Pearl Jewelry - Natural, Cultured or Imitation?

Gold Plated White Pearl Beaded Earring with MAANG TIKA (Click above image to expand)

A woman needs strings and strings of pearls. It has been said that of all the pieces of jewelry in the world, a pearl necklace is the only the thing that a woman should always have in her possession. As per Chinese folklore, pearls are the tears of a dragon and the Roman mythology calls it the tears of Venus.

Do you know the world's best pearls formerly came from the Persian Gulf, that is now Bahrain? The discovery of oil in the 1930s was unfortunate for the Pearl Industry. Those who dove for pearls sought prosperity in the economic boom offered by the oil industry. The pearl-producing waters in the Manama Gulf were ruined further with overfishing of oysters and the oil spill resulting in inevitable pollution.

Pearls have withstood the fashion’s test of time. Some years earlier, pearls were created only by the natural processes at the bottom of the ocean. But these days, the increase in artificial production through pearl farms has brought down the prices of pearls significantly. China, Japan, and India are the leading countries in the area of pearl production.

Did you know that out of 1000 cultured oyster hosts, how many produce top quality pearls?

• around 50% die or eject nucleus.
• another 25% produce pearls of marketable quality.
• about 20% are rejected pearls.
• only 5 % produce top quality pearls.

Pearls are of three types-

• Natural
• Cultured (Farm) pearls
• Imitation pearls

Natural Pearls form when an irritant by accident usually a parasite and not the grain of sand - works its way into an oyster, mollusk, or clam. A fluid is used to coat the irritant as a defensive option. Layer upon layer built up of this coating, called 'nacre', gets deposited until a lustrous pearl is formed.

A cultured pearl undergoes the same process. The only difference is that the irritant is a surgically implanted bead or piece of shell called ‘’Mother of Pearl’’. These 'seeds' or 'nuclei' are most often formed from mussel shells. Cultured pearls can be consistent in round shape as the pearl farmer has inserted a round shell bead inside a mollusk. Culturing pearls offers the opportunity to produce other shapes such as coins, sticks, squares, diamond, etc by inserting the desired shaped shell within a mollusk.

Quality cultured pearls require a sufficient amount of time. The culturing process usually takes several years. Mollusks must reach a mature age, which can take up to 3 years, and only then can be implanted or naturally receive an irritant. Once the irritant is in place, it can take up to another 3 years for a thick layer of nacre to be deposited, resulting in a beautiful, gem-quality pearl. Lower-quality pearls have often been 'rushed' out of the oyster too quickly (sometimes a year or less) and have a too-thin coat of nacre.

Gold Plated Pearl Bracelets Bangles (Click above image to expand)

Ocean mollusks make pearls that have a very smooth, even surface and are expensive while freshwater mollusks produce pearls tending to be very irregular in shape, with a puffed rice appearance the most prevalent that have a characteristic uneven surface and are inexpensive.

Other types of pearl shapes are KEISHA - having no nucleus resulting from the extra nacre produced by a mollusk and MABE or BLISTER pearls formed by inserting a half bead in the mollusk’s shell.

However, improvements in freshwater pearl farming techniques have narrowed that gap, with freshwater pearls now exhibiting great roundness and deep luster.

Of the pearls produced, about 5% are of sufficient true gem-quality for top jewelry makers, yet a pearl farmer invests a considerable amount of his time and money for every oyster that is farmed, whether a gem-quality pearl is produced or not.

Did you know that an oyster can produce only one or two pearls at a time while the mollusks used in cultivating freshwater pearls yield up to 50 pearls at once?

Pearl necklaces of various colors are available on the market. Smaller pearls in light hues of blue or pink are most suitable for young children, while the creamier, ivory-toned pearls are for the older women. Black pearl jewelry is very expensive since these pearls are rare.

Natural Fresh Water Black Pearl Necklace (Click above image to expand)

Pearls come in fully drilled, half-drilled and undrilled versions. Most pearls are naturally colored but some pearls are surfaced dyed and the dye will rub off with frequent wears.

When buying pearl jewelry consider if you want an entire set, or just a certain piece because if you buy the necklace, and then later decide to buy the bracelet/earrings they may not match as well as if you had bought it in a set.
               
Knotting of pearls, whether on a necklace or bracelet - pearl jewelry making is time-consuming. Each pearl is knotted with the knot drawn snug to the pearl. It should not be too tight, simply snug, or you risk the chance of breaking the cord. Typically, a tri-cord string is used and the size will depend on the size of the pearls and the size of the hole drilled through them.

• Stringing material is crucial to lend a long and good life of a piece of jewelry and is made
• Beading line (braided nylon thread) is strong and durable which can be knotted making it an ideal choice for working with crystal beads.
• Beading line is a pliable thread made of nylon that can be waxed or thread conditioned.
• Flexible beading wire for stringing wires is made by twisting many strands of filament type stainless steel wires together and coating with nylon.
• Leather cords are available in many colors and widths. Synthetic has now replaced leather.   

Metal wire comes in a range of widths. The most common wires to make fine beaded jewelry is either silver or gold plated.

Pearl necklaces come in five basic lengths:

• Choker (16’’)
• Princess (18’’)
• Matinee (24’’)
• Opera (32’’)
• Rope (46’’)

[Two Line White Shell Pearl and Stone Ring Necklace Earring (Click above image to expand)]

Do you know how to recognize Imitation Pearls?

Rub the pearl across your teeth. The layers of nacre on real pearls feel gritty whereas the imitation pearl will glide across the teeth.
Beads made from fine glass to look like pearls are a fashion option for costume jewelry.
Crystal pearls consist of a smooth, fine crystal core covered with a pearl coating. Plastic pearls are beads covered with opalescent paint (which usually chip off during wears) 

[Single Line White Shell Pearl, Colored Stone and Gold Plated Ball Necklace Earring (Click above image to expand)]

Other beads which go in designing and combining pearl with jewelry are-

• Crystal beads made from leaded glass are cut in a manner to produce maximum brilliance.
• Metal beads can be machine stamped either made by hand or molds and are found in precious and base metal varieties.
• Seed beads are obtained by cutting long, thin tubes of glass into tiny pieces of variable size.
• Semiprecious stone beads come in any imaginable shape.

How are imitation pearls made?

Normally a glass bead is dipped into a solution prepared using fish scales which imparts a thin coating to the glass bead which may wear off. Imitation pearls are referred to as Mallorca pearls assigned to the Island of Mallorca from where the imitation pearl industry sprung up and derived its name.