pearls are best kept in a soft cloth pouch or a separately lined jewelry box.

If you wear your pearls several times a week, it is best to take them back to your jeweler for re-stringing about once a year to prevent strand breakage. When having your pearls re-strung, many experts advise silk thread. However, nylon thread is an acceptable alternative. Make sure that the string is knotted between each pearl. Individual knotting will prevent all the pearls in a strand from falling off should a break occur. Knotting also prevents the pearls from rubbing against each other.


ABOUT SOUTH SEA PEARLS

The pristine environment of the South Seas is the natural home of the world's largest oysters, Pinctada Maxima, mother of the giant South Sea pearl. The pinctada maxima is rarely found in nature, and its pearl is rarer still. The most successful way to harvest them is through careful cultivation at remote and unpolluted pearl farms. The Pinctada Maxima oyster is the largest of oysters and produces the finest quality white and gold cultured South Sea pearls but it is rare and difficult to grow. Like all oysters the Pinctada Maxima protects its delicate body by coating the interior of their shells with layers of nacre or mother of pearl. So when a spherical neucleus is introduced into the oyster shell, the oyster coats this intruder with the same smooth, lustrous and opalescent material. Layer by layer this protective nacre builds up to create the giant pearls, which we find so alluring. A great deal of time and experience as well as tender loving care goes into protecting the oyster and the pure environment it needs to produce these queen of gems.

The Black Tahitian pearl is produced by the Black Lipped oyster (Pinctada Margaritafera) which is found in the waters of French Polynesia. Natural Black Tahitian pearls are extremely rare since only one out of about 10,000 oysters contains a pearl. The Black Lipped oyster was nearly harvested to extinction in the early 1900's. These oysters were in high demand primarily for the Mother of Pearl which is part of the oyster shell.
Fortunately, the Black Lipped oyster was rescued and is now raised in sea farms in French Polynesia.