From tahitian to south sea and beyond common pearl types

There are three main types of cultured saltwater pearls: akoya, Tahitian, and South Sea. Pearls can be cultured in fresh water as well. Each type has distinct characteristics, and each is very beautiful in its own way. Like with most things, individual tastes determine pearl preferences. Or you may have a taste for every pearl variety! The following is a look at the main types of cultured pearls.

Akoya Cultured Pearls

Timeless and popular, the akoya cultured pearl probably comes to mind when you think of pearls. (Because akoyas are easier to match than other pearls, they are a popular choice for bracelets and necklaces.) These saltwater beauties are typically small (they range between 2mm and 11mm; average is 6mm-7mm), and are most commonly white or cream-colored.

Akoyas are produced in the akoya oyster, or P. fucata, the smallest of the saltwater pearl oysters. The main animals used for saltwater pearl culturing in Japan, these small oysters typically reach only 8cm to 13cm in diameter, but they can accept multiple nucleations—up to five at a time. (If a larger pearl is desired, however, only one bead is inserted.)

Akoya pearls were the first round cultured pearls—called “spherical” in the jewelry trade—that were produced. Approximately 70%-80% of a given akoya crop is spherical. Typically white or cream with rosй or green overtones, akoyas typically grow from eight months to two years before they’re harvested. A jewelry staple, the simple and classic white akoya strand is a popular choice for brides.

Tahitian Cultured Pearls

If you think of black pearls, you probably picture a peacock-blue-sheened Tahitian. This is a desirable hue for a Tahitian cultured pearl, but they can also be black, gray or brown with hues of blue, green, and purple and overtones of rosй, green or blue. Marketed just since the 1970s, Tahitians are revered for their exotic colors and large sizes, and, as you may have noticed, their large price tag reflects their relative rarity.

Tahitian pearls are produced mainly in French Polynesia in the so-called “black-lipped” oyster, P. margaritifera, a large saltwater mollusk that can grow up to 12 inches in diameter, weigh up to 11 lbs. and live up to 30 years. These oysters produce pearls that reach 8mm-14mm in size in a growth period that takes about two years.

Tahitian cultured pearls typically show fair to excellent luster, and achieve this by natural means, unlike akoyas and freshwater cultured pearls, which require treatment—usually bleaching—to bring out their sheen. When Tahitians are harvested, farmers wash them in fresh water, dry them and lightly buff them, usually by tumbling the gems with ground salt and bamboo chips.

P margaritifera can be nucleated, or implanted, several times over its lifetime, but in general, the first harvest produces the finest quality pearl. Unlike its smaller cousin, the akoya, Tahitian cultured pearls are spherical less than half the time. For this reason, it may take years to find just the right pearls to match for a necklace. This is one of the reasons why a matched strand of Tahitian cultured pearls is so costly. Because they can often come in unique shapes, however, Tahitians are used by many jewelry designers in pieces that feature a single pearl. These pieces are uniquely beautiful and can be as breathtaking as a costly Tahitian strand.

South Sea Cultured Pearls

P. maxima, one of the world’s largest mollusks, produces the magnificent South Sea cultured pearl, generally the largest cultured pearl on the market. As its name implies, the South Sea cultured pearl is produced in Australia, Indonesia and the Phillipines. (The cultured pearl is the national gem of the Phillipines.) Most South Sea pearls are silver, white, or a gorgeous and coveted golden color. Farmers do not treat these pearls after harvest, although some wholesale buyers do so after export.

Unlike a freshwater pearl mollusk, P. maxima can accept only one nucleation at a time; however the oyster can be nucleated up to three times in its lifetime. After nucleation, the South Sea cultured pearl requires 20-24 months to grow, and typically produces a pearl around 13mm, although some reach 15mm or larger. Between 10%-30% of any given crop contains spherical pearls. Australia produces about 60 percent of the supply of South Sea cultured pearls, although Indonesian farmers produce more of the golden variety than Australian farmers do.

