My mom recently passed away, and when going through her boxes, I found several strands of pearls that belonged to my great,great grandmother. They are very beautiful, but how can I tell if they are good pearls or costume pearls, and how can I clean them? Any help would be appreciated, my friend told me about your website. Hope you can help.. Amanda J.
   
Dear Ms. Jordan
, 
Thank you for your interest in PurePearls.com- it’s always nice to know that our previous customers are talking about us!! J It sounds like you’ve found yourself quite the treasure if your pearls are the real deal, and I can give you a few tips on how to tell the difference between cultured and synthetic pearls.
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The very first thing that we are taught at GIA is to use your powers of observation. Simply studying the pearls up close will tell you quite a lot! Is there a subtle color variation, or are all the pearls exactly the same with no variance in overtone or luster? Is light reflected back at you at exactly the same rate pearl for pearl? If so, the chances are good that the pearls are synthetic. Remember, pearls are an organic gem- farmers can control a lot of things in the culturing environment, but the oyster is still a living being that will impart it’s own unique print on the pearl- nature is all the more beautiful for her subtle imperfections. We call it character.
J J  

Also keep an eye out for inclusions or blemishes- dents, flat spots, ridges, wrinkling of the nacre, pinpricks, light and dark areas of discoloration where conchiolin has accumulated irregularly. These are all indications that the pearls are cultured and not synthetic. Again, it is the subtle imperfections that will clue you in on the pearls’ origin.
 

Another tried and true method for determining whether a pearl is real is called the ‘Tooth Test’. Gently rub your front teeth on the surface of the pearl. If it feels slightly gritty, then the pearl is a real cultured pearl. This is because nacre, the organic substance that essentially is the pearl, is composed of tiny crystal platelets called aragonite. Each platelet is so tiny it is measured in microns! They are continuously stacked on top of each other in a somewhat concentric pattern- like an onion- by the oyster, forming layers of crystals that should feel rough on your teeth. Synthetic pearls do not have crystal platelets- they are very smooth, and will feel almost like plastic against your teeth. Remember to be gentle- a pearl’s surface rates 3 out of 10 on the Moh’s Scale, rather like Talc, and scratches easily. �
 
Lastly, keep in mind that the very first round, cultured pearls were not made available on the market until 1912 or so; if the pearls are older than that, they are natural pearls and should be treated with the utmost care! Round cultured pearls should all be very round- if some of the pearls are ovalish or drop-shaped, then I would recommend that you send them to a gemological laboratory for X-ray testing to determine if they are natural, or if they have a bead-nucleus inside.�
 
For cleaning, at this point all I can recommend you do is to take a clean, slightly damp cloth and gently rub the pearls down. If they are cultured Akoya pearls, then you will not be able to erase the Ivory tone that comes naturally with age. You may be able to get rid of some accumulated dirt, but the pearls will never be a true white again. Also, consider having them restrung by a jeweler that specializes in pearls- if the pearls have been stored in a trunk or jewelry bag for as many years as you think, then the silk thread will have undoubtedly undergone some deterioration! Most jewelers will charge about $20-25 per inch of pearls.�
 
The very last piece of advice that I have for you if the pearls turn out to be real cultured pearls is: wear them!! Wear them often! Pearls have a porous surface, and tend to dry out, losing some of their luster if kept for a long time in storage. After cleaning and restringing, it will be safe to wear the necklaces without fear of them breaking- wearing your beautiful pearls will help them to absorb some of your natural oils and will bring back some of their shine and glow!
 
I hope that these tips have been helpful, and if you have any other questions, please feel free to ask- I am always happy to be of assistance! Best of luck in your detective work, and have a great day!
 
Sincerely,
 Ashley McNamara

Vice President Sales, PurePearls.com  

Hello,
 
I am writing from Italy, and would like to know if all of your pearls come from China?
 Thank You,

Francisco
 

Dear Francisco,
 Thank you for your interest in PurePearls.com! Our Freshwater pearl inventory is all Chinese in origin; as far as saltwater Akoya pearls go, a rule of thumb to go by when dealing with any vendor that you come into contact with, be it online or in a brick and mortar retail location, is the vast, vast majority of the smaller Akoya pearls (sizes 6.0-7.5mm) that you can purchase today will be Chinese in origin.
 
