All About Pearls

The pearl is symbolic of feminine beauty, love, happiness and generosity. For centuries the pearl with its iridescent beauty and inner glow has been one of the most coveted and sought after gems. With the oldest history to its credit, pearl has been featured since ancient times in mythological references and religious scriptures. The oldest known pearl jewelry is known to have belonged to a Persian Princess in the year 520 BC.

The ancients believed that the pearl was a symbol of the moon and had magical powers. It was also the ultimate symbol of wealth and social standing. Until the 1900s natural pearls were priceless and only accessible to the rich and famous. However, today with the advent of pearl cultivation, pearls are not only affordable but available to all. Cultured pearls share the same characteristics as natural pearls and are grown by oysters with a little help from man.

Pearls are classified by origin, then graded by size, shape, thickness, color, luster, clarity and matching. These qualities are not considered equal. Some factors will be weighted to give them more influence in arriving at a final grade.

Luster is the glow of the pearl and its radiance as perceived by the human eye. In terms of cultured pearls, this is a critical element, as it is remains an important indicator in evaluating cultured pearl quality, separating the inferior pearl from the superior and the ordinary from the extraordinary.

Surface quality signifies the presence or absence of physical blemishes or flaws. Since cultured pearls are grown by live oysters with the intervention of man, there may exist several uncontrollable forces affecting the surface. The cost of the pearl will depend on the surface quality, the fewer the blemishes, the more expensive the pearl.

Shapes range in descending order of value from round to semi-round, from off-round to oval and from drop to baroque. The more rounder and symmetrical the pearl, the more valuable it will be. Asymmetrically shaped pearls though very attractive and are usually less expensive than round pearls.

Cultured pearls come in a variety of colors and range from pink or rose, white or silver, cream, gold toned, grey and even black. Although the color is dependent on the wearer's preference, rose or silver/white pearls tend to look best on fair skins while cream and gold toned pearls are flattering to darker complexions.

Size of the pearl is measured in millimeters. They can be smaller than one millimeter in the case of tiny seed pearls, or as large as twenty millimeters for a big South Sea pearl. The larger the pearl, other factors being equal, the more valuable it will be.

Matching as the word implies refers to similar strands, and addresses uniformity of color, luster, shape, spotting and graduation. The time spent in gathering uniform and aesthetically pleasing pearls is also reflected in its cost. Each pearl in the strand has been chosen carefully to look identical to its neighbor with no noticeable distinction between then to the naked eye.

There are essentially two types of pearls - natural and cultured. The formation of a natural pearl takes place when an irritant, such as a piece of sand, works its way into a particular species of oyster, mussel, or clam. As a defense mechanism, the mollusk secretes a fluid to coat the irritant. Layers of this coating when deposited on this irritant ultimately turn into a beautiful and lustrous pearl.

A cultured pearl by and large is formed in a similar fashion, the only difference being that the irritant is implanted through human intervention in the form of a bead or shell. The resulting pearl may often tend to be much larger than a natural pearl.

Pearls can come from either salt or freshwater sources. Although each has its share of standard and quality, saltwater pearls are considered to be better than freshwater pearls. Freshwater pearls come in irregular shapes and have a puffed rice appearance.

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About the Author: William Brister - http://www.girlsbestfriend.tv - All about jewelery.