Pearls, Pearls and if there is time more Pearls, as you can tell Pearls are a passion of mine and one of my favorite gems to create with They are the only gemstone formed within a living creature. Have been a symbol of wealth and sophistication. So now to look at some of the differences in pearls. Natural vs. Cultured. A natural pearl is actually begun as a foreign object inside an oyster’s inner body. In response to the intrusion the oyster goes into defensive mode and secretes nacre, a substance to protect itself from the object. Adding layer after layer till a beautiful pearl is formed. Natural pearls are very rare about one in 10,000 will produce a single natural pearl. Just recently, a double strand of 68 perfect natural pearls, know as the “Baroda Pearls” was auctioned at Christie’s Auction House for $7 million. Google “Baroda Pearls” to see a picture of these wonderful pearls. So because of the rarity of natural pearls, most of today’s pearls are cultured. In 1916 Kokichi Mikimoto patented the process of culturing pearls inside Akoya oysters in Japan. This then made pearls affordable to the public and the pearl craze began. Now cultured pearls are still actual pearls, similar in most ways to the natural pearl. The only difference is a small piece of polished shell or mantle tissue is introduced by hand to the oyster. The process from there is the same, to creating a pearl. Cultured pearls come from saltwater or freshwater mollusks. The freshwater ones can be found in lakes, rivers, ponds and other bodies of freshwater. The majority of the freshwater pearls today come from china. The Saltwater pearls come from oysters that live in the oceans and are in protected waters such as lagoons, The Akoya, South Sea and Tahitian pearls are the best know and are certainly deep sea treasures in there own right.
Part one of Pearls, Pearls and if there is time more Pearls.
Written by Diane Brixey, Pearl lover and self taught jewelry artist. Her work can be seen at
www.totaldelights.com