The Japanese exclusively farm larger-sized Akoya pearls (sizes 7.5-9.5mm); they have mastered the science of culturing the larger sizes inside the small P. martensii oyster, which has trouble tolerating the necessarily large shell-bead nucleus- the mortality rate is quite high for these oysters simply due to the fact that the animal is not anatomically suited to producing pearls above 7.5mm- ultimately, the Japanese farmers find it more expedient and economically feasible to make these rare, large sizes their specialty.
 
Chinese farmers have been culturing fine quality Akoya in the smaller sizes for a few decades now, and have much cheaper costs of doing business than the Japanese. Often what happens is the Japanese import the Chinese product, and then exports them out internationally after tagging the pearls with the Blue Tag which reads Product of Japan. Since gemological laboratory reports are not able to definitively determine origin, and because Chinese farming and processing techniques have become so sophisticated and now rival Japanese farmers in terms of quality and workmanship, many unsuspecting consumers purchase small Chinese Akoya under the mistaken impression that their pearls were Japanese.

Question:  Why are Black Akoya pearls really dark blue? Thank you!  Linda R.Wisconsin  Answer:  Hi Linda, The majority of color treatments for enhanced Akoya pearls are done in the processing plants in Japan and Hong Kong, but in truth very little is known about the processes as the details are kept under lock and key by the processing technicians-turned-artists.   The production of modern dyes did not come into being until 1856, when the first synthesized organic dye was invented by Sir William Perkin. During an experiment to help his mentor create artificial quinine (a compound required for the treatment of malaria) he combined oxidized aniline and potassium dichromate.  Aniline is a chemical compound resulting from the distillation of the Indigo-yielding plant Indigofera anil, the name anil being derived from the Sanskrit nila: dark blue. Japanese pearl processors began sending their first cultured pearls for color enhancement to Paris in the 1920’s where the largest dye houses were located at the time. Although the method of dyeing was well known, the actual coloring agents employed remained a secret for decades.  Aniline dyes come in thousands of colors, but the most popular and traditional pigments for Akoya pearls are blue, purple, green and brown. The resulting pearl color is neither ‘black’ nor a true blue, green or purple, but rather a blackish-blue or blackish-green that is extremely distinctive.  The pearls are submerged in the dye, which is heated, until the pearls attain the right saturation levels. The porous surface of the pearl allows the dye to seep through the surface and penetrate the underlying crystalline and organic layers. There, the pigment circulates and then concentrates in the concentric conchiolin layers of the pearl. The darker conchiolin layers are able to absorb the dye easily over an immersion period of several weeks that ensures the correct color levels are attained and evenly distributed over the surface of the pearl.

Dear Amanda,

I am trying to decide between the two pairs of earrings shown on your website- they are Tahitian Baroques on dangle earrings, AA+ and AAA quality. What’s the difference between the two grades?

Thanks,
Rachel W.
Des Moines, IA

Dear Rachel,

In the world of Tahitian Baroque pearls, the difference between AA+ and AAA can be pretty noticeable! Because baroque pearls are noticeably off-round or tear-drop in shape (or at the far end of the spectrum a free-form shape that sometimes defies geometry!), the main differences fall into a couple of categories: Smoothness of the surface, Blemishing, Circling, Symmetry of Shape and Matching among others. Luster is also a very important factor for many pearl lovers, but there is only a very slight difference between the two grades.

AA+ quality pearls will be well-matched within a millimeter or so, and you can expect to see some inclusions. These will be in the form of dents, divots, pin prick-like spots, and light or darker areas of discoloration, folding of the nacre layers, ridges and depressions. The pearl itself should have no more than 10-15% of its total surface area blemished. Most likely, some circling will be present on the pearls (circling looks like rings or bands around the circumference of the pearl.).

AAA Quality pearls will be very well-matched with little variation between size and shape (again, the pearls should be matched within 1.0mm in size). The pearls themselves should be symmetrical and the surfaces will be very smooth with little to no circling present. AAA quality Tahitian baroque pearls should have no more than 5-10% of its total surface area displaying any blemishes. For baroque pearls, this means that if a pearl is 8.0mm in size you can probably expect to see an inclusion.

Additionally, I would like to take the time to point out that many connoisseurs of cultured pearls consider the growth characteristics of baroque shapes as a testament to that pearls’ unique nature; just like a finger print! Truly flawless pearls only come around once in a lifetime (unless you’re purchasing simulated pearls!), and we should be prepared as lovers of Nature to accept and treasure a pearls’ distinguishing marks as a testament to their origins and their authenticity.

