Pearls are the only gems created by living nature, arising mainly from Mother of Pearl oysters, but there are many other species of bivalves (oysters) can produce pearls, the beads themselves are the product of one reaction become entrenched in a foreign within the soft body of this mollusc, the foreign particles cause discomfort and irritation to the mollusk and in response, begins to secrete a substance of the same material that comprises the shell, to cover the particles and minimize the inconvenience, this results a product with a fine sheen and soft internal glow that is not matched by any other gem of the world.
Have been highly valued by all peoples since ancient times, because of its rarity, its delicate beauty and extraordinary value. Pearls have size, color and shape variables. The value of the pearl is determined by various criteria, but the most important are:
A desirable shape, (perfect spheres or "tears") ,
The rarity of its color (almost the entire range between white and black)
The size, (big is better)
Although the aesthetic and size are critical in assessing a pearl, the final price depends mostly on fashion trends.
Types of Pearls
AUSTRALIAN CULTIVATED PEARL:
This is a unique type of pearl. Grown in saline waters of northern Australia, Indonesia and Philippines, have a range of color that ranges from white to black. But iridescence is noted for its silver and gold, with sizes between 9 and 28 mm. Can have a perfectly round shape to a slightly asymmetric and a half high gloss. The price varies depending on the brightness, the growing time is between 3 and 8 years.
TAHITI CULTIVATED PEARL:
Are grown in temperate waters of the French Polynesia, produced by 'Pinctada Margaritifera' saltwater oyster. A wide range of colors from gray, green, orange, gold, blue and black. The black color is unique, has a high gloss and reach 13 mm. The cultivation time is 2 to 3 years. The pearl of Tahiti is expensive because its unique and not common.
AKOYA'S CULTIVATED PEARL:
Akoya cultured pearls are a type of saltwater pearls from Japan. They are round, symmetrical and measure between 6 mm and 8.5 mm. This pearl grows slowly and shines more than freshwater cultured pearls, the color is soft and is in the range from cream to pink. Its size is above 7 mm and is very round.
FRESH WATER CULTIVATED PEARL:
Are grown on farms in lakes and rivers in China. Has asymmetrical shape, medium to high gloss, and measure between 3.5 mm and 7.0 mm. The freshwater cultured pearls are mostly white, but can be pink.
How to care for and protect your pearls?
With very few recommendations, you can keep your pearls as the day they bought or received the gift.
Being an organic material, we can not say that a pearl will be intact for a time without limit, because there is an aging population. But we can say that a cultured pearl has a duration of 150 years on average. Although there are pearls that can have a centuries old and retain all its beauty.
There are factors that contribute to conservation and the deterioration of the cultured pearls. For example, extreme humidity or dry environments are not good. Isolate pearls from harder objets, such as gemstones and other metals. Not be exposed to the body sweating, or perfume (contains alcohol), etc. To clean a pearl use a mild soap. buscar
