| It’s hard not to notice the sudden
and large-scale reappearance of the popularity
of pearls. They seem to be everywhere we look.
However, there are so many different kinds of
pearls that it’s hard to determine what
we’re shopping for when we do decide to
head out and buy one of these beautiful gems.
Though there are many sub-categories, the place
to begin when identifying pearls is among natural,
cultured, and imitation pearls.
Most “real” pearls that we see in
stores, jeweler shops, and other locations are
cultured pearls. This means that they come from
pearl farms, where mollusks have been encouraged
by way of the right procedures and circumstances,
to produce a pearl, or sometimes several pearls.
In fact, cultured pearls are so universal, that
the term “pearl” almost always refers
to cultured pearls. Natural pearls and imitation
pearls will be identified as such.
Natural pearls are those which have been created
as an accident within oysters and mussels in the
“wild”. Humans will not have had any
part of their formation. However, these pearls
are so rarely fished today, that the only real
place to find a natural pearl is on a vintage
or antique string.
Imitation pearls are simply stones that have
been manufactured in order to make them look like
pearls. They’ve never been inside a mollusk
in their entire existence. Imitation pearls can
be made of many different substances such as glass,
plastic, and even shell, which are formed into
spheres, and polished with items such as lacquer,
fish scales, or plastic, for that pearly finish.
It takes only a 10x lens to identify if they are
imitation pearls. When in doubt, ask a jeweler
you trust.
Of course, pearls aren’t only identified
by the terms natural, cultured, and imitation.
The following are the different primary terms
used by jewelers and other pearl distributors,
to help you know what you’re looking at:
Natural Pearls
- Oriental pearls – fished from sea water
- River pearls – fished from inland rivers
and lakes
Cultured Pearls
- Beaded Cultured Pearls – Akoya (from
Japan), South Sea (large pearls from mainly
Australia and the Philippines), Tahitian (large
black pearls from Pacific Islands)
- Non-Nucleated Cultured pearls – Freshwater
(from rivers and lakes in Japan and China),
Biwa (from a lake in Japan), Keshi (small freshwater
pearls).
Imitation Pearls
- Terms such as Majoica should always be read
in the same way as “imitation”
This is not an complete table, but it gives you
an idea of the primary terms that you will see
in the pearl marketplace.
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