Varieties of Pearls
Baroque pearls, mabe pearls - what's the difference? Are Tahitian pearls the same as South Sea pearls? If you find yourself confused by all the different types of pearls out there, here's a look at the most common varieties used in pearl jewelry to help get you up to speed!
First, all genuine pearls fall into one of two categories - either Natural or Cultured.
Natural Pearls
Natural pearls are pearls that are harvested from oysters growing in the
wild. Prior to the 20th century, all pearl jewelry was made from natural
pearls. Nature rarely produces perfect rounded pearls of a size and shape
suitable for jewelry, which is why most antique
pearl jewelry commands such high prices.
Cultured Pearls
Pearls that are cultured were formed in oysters with a little human intervention, typically on pearl farms. This is usually done by "seeding" the pearl oysters with tiny beads (known as "shell beads") inside the shell. These irritate the animal, causing it to form a pearl around the bead.
Freshwater Pearls
A special type of cultured pearl is the freshwater pearl. Instead of using a bead to produce a pearl (the bead nucleated method), freshwater pearls are produced by inserting a graft of mantle tissue from another bivalve (mantle tissue method). Like natural pearls, freshwater pearls are made up completely of solid nacre and the shapes are somewhat irregular. Since the species used to produce them comes from lakes and rivers, freshwater pearl farms do not require access to salt water.
Freshwater pearl jewelry is less expensive than other cultured pearls (such as the Akoya pearls).
(For more information about cultured and natural pearls and how to tell the difference between them, see Natural vs Cultured Pearls.)
Mabe Pearls ("Blister Pearls")
Mabe pearls, also known as blister pearls, are pearls which develop on the inside of the shell, instead of in the body of the mollusk, resulting in an irregular half-spherical shape with a flat side. They come in a wide range of colors and the larger mabe pearls are most commonly used in pearl earrings and rings.
Baroque Pearls
The term baroque refers to any pearl with an irregular shape. Many natural pearls and freshwater pearls are baroque pearls.
South Sea Pearls
South sea pearls are produced by the South Sea Oyster - Pinctada maxima. This large species of oyster fittingly produces some of the largest cultured pearls to be found!
Unlike other oysters, where multiple pearls are grown in one animal, the south sea oyster can only have one bead implanted at a time. Fewer pearls are produced, leading to the higher cost of south sea pearl jewelry.
South sea pearls are highly desirable due to their satin-like luster. They are white, silver-white or golden in color.
Tahitian ("Black") Pearls
Tahitian pearls are produced by the black lipped oyster (Pinctada margaritifera) , found in the waters off Tahiti. The resulting pearls are not actually pure black, but are found in a variety of dark colors, ranging from silver-gray to charcoal or off-black, with a greenish cast.
Akoya Pearls
Akoya pearls are cultured pearls grown in the Akoya oyster (Pinctada fucata martensii). These are the classic cultured pearls - small, round pearls with a lovely luster, in white, cream or light pink. Akoya pearls are farmed mainly in China and Japan.
Cortez Pearls
Cortez pearls are a form of "black" pearl found in black-lipped oysters and rainbow-lipped oysters, both found in the Gulf of California. Most of them are baroque pearls. Cortez pearls are known for their intense luster and variety of colors which, in addition to the "traditional" pearl colors, can include tones of blue, gold, green and violet.
Keshi Pearls
Keshi pearls are cultured pearls initiated by the bead nucleus method, where at some point the animal has expelled the bead nucleus. The resulting pearl is solid nacre. Keshi pearls are usually very small but have an impressively deep and beautiful luster.
Biwa Pearls
One of the first types of pearl to be cultured, Biwa Pearls (from the Biwa Pearl Mussel) were first farmed in Japan in 1914. They reached the height of their popularity in the early 1970's, when they were produced in such quantities that the Biwa Pearl Mussel became nearly extinct from overfarming! The industry was saved by crossing it with another type of freshwater mussel. Biwa pearls are irregular in shape but have good color and luster.
Colored Pearls
With the exception of Tahitian and Cortez pearls, pearls are typically white to off-white, cream, pink or golden in color. The exotic colors like green, peach, blue peacock and lavender pearls? You may find some Tahitian or Cortez pearls in those shades, but much of the jewelry produced in these exotic colors is dyed.
Simulated "Faux" Pearls
Last but not least, we come to the simulated or faux pearls. They may have other labels like "synthetic" or "replica" or "crystal pearls", but the important thing to know is that all these words are just nice ways of saying "fake"! These are beads, manufactured to resemble actual pearls. Some of them may be very attractive and on the better pieces the manmade lustre may hold up quite well to wear, but they are imitations nonetheless. Don't be fooled into paying premium prices!
So how do you tell if a piece of pearl jewelry is the real thing? The old test of rubbing pearls against your teeth is pretty foolproof. Because they are composed of multiple layers of nacre, genuine pearls have a slightly "rough" or "gritty" feel to them. Imitation pearls will feel completely smooth.
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