Freshwater Cultured Pearls
Although originally produced in Japan, 90% of the world’s Freshwater Pearls now come from China. Most grow in sizes from 2.0 to 5.0 mm and are irregularly shaped. With improved farming techniques, however, China now produces round white Freshwater Pearls in sizes up to 9.5 mm. Many Freshwater Pearls are dyed in a variety of popular hues. Unlike other Pearls on the market, Freshwater Pearls typically do not come from an oyster at all. In China, most such pearls are farmed in varieties of freshwater mussels, including Hyriopsis and Cristaria. Each shell can produce up to 100 pearls simultaneously.
Freshwater Cultured Pearl Care
Pearl are not for everyday wear, and one should take care when wearing them. Avoid exposure to the heat and protect from scratches and harsh blows. Avoid contact with chemicals, especially perfumes, perspiration, and hair sprays. To clean, wipe gently with a moist cloth.
Source: Paspaley
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Akoya Cultured Pearls
Akoya Cultured Pearls
Pearls have been an object of desire from the first days of human society. Throughout Asia and the Mediterranean, Pearls were treasured not only for their rare beauty but as symbols of harmony, purity, and wisdom. Down through the centuries, man’s desire for the perfection of Pearls has not waned. The exotic, lustrous skin of Pearls, smooth and silky to hand and eye, embodies all that is feminine.
Pearls are truly a gift of the sea. Born from the Pinctada fucata martensii oyster, Akoya Pearls are what people typically imagine when thinking of a pearl. Made famous by Kokichi Mikimoto, who helped perfect modern-day pearl culturing techniques, Akoya cultured pearls grow between 2.0 and 9.0 mm. They are primarily farmed in salt water through central and southern Japan and along the coast of China.
The overtones of the average Akoya Pearl range from a pale cream to a pinkish white, champagne and silvery grey. These overtone hues, when properly matched to the complexion of their owner, are what make Pearl jewelry a unique statement of perfection and grace.
No other jewel makes the transition from day to evening as smoothly as Pearls. In addition to the classic strands and stud earrings, creative new designs are helping to bring these alluring gems to the forefront of the fashion world. Either by themselves or paired with other colored gems, lustrous Akoya Pearls offer glamorous sophistication and timeless elegance.
Quality Information:
A: Color range- white, pinkish or creamy; lightly blemished; good shape; good luster
AA: Color range- white, pinkish or creamy; clean; good shape; good luster
AAA: Color range- white, pinkish, or creamy; clean; good shape; high luster
Black (dyed): Color range- grey to black with pink, green, or blue or purple overtones
Aokya Cultured Pearl Care
Pearl are not for everyday wear, and one should take care when wearing them. Avoid exposure to the heat and protect from scratches and harsh blows. Avoid contact with chemicals, especially perfumes, perspiration, and hair sprays. To clean, wipe gently with a moist cloth.
Source: Paspaley
Pearls have been an object of desire from the first days of human society. Throughout Asia and the Mediterranean, Pearls were treasured not only for their rare beauty but as symbols of harmony, purity, and wisdom. Down through the centuries, man’s desire for the perfection of Pearls has not waned. The exotic, lustrous skin of Pearls, smooth and silky to hand and eye, embodies all that is feminine.
Pearls are truly a gift of the sea. Born from the Pinctada fucata martensii oyster, Akoya Pearls are what people typically imagine when thinking of a pearl. Made famous by Kokichi Mikimoto, who helped perfect modern-day pearl culturing techniques, Akoya cultured pearls grow between 2.0 and 9.0 mm. They are primarily farmed in salt water through central and southern Japan and along the coast of China.
The overtones of the average Akoya Pearl range from a pale cream to a pinkish white, champagne and silvery grey. These overtone hues, when properly matched to the complexion of their owner, are what make Pearl jewelry a unique statement of perfection and grace.
No other jewel makes the transition from day to evening as smoothly as Pearls. In addition to the classic strands and stud earrings, creative new designs are helping to bring these alluring gems to the forefront of the fashion world. Either by themselves or paired with other colored gems, lustrous Akoya Pearls offer glamorous sophistication and timeless elegance.
Quality Information:
A: Color range- white, pinkish or creamy; lightly blemished; good shape; good luster
AA: Color range- white, pinkish or creamy; clean; good shape; good luster
AAA: Color range- white, pinkish, or creamy; clean; good shape; high luster
Black (dyed): Color range- grey to black with pink, green, or blue or purple overtones
Aokya Cultured Pearl Care
Pearl are not for everyday wear, and one should take care when wearing them. Avoid exposure to the heat and protect from scratches and harsh blows. Avoid contact with chemicals, especially perfumes, perspiration, and hair sprays. To clean, wipe gently with a moist cloth.