Freshwater Cultured Pearls

Unlike their saltwater cousins, freshwater pearls are produced in mollusks rather than oysters, and, like their name implies, are grown in ponds, lakes and rivers rather than in the ocean. Most of today’s freshwater cultured pearls are produced in China, and, thanks to improvements in culturing techniques, the round, high-luster gems of today are a vast improvement over the inexpensive, squishy rice-krispie-shaped gems typical of the freshwater crop of yesteryear. Indeed many experts maintain that today’s freshwater cultured pearls rival the beauty of saltwater cultured pearls—a far cry from the freshwater pearl’s humble reputation from the not-so-distant past.

Freshwater cultured pearls are produced in mussels belonging to the family Unionidae. Most are grown in China, yet the United Sates produces its fair share. In fact, the mother-of-pearl beads used to induce the pearl growing process worldwide are made from ground American mussel shells.

Many freshwater pearls are nucleated, or implanted, with mantle tissue only, which is taken from a donor mussel. Because they do not contain a starter “bead,” tissue-nucleated freshwater pearls are 100% nacre. This gives them a beautiful luster and a durable surface that won’t flake or peel to reveal the inner bead. By contrast, pearls that are bead-nucleated and prematurely harvested often have only a thin coating of nacre that is prone to flaking and chipping. Unfortunately, pearls cannot be polished back to perfection once they’re destroyed.

Freshwater pearl-producing mussels can accept up to 50 implants at a time. They typically require 2-6 years to grow, and the finished pearl typically ranges in size from 4mm to 11mm. Larger freshwater pearls do exist, although their bigger size will likely be reflected in a bigger price tag. Approximately 60% of a typical freshwater pearl crop is made up of button pearls (flat on one side) or oval pearls. Only about 2% of the harvest is round, according to the latest information from the Gemological Institute of America. Baroque (no symmetry) and semi-baroque pearls typically make up the remainder of the crop. As with Tahitians and other pearl types, in a skilled designer’s hands, these unique pearls can be turned into extremely beautiful jewelry.

When it comes to color, the freshwater cultured pearl offers a wonderful variety. Pastels like cream, white, yellow, orange, and pink are common; as well, universally flattering lavender pearls are enjoying a surge in popularity today. When deciding which color freshwater pearls to buy, keep in mind that the wearer’s skin tone should be the most important consideration. Choose a color that will flatter and not detract. Overall, freshwater pearls are more plentiful than other pearl types, thus they are usually more affordable. Your budget may allow you to choose a few different colors!

Conclusion

Whatever your taste or budget, there is sure to be cultured pearl jewelry that will thrill you. Choose carefully, treat them with care, and your pearls will give you a lifetime of pleasure, no matter which variety you choose.

Can necklaces mean a pain in the neck

The wearing of jewellery has been with us across the ages with both men and women seeking to adorn their persons with these ornamental devices. The word jewellery is anglicised from an old French word “joule” (jewel), but the origin can be further traced back to the Latin word “jocale” which means plaything.

Although we typically think of jewellery as being made from precious metals and gemstones, over the centuries it has been made from a variety of materials such as cloth, wood, shells, rocks and stone. In fact man has been very ingenious and artistic in creating jewellery from just about anything and in many different styles from the plain and simple to the highly elaborate.

Items of jewellery have also been adopted as potent symbols and even worn to ward off evil spirits or to help overcome enemies in battle.

Examples of jewellery being worn other than for adornment, are necklaces such as the cross or crucifixes worn by Christians as potent religious symbols. Other religious types of necklaces are pendants known as amulets, which are figures or symbols of varying shapes and sizes, which are hung on a chain round the neck.

Necklaces called lockets, which are usually heart shaped are worn as a symbol of love and open up to reveal a picture or lock of hair from a cherished one.

Necklaces and pendants are both worn around the neck but a pendant usually means a hanging object although it can be hanging from a neck chain or an earring. A choker is also a form of necklace but is worn high around the neck and can also have a pendant hanging from it.

