Pearl Jewelry – The Object Of Beauty

Pearl jewelry are preferred by many because they are simple and yet elegant adornments to complete any outfit for every occasion. Pearl is considered the symbol showing deep love and is the birthstone for June. It has become a metaphor for something very admirable, very fine, very rare and very valuable. It is valued as objects of beauty, not just because it’s timeless and elegant, but hip and modern as well.

A pearl is a roundish, hard object found within a soft tissue of a living shelled mollusk. The epithelial cells of the mantle secrete it. It is a curtain of tissue in the middle of shell and body mass. It is made up of calcium carbonate, a common substance in rocks and shells of mollusks. The concentrated layers of calcium carbonate deposits found in pearls are in very tiny crystalline form.

A pearl is formed inside when a parasite or an irritating microscopic object becomes trapped within the mollusk’s mantle folds. The mollusk, being irritated by the intruder, secretes the calcium carbonate and conchiolin to cover the irritant. This process is referred to as encystation, which eventually forms a pearl. This secretion process continues such that the pearl keeps increasing in size, as long as the animal lives.

Nacre, the mother of pearl, is an inner shell layer that is strong, iridescent and resilient. Nacre secretion around the irritant creates a pearl inside the body of the mollusk. Some mollusks have a porcellaneous inner shell layer, instead of nacre. This type of mollusk produces an even higher value pearls.

There are freshwater pearls and saltwater pearls. Pearls from the sea are valued higher than freshwater pearls. Freshwater pearls are a kind of pearl that comes from freshwater mussels, while several species of marine pearl oysters produces saltwater pearls. Cultured pearls are pearls grown by humans in pearl-producing mollusks. Scarcity of pearl supply is the main reason why culturing and farming of pearls became popular. Still, the valuable pearls are those that come from the wild.

Pearls can be cultured or farmed, but valuable pearls are those that occur in the wild. Culturing or farming of pearls has become successful because of its scarcity. Cultured pearls are pearls grown in pearl-producing mollusks with the aid of human intervention. These are also considered genuine pearls as they do not differ from their natural pearl counterparts.

There are saltwater and freshwater cultured pearls. Saltwater cultured pearls are those cultured in a saline environment. They are created by introducing a rounded bead of freshwater mussel shell into the gonad of the host mollusk. By creating small incisions to the mantle organ of a host mussel a freshwater cultured pearl is produced.

There are different shapes of pearls such as round, rice-shaped, pear-shaped, button-shaped or baroque (irregular). But the ideal pearl is perfectly round and smooth. Pearl as gemstones, are valued for their delicate play of surface color, luster and translucence.

Pearl grade or the quality of the pearl, is determined by luster, color, orient, size, shape and surface perfection. A pearl’s luster is finer if it has thinner and numerous layers. If successive layers overlap, the pearl displays iridescence due