While we work diligently to create gorgeous matches for earrings and strands, and employ pearls that will complement each other visually in terms of color, luster and shape that will delight the wearer, we ask all of our clients to be aware that there will always be variations, however subtle, between these one of a kind works of art from Nature, and to take joy in that individuality. Once you purchase a Tahitian Baroque pearl, it is truly your own!

I hope I have been helpful to you in determining which pearls would be best for you; I find that many of our clients are very satisfied with our AAA Quality, and I highly recommend them! Please feel free to contact me at anytime, and have an excellent day!

Best,

Amanda

Customer Question:  What are shell pearls. Do you sell these pearls? I looked at your multi-colored necklace and bracelet. Are they the shell?  They are soooo pretty. Thanks,  Julie Answer:  We do not carry shell pearls.  We only carry the finest cultured Freshwater and Saltwater pearls.  Shell pearls are actually a simulated, man-made pearl-jewelry-type that has been around for many, many years.  They are faux pearls.

Mallorca pearls are the most popular and oldest brand that comes to mind first.  The process involved in creating a Shell Pearl involves many steps and attention to detail in order to arrive at the finished product. Shell pearls are actually formed around a coated mother of pearl bead nucleus like a cultured pearl, to give it a round form.  The nucleus is then gradually coated with many layers of pulverized oyster shell, and a fish scale mixture called “essence d’orient” to give the pearls a more lustrous appearance.  Successive layers are applied to the nucleus and are set to dry and then polished to erase any bumps or imperfections. 

You can usually spot a shell-pearl necklace by its’ total surface perfection and uniformity.  They also have a very shiny surface that looks like it has lacquer on it.  The majority of cultured pearls that come from Freshwater mussels and Saltwater oysters will contain a flaw or blemish of some sort, just as any natural gemstone found in the earth will.  Nature does not create flawlessness in many of her treasures, which I believe should make them all the more unique and beautiful!  Shell pearls are of little value and are more of a costume jewelry.

Hi Everybody!

One of the most frequently asked questions that we hear at PurePearls.com is “What really determines a pearl’s size?”  There are quite a few reasons that we can delve into here, but the first (and biggest) reason is the size of the oyster itself!  For simplicity, we’ll deal with the cultured saltwater pearl oysters here and leave cultured Freshwater pearls for another day. The Akoya pearl producing oyster is the smallest of all saltwater producing mollusks, while the Tahitian and South Seas pearl oysters are the larger pearl producing types known today.   

The Akoya oyster Pinctada martensii reaches maturity at about 3 years old and grows to about 7cm long; not very large!  Due to its smaller size, this saltwater oyster can only accept one or two small bead nuclei implanted in the gonad (the animal’s reproductive organ) during the nucleation procedure, and produces smaller pearls in the 2.0-9.5mm size ranges, with pearls over 8.0mm considered very large and rare.  The colder northern waters that host P. martensii cause the animal to deposit nacre at a slower rate compared to their more exotic cousins creating thinner, more transparent aragonite platelets and a higher luster.  A reduced pearl growth timeline of 18 months also ensures that these pearls remain in the smaller size ranges.  

Black Tahitian pearls are produced by the black-lipped Pinctada margaritifera oyster (the Latin translation of margaritifera means “My Lovely”), which at maturity can reach up to a foot in length.  This means that the bead-nuclei used during the pearl culturing process can be much larger than that of the Akoya oyster, with many pearls ranging in size from 8.0-16.0mm with the occasional pearl reaching close to 20mm in size!  Commonly found in the warmer waters of French Polynesia, the pearls are nurtured carefully throughout their 2 year growth period to ensure the standard minimum of 0.8mm of nacre is deposited around the bead.  However, an average nacre thickness of 1.5-2.5mm is most commonly found and lends the pearls a satiny luster that is very pleasing. 

Lustrous Golden and White South Sea pearls from Australia and the Philippines round out the list.  These gorgeous pearls come from the oyster Pinctada maxima, of which there are two types: Silver-lipped and Gold-lipped.  Both oyster types can grow up to a foot in diameter.  As the largest oyster variety in the ocean, it can also accept larger shell bead nuclei.  Pearls will range in size from 9.0-20.1mm, with an average pearl size of 13.0-14.0mm!  The warm, clean waters of Australia and the Philippines allow P. maxima to deposit their nacre layers very quickly (the warmer temperatures speed up the oyster’s metabolism). Their 2 year growth period ensures a thick layering of nacre averaging between 2.0-4.0mm!  These thicker nacre layers are what endow the South Sea pearls their trademark soft, satiny glow that is renowned the world over.