Source: Paspaley
Tahitian Cultured Pearls
Tahitian Cultured Pearls, often called “Black Pearls” are found in the turquoise-colored lagoons of French Polynesia in the South Seas. A jewel of the sea and a living symbol of purity and perfection, Tahitian pearls have long had a reputation of exceptional value and rarity.
Tahitian Cultured Pearls are born from the black-lipped oyster, known scientifically as Pinctada margaritifera. These giant tropical mollusks can live for 30 years in the wild, can weigh up to 11 pounds and can grow to reach a foot in diameter. In the 19th century, free-diving Polynesians braved sharks, depths of up to 130 feet, and the bends to harvest the valuable mollusks. Although only one in 15,000 oysters produced a natural pearl, the inner shell was so popular with the Europeans button industry that the resource was eventually devastated.
Today, a complex cultivation process has resurrected the pear industry in French Polynesia. The French Polynesian Government has strict regulations on pearl production which assures quality and value.
Quality Information:
A: Pearl has very good luster, and exhibits one visible imperfection or a few slight imperfections at the most, distributed over less than 10% of the surface.
B: Pearl has a good to medium luster, and exhibits some slight imperfections visible to the naked eye, distributed over 30% of the surface.
C: Pearl has a medium luster, and exhibits several slight imperfections visible to the naked eye, distributed over 60% of the surface.
Color Information:
Dark Grey Color: Medium Dark to Dark Grey
Medium Grey Color: Medium to Medium Dark Grey
Fancy Color: Overtones of pink, blue, gold, green, silver and reddish purple
Tahitian Cultured Pearl Care
Pearl are not for everyday wear, and one should take care when wearing them. Avoid exposure to the heat and protect from scratches and harsh blows. Avoid contact with chemicals, especially perfumes, perspiration, and hair sprays. To clean, wipe gently with a moist cloth.
Source: Paspaley
Tahitian Cultured Pearls are born from the black-lipped oyster, known scientifically as Pinctada margaritifera. These giant tropical mollusks can live for 30 years in the wild, can weigh up to 11 pounds and can grow to reach a foot in diameter. In the 19th century, free-diving Polynesians braved sharks, depths of up to 130 feet, and the bends to harvest the valuable mollusks. Although only one in 15,000 oysters produced a natural pearl, the inner shell was so popular with the Europeans button industry that the resource was eventually devastated.
Today, a complex cultivation process has resurrected the pear industry in French Polynesia. The French Polynesian Government has strict regulations on pearl production which assures quality and value.
Quality Information:
A: Pearl has very good luster, and exhibits one visible imperfection or a few slight imperfections at the most, distributed over less than 10% of the surface.
B: Pearl has a good to medium luster, and exhibits some slight imperfections visible to the naked eye, distributed over 30% of the surface.
C: Pearl has a medium luster, and exhibits several slight imperfections visible to the naked eye, distributed over 60% of the surface.
Color Information:
Dark Grey Color: Medium Dark to Dark Grey
Medium Grey Color: Medium to Medium Dark Grey
Fancy Color: Overtones of pink, blue, gold, green, silver and reddish purple
Tahitian Cultured Pearl Care
Pearl are not for everyday wear, and one should take care when wearing them. Avoid exposure to the heat and protect from scratches and harsh blows. Avoid contact with chemicals, especially perfumes, perspiration, and hair sprays. To clean, wipe gently with a moist cloth.
Source: Paspaley
Friday, November 23, 2007
The Birth of a Pearl
At last, the oysters are ready for harvest. Those that have survived such perils of the sea as typhoons, suffocating red tides, and attacks from predators are brought ashore and opened. If everything has gone well, the result is a lovely and lustrous and very valuable pearl.
Source: Cultured Pearl Information Center
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Pampered Oysters
Periodically, the pearl-bearing oysters are lifted from the sea for cleaning and health treatments. Seaweed, barnacles and other undersea growths that might impede feeding are removed from their shells. Then the shells are treated with medicinal compounds that discourage parasites from injuring the oysters.
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Pearl Rafts
The nucleated oysters are suspended from rafts such as these in order to provide the best growing conditions. Pearl technicians check water temperatures and feeding conditions daily at various water depths and then move the oysters up or down to take advantage of the best growing conditions.
Friday, November 2, 2007
Back to the Sea
The nucleated oysters are returned to the sea. There, in sheltered bays rich in natural nutrients, the oysters feed and grow, depositing lustrous layers of nacre around their nuclei. In winter, the oysters are moved south to warmer waters.
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