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Choosing the Perfect Pearl
Never before have there been so many different types of pearls available to the potential buyer. The wide variety of pearls available today can meet almost every personal style, taste and budget; priced from a few dollars to tens of thousands of dollars per pearl.
Types of pearls include the extremely rare natural pearl, the freshwater pearl and the salt water pearl; the most precious of these being the Australian South Sea Pearl. From the waters off Western Australia’s far north coast, Australian pearls are harvested in/from the largest pearl producing oyster in the world, the Pinctada Maxima.
This oyster can produce silver, white and gold pearls with subtle hues of pink, blue and green. The thick and lustrous nacre coating that these oysters produce, results in pearls of the best quality, in sizes up to 18mm and rarely exceeding 20mm. These are the most beautiful, valuable and sought after pearls in the world. -
Keshi pearls are a natural bi-product of the South Sea oyster/pinctada maxima. They occur only by chance and grow into unusual and interesting shapes both small and large. They can be white, black and rarely gold. Each pearl is very unique and are truly amazing in their most natural form.
Tahitian or Black South Sea pearls comes from the black-lipped pearl oyster or Pinctada margaritifera found around the Tahiti archipelago. This pearl comes in different colour shades of grey with strong hues of aubergine to green and reaches a maximum size of 16mm.
Freshwater pearls grow almost exclusively in fresh water mussels farmed in ponds throughout China. This is the least expensive and easiest to mass produce of all pearls. A single mussel can produce up to 50 pearls (compared to the South Sea pearl at one per oyster). Freshwater pearls are rarely symmetrical and all freshwater pearls are treated to enhance their colour and lustre.
Akoya pearls are produced in a small marine pearl oyster, Pinctada fucata (or Akoya) famous in Japan but distributed widely throughout Asia and Australia. Generally referred to as ‘Mikimoto pearls’ after the famous pioneering pearl farmer, Kokichi Mikimoto, these pearls are small with a thin nacre coating which like the freshwater pearl is always treated and coloured. -
Shape
South Sea pearls are world renowned for their immense proportions. They are generally found in sizes between 7mm and 15mm. Pearls from 16mm to 20mm are rarely found which make them highly prized by connoisseurs.
A pearl grown on the oyster’s shell is referred to as a Mabé or half pearl. The most alluring of all the pearl shapes is the Keshi (or seedless pearl). Keshi pearls are a natural bi-product of the Pinctada oyster.
They grow as a result of a small grain of sand or piece of shell making its way into an oysters abdomen, thus being transformed into a lustrous pearl. Due to the unusual shape of the irritant these pearls are usually freeform or baroque in profile; each one fantastically unique.
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Size
South Sea pearls are world renowned for their immense proportions. They are generally found in sizes between 7mm and 15mm. Pearls from 16mm to 20mm are rarely found which make them highly prized by connoisseurs.
There are factors when pearls are farmed that determine their size, these being;
- The size and vitality of the mollusc that produced it.
- The size of the nucleus (the nucleus is the irritant, such as a bead in cultured pearls, at the heart of the pearl).
- The time that the mollusc spent underwater before being harvested.
Pearls as you can see are usually measured in millimetres, and are measured through their diameter. Of course, size isn’t the only factor to be considered when buying pearls. While you could pay off a small home if you were to sell a 20mm pearl, there are a number of other elements that make for a valuable pearl. For example, a clean, round 7mm pearl with good lustre is more valuable than a baroque pearl that is dull, even though it may be 9mm -
Lustre
The value of a pearl comes from the nacre’s ability to absorb, refract and reflect light. This quality is known as “orient” – the deep, inner glow and shimmering iridescence of pearls.
The very best pearls have a bright metallic lustre; where as poor quality pearls show very little reflectivity. Lustre will reflect vibrant pink and rainbow hues off the pearl’s surface and how well you can see your own reflection in a pearl indicates the quality of lustre. Good lustre has the gift to minimise other imperfections and its intensity is strongest when seen against its wearer’s skin.
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Complexion
Surface blemishes, or the lack thereof, play an important role in the valuation of pearls. Generally speaking, the fewer surface blemishes a pearl has, the more valuable it is. The term "blemishes" refers to any visible bumps, marks, imperfections or small indentations on the pearl's surface.
The nacreous layers of a pearl must be thick to enhance the quality and durability of the pearl. When assessing pearls, look at each pearl individually to judge its surface quality, as they are all different.
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Conclusion
A timeless beauty, a pearl will always be a treasured heirloom to pass on through generations. This charming gem of the sea will uplift the soul and is the only gem that is perfect as soon as it’s released from its hiding place. No polishing or cutting – it simply and truly.....is.
Every South Sea pearl purchased at Jewels of the Kimberley is authenticated by a certificate guaranteeing its natural colour and lustre.
Because of the scarcity and high price of genuine pearls, man has searched for methods of producing a similar-looking product in a factory or laboratory; but still the
humble mollusc in its watery undersea workshop defies man’s ingenuity.
No satisfactory substitute has yet been found.