“There is just one piece of jewelry that is equally becoming to everybody, lovely with almost every ensemble, appropriate for almost any occasion, and indispensable in every woman’s wardrobe…long live the pearl rings, true or false, from our first date until our last breath!” Genevieve Antoine Dariaux
We could not agree more. The simple pearl is perfect for any occasion and any outfit. If you own only once piece of jewellery, let it be string of pearls.
There are a different types pearls and we are going to take a look at the different types of pearls you get that are used in jewellery.
Abalone is a univalve mollusk that produces iridescent natural pearls.
Aragonite is a form of calcium carbonate that makes up the nacre of the pearl.
Baroque pearls also refer to the shape of pearls. These are pearls that have the most character and are irregular in shape are called the baroque shape, these are also the cheapest of all the pearls because they are so oddly shaped. They are mainly used in pearl earrings and pearl rings.
Black pearls are naturally colored and come from the Black-lip or La Paz Pearl oyster or Rainbow-lipped oyster.
Conch Pearls are rare products produced by giant conches. They are pink pearls and they have a flame patter on their surface.
Cultured Pearls have some human interaction when it comes to how they are made. The shape of these pearls is manipulated by humans. They will open the shell and an object will be put inside to change the shape of the pearl depending on what they need. Nacre coats the object while it is in the shell and the quality of the pearl increases as the nacre thickens.
Dome is a pearl grown around a mother of pearl nucleus on the side of the shell.
Dredge is a device that used in the harvesting of pearls. It is dragged along the sea or riverbed.
Faux pearls are pearls that have been completely man made and not found in a natural environment. Some jewelers are using them in pearl rings however at e&e we only use natural pearls.
Freshwater Pearls are made with no human intervention. They are made in a mussel that is found in a freshwater pond or lake. Freshwater pearls are usually pastel in color, either white or pink and they are either round or teardrop shaped. These pearls are most commonly found in parts of the USA, Japan, and China. These the type of the pearls at e&e we use in pearl rings and other pearl jewellery
Grain is the unit of weight used for natural pearls One carat is equal to four grains.
Half-drilled are pearls used in rings or earrings and they are more expensive than the fully drilled pearls that are used in the manufacturing of necklaces.
Inlay is a term used for the decorative pater of materials like mother of pearl that are set into a surface.
Irritant is a small snail, worm, crab, or other small particle in a naturally formed pearl while in a pearl that has intervention from human it is usually a piece of mantle.
Luster refers to how radiant a pearl is. The price of the pearl increases with the luster.
Matching is a term that is used to refer to a strand where the pearls related to each other evenly.
Mother of Pearl refers to the coating that is found on the top of pearls. The coating functions as a protection from parasites and is not the same thing as the nacre. The Mother of Pearl is instantly recognizable thanks to its bright glow. There are also some mother of pearl rings at e&e jewellery’s website.
Mussel is a bivalve mollusk that produces the mother of pearl.
Nacre is a substance that gets layered around an irritant in a mollusk, it is not the same as the mother of pearl.
Pear shaped pearls are referred to as symmetrical shape pearls. They are also incredibly popular at pearl rings manufacturing.
Pearl. A pearl is a growth that forms inside the mollusks shell. It forms around irritants to protect the body of the creature.
Saltwater pearls are obviously found in saltwater, like the sea. Again, these pearls are made naturally in the oceans of the world. They can be found in the seas around Thailand, Australia, and China. There are a few types of saltwater pearls, namely the Tahitian. South Sea and Skoya Pearls. When it comes to pricing, the saltwater pearls are slightly more expensive than the freshwater pearl.
Spherical pearls refer to the shape of the pearls, these are round pearls and they look beautiful on pearl rings.
Surface quality is the quality of the surface of the pearl, doe it have any blemishes or not. Finding a pearl with no blemishes is near impossible.
Tahitian Pearls are the rarest of pearls and as the name suggests they are found in Tahiti but also in the French Polynesian islands. When it comes to the cooler, they are dark, in fact they are often black in color.
Three quarter pearls are flawed pearls that have been sanded on one side to remove the blemish.