Pearls
Pearls are the world?s most celebrated jewel.  They personify beauty, purity, class, and elegance.  This timeless jewel has been worn throughout history from Queen Elizabeth to Marilyn Monroe, from Grace Kelly to Uma Thurman.  

A Pearl is Born
All pearls are not created equal. A natural pearl is created by chance.  First, a grain of sand must find its way into an oyster or a mussel, where it is eventually coated with nacre.  With time,  this grain of sand evolves into a beautiful, rare pearl.   A natural pearl necklace could take years to complete due to the rarity and nature in which a pearl is formed.

Natural vs. Cultured

Natural
A natural pearl is formed when an irritant accidentally embeds itself into an oyster, which then forms deposits of nacre, creating a pearl.

Cultured
Forms the same way a natural pearl is formed, except the irritant is placed within the oyster by man.


Cultured Pearls

Akoya
Said to be the most popular of all the pearl types this pearl is found in the waters near Japan.  Their popularity is from the warm alluring glow they give off.  These pearls rarely grow more than 9 mm.

White South Sea Pearls
Considered to be the rarest, these beautiful pearls are found off the waters of Australia and Indonesia.  Generally ranging in size from 10mm to 20mm, because of their rarity and size they generally are the priciest.

Golden South Sea Pearls
These rich Golden colored pearls are rare.  Their color is exotic and presents a warm glow.  These pearls range in size from 10mm and up.

Keshi
Considered the ?seedless? pearl, it is formed without the power of man.  Ranging greatly in size they also range greatly in price.

Black South Sea or Tahitian Pearls
This exotic pearl can be found in the waters of the French Polynesia.
These pearls range from light to dark grey with a broad spectrum of overtone colors.  Their size varies from 10mm and up.

Mabe
Grown in Japan, Australia, Indonesia, and the French Polynesia,
their shape is a unique, hemispherical one.  They are great for earrings, rings, and specialized jewelry.

Burmese
These rare pearls are grown in large oysters off the coasts of Burma.  Their color is richer and warmer than South Sea Pearls.  Since they are so rare, the cost is greatly higher than those of other natures.


Freshwater
Grown in Japan, China, and the USA.
The new Freshwater Cultured Pearls from China changed everything that has stabilized the pearl industry for the past 80 years. In just a short 5-year period, China began producing high quality pearls that buyers thought were only available in Japan---and at a fraction of the cost. China's clear, fresh water is the perfect environment for growing quality pearls.

China began producing inexpensive off shape tissue nucleated pearls over thirty years ago, but it was not until the last few years that high quality round pearls began to appear. Learning how to improve production techniques, they steadily began improving their crops, creating larger, rounder and brighter pearls than ever thought possible.

Some of the superior attributes of these pearls are:
     ? The highest nacre (the pearl skin deposited around the nucleus) to nucleus ratio of any pearl on the market.
Many pearls exhibit 90% or more nacre surrounding the tiny tissue nucleus. High amounts of nacre increase the quality and durability of pearls, and allow for a high luster that discriminating buyers appreciate.
     ? Spectacular ranges of natural colors are miraculously produced, including lavender, pink, plum, purple, cocoa, peach and tangerine shades. From pastels to intense colors, China has created a new "pearl palette" to compliment all of the fashion colors in existence.
     ? A new cost structure for pearls, allowing for the first time in history for affordable pearls to be available in high quality. Combined with the lowered labor costs in China, and the elimination of a costly bead nucleus, fine Chinese pearls sell for a fraction of their Japanese counterparts in larger sizes, and smaller sizes in off round shapes can compete with price ranges of costume jewelry.
     ? Considered by many to be the finest matched necklaces on the market, China exceeds other pearl supplier?s ability to create necklaces with little or no variation between pearls.

Characteristics of Pearls

Size
Size isn?t a quality factor but rather a price factor.  Size is controlled by the thickness of the nacre and the size of the implanted nucleus.  As a pearl becomes bigger, it also becomes rarer, therefore, the price increases.

Shape
Typically, pearls come in 8 different shapes: round, drop, button, oval, semi-round, circle, baroque, and semi-baroque.  The rounder the pearl, the more rare and expensive they become, though pearls that aren?t perfectly round are still luxurious and only cost a fraction of the price.

Color
Unlike gemstones, defining the color of a pearl is much harder.  Pearls can have undertones of silver, white, cream, rose, green, dark creams, and gray.  They also come in every color in between; black, white, gold, pink, etc.

Luster
The luster of a pearl is considered the most important quality factor.  It can be defined as the quality of nacre, not quantity.  Luster is the radiant light that beams off the surface of the pearl.   High luster pearls usually have a thick nacre coating and have a deep vibrant glow.  Low luster pearls have very little nacre coating and appear chalky and dull.  

Complexion
Just like gems, the surface of a pearl is extremely important.  Considered the second most important quality factor, it refers to the amount and various kinds of imperfections a pearl might have. Some imperfections a pearl may have are pits, spots, discoloration, wrinkles, or cracks; any of which can greatly affect the value.