Main article: Pearl hunting A 14th-century piece of clothing used by Kuwaiti divers searching for pearls in the Persian Gulf Margarita pearls are extremely difficult to find today and are known for their unique yellowish color. Fine quality natural pearls are very rare jewels. Their values are determined similarly to those of other precious gems, according to size, shape, color, quality of surface, orient and luster. Depending on the waters they’re grown in, pearls can be divided into freshwater pearls and saltwater pearls (which are grown in sea water). There’re generally 3 types of saltwater pearls: Akoya, South Sea and Tahitian. Each pearl type, including freshwater, grows in a specific pearl-bearing oyster species in a unique habitat that is indigenous to certain regions of the world.

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Now you can see why natural pearls are potentially more valuable than cultured pearls. This is because the occurrence of natural pearls is much rarer than cultured pearls. Almost all real pearls you see today are cultured. In this guide we’re going to show you everything you need to ascertain what your pearls are worth. The Basic Rule To Buying Pearls Gardens of Eternity will they enter: therein will they be adorned with bracelets of gold, silver and pearls; and their garments there will be of silk. The Hebrew word פְּנִינִים 'pearl(s)' appears in several places in the Hebrew Bible (Job 28:18; Proverbs 3:15; 8:11; 20:15; 31:10; Lamentations 4:7), although its etymology is unclear. [53] New Testament scriptures [ edit ] Religious pendant showing Christ blessing, framed with rubies and pearls, from the Byzantine empire, 12th or 13th centuryMain article: Keshi pearls A blister pearl, a half-sphere, formed flush against the shell of the pearl oyster. Indonesia Pasok 43 Persen Mutiara Dunia". August 13, 2013. Archived from the original on February 21, 2014. For many cultured pearl dealers and wholesalers, the preferred weight measure used for loose pearls and pearl strands is the momme. Momme is a weight measure used by the Japanese for centuries. Today, momme weight is still the standard unit of measure used by most pearl dealers to communicate with pearl producers and wholesalers. One momme corresponds to 1/1000 kan. Reluctant to give up tradition, the Japanese government formalized the kan measure in 1891 as being exactly 3.75 kilograms or 8.28 pounds. Hence, 1 momme = 3.75 grams or 3750 milligrams. A few species produce pearls that can be of interest as gemstones. These species include the bailer shell Melo, the giant clam Tridacna, various scallop species, Pen shells Pinna, and the Haliotis iris species of abalone. Pearls of abalone, or paua, are mabe pearls, or blister pearls, unique to New Zealand waters and are commonly referred to as 'blue pearls'. They are admired for their incredible luster and naturally bright vibrant colors that are often compared to opal. Another example is the conch pearl (sometimes referred to simply as the 'pink pearl'), which is found very rarely growing between the mantle and the shell of the queen conch or pink conch, Strombus gigas, a large sea snail or marine gastropod from the Caribbean Sea. These pearls, which are often pink in color, are a by-product of the conch fishing industry, and the best of them display a shimmering optical effect related to chatoyance known as 'flame structure'. Led by pearl pioneer John Latendresse and his wife Chessy, the United States began farming cultured freshwater pearls in the mid-1960s. National Geographic magazine introduced the American cultured pearl as a commercial product in their August 1985 issue. The Tennessee pearl farm has emerged as a tourist destination in recent years, but commercial production of freshwater pearls has ceased.

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The ancient chronicle Mahavamsa mentions the thriving pearl industry in the port of Oruwella in the Gulf of Mannar in Sri Lanka. It also records that eight varieties of pearls accompanied Prince Vijaya's embassy to the Pandyan king as well as king Devanampiya Tissa's embassy to Emperor Ashoka. [28] [29] Pliny the Elder (23–79 AD) praised the pearl fishery of the Gulf as most productive in the world. [30] [31] [32] a b "Guides for the Jewelry, Precious Metals, and Pewter Industries". Ftc.gov. May 30, 1996. Archived from the original on May 28, 2010 . Retrieved July 17, 2010. Pearl lustre is the intensity and sharpness of the light reflected from a pearl’s surface. In other words, it shows how bright and shiny a pearl is. Pearl lustre is considered the most important quality attribute of all the 7 pearl value factors. Fine quality pearls will always display high lustre with bright and sharp reflections.Natural pearl colour is an important factor that affects the value of a pearl. It has three components: bodycolour, overtone, and orient. Today, the cultured pearls on the market can be divided into two categories. The first category covers the beaded cultured pearls, including akoya, South Sea and Tahiti. These pearls are gonad grown, and usually one pearl is grown at a time. This limits the number of pearls at a harvest period. The pearls are usually harvested after one year for akoya, 2–4 years for Tahitian and South Sea, and 2–7 years for freshwater. This perliculture process was first developed by the British biologist William Saville-Kent who passed the information along to Tatsuhei Mise and Tokichi Nishikawa from Japan. Special Virtues Indonesian South Sea Pearls". February 24, 2018. Archived from the original on August 20, 2017. Physical properties [ edit ] Structure of nacre layers, wherein aragonite plates are separated by biopolymers, such as chitin, lustrin and silk-like proteins Electron microscopy image of a fractured surface of nacre After WWII, new south sea pearl projects were commenced in the early 1950s at Kuri Bay and Port Essington in Australia, and Burma. Japanese companies were involved in all projects using technicians from the original Mitsubishi South Sea pre-war projects. Kuri Bay is now the location of one of the largest and most well-known pearl farms owned by Paspaley, the biggest producer of South Sea pearls in the world. [45]

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Ward, Fred (2002) Pearls (Fred Ward Gem Book), 3rd Edition, Gem Guides Book Company, pp. 35–36, ISBN 1-887651-08-X From other species [ edit ] A natural conch pearl with gem flame patterning. A collection of natural quahog pearls. A shell of the Indian volute, Melo melo, surrounded by a number of pearls from this species Conch pearl pendant A keshi pearl is a pearl composed entirely of nacre and results from mishaps in the culturing process. Most are quite small, typically only a few millimeters in diameter, and are often irregular in shape. In seeding a cultured pearl, a piece of mantle muscle from a sacrificed oyster is placed with a bead of mother of pearl within a host oyster. If the piece of mantle should slip off the bead, a keshi pearl forms of baroque shape about the mantle piece. Therefore, while a keshi pearl could be considered superior to cultured pearls with a mother of pearl bead center, in the cultured pearl industry the oyster's resources used to create a mistaken all-nacre baroque pearl is a drain on the production of the intended round cultured pearl. Therefore, the pearl industry is making ongoing attempts to improve culturing technique so that keshi pearls do not occur. All-nacre pearls may one day be limited to natural found pearls. [15] [16] [17] Today many "keshi" pearls are actually intentional, with post-harvest shells returned to the water to regenerate a pearl in the existing pearl sac. Freshwater pearls form in various species of freshwater mussels, family Unionidae, which live in lakes, rivers, ponds and other bodies of fresh water. These freshwater pearl mussels occur not only in hotter climates, but also in colder more temperate areas such as Scotland (where they are protected under law). [9] Most freshwater cultured pearls sold today come from China.When other value factors are equal, the second most valuable shape is near-round, and then followed next in value by other symmetrical shapes like oval, button, drop and baroque. How Pearl Size Impacts Its Value?