Perhaps the most bizarre form of necklaces are those worn by the Pa Dong Long Neck people who are part of the Karen tribal group that live along the border between Thailand and Burma. From the age of 6 years old, brass rings are snapped around the necks of young girls, a few every year, up to a limit of 20 rings although there is a woman on record as having 28 around her neck. As they progress from childhood to womanhood, their necks appear to elongate although apparently what really happens is that the weight of the rings crushes the women’s collarbones giving the illusion of a very long neck.

It is said that these women only remove the brass rings on their wedding night with a long drawn out process involved, which involves much neck washing. As brass often tends to discolour the skin one can imagine that there may be a rather nasty green mess under those rings. After the wedding night, the rings are replaced and must remain in place for life, as the women’s neck muscles are now no longer strong enough to support the length of the neck and the weight of the head on their own.

This wearing of neck rings was also a practice adopted by women in South Africa and in particular those from the Ndebele tribe and these women have often been referred to as giraffe women because of their long necks. The Ndebele women traditionally wore copper and brass rings around their necks arms and legs as a symbol of their status in society and after marriage as a symbol of her bond and faithfulness to her husband. Husbands would provide their wives with these rings and the richer her spouse the more rings she would wear and they would only be removed after his death as they were believed to have strong ritual powers.

Thankfully, in both the Pa Dong and the Ndebele tribes, this traditional practice is no longer popular and is now dying out in favour of the more usual types of necklaces.

The rise of silver

The value of sterling silver is rising. Although it is currently hovering around $8-$9 per ounce and once was as low as $4 per ounce in 2001, silver has shown the ability to earn as it once topped $49 per ounce back in 1980. There is a resurgence in the interest in silver jewelry especially as more manufacturer’s such as Tiffany $ Co. focus more attention on their silver product lines. The quality of silver when coated with rhodium, a precious metal, can rival white gold in shine and sharpness.

Silver has been used for thousands of years in dining utensils, ornaments and as coinage in numerous monetary systems. In fact, the word “silver” can be translated in 14 different languages as “money”. Silver has the highest electrical conductivity of all metals including copper. Its use is not widespread in all things electrical, however, due to its costliness and tendency to tarnish, although because of its high conductivity it is commonly found in computer parts. Silver has always played second fiddle to gold generally but there are a few societies in history such as ancient Egypt and the middle ages in Europe, where silver was considered more valuable than gold. Today’s state of silver is, however, a matter of popularity and not necessarily value.

In modern times silver is used most in the area of photography in the form of silver nitrate which is a corrosive light sensitive ingredient used in film. Silver is also used to produce the highly reflective surfaces of mirrors through a process called silvering. The practical nature and application of silver is apparent not only to industrial types but to the average consumer. Silver jewelry, given its beauty, quality and inexpensiveness has become a highly sought after commodity. Silver jewelry is usually produced with 92.5% silver and 7.5% copper as 100% silver would simply be too soft to use in usable jewelry.

The only drawback to silver is its tendency to tarnish. Tarnish is basically a layer of corrosion that naturally develops over silver as it is exposed to oxygen. Scientists have tried to prevent tarnish by adding different alloys which have helped decrease tarnishability. There are some new developments in this regard as scientists at Sheffield Hallam University have been attempting to produce a new type of silver alloy which will be more resistant to tarnish, called Carrs Lustre Silver. There are ways to prevent tarnish from occurring in caring for silver jewelry, including the use of low abrasive phosphate free detergent cleaner or chemically treated jewelry cleaning cloths. Some even use toothpaste although they may be left with perceivably dull scratches.

Silver jewelry is gaining popularity with a consumer public which is interested in affordability, style and quality. When polished, silver shines as gloriously as white gold. Retailers find that consumers are buying silver engagement rings for daily use as they store their diamond and gold rings for special occasions. Young people who want to express themselves with jewelry are turning to silver as a suitable alternative to expensive gold jewelry. Online retailers like jewelrypayless. com, bluenile. com and tiffany. com are expanding their silver product lines in anticipation of more demand as the rise of the silver jewelry industry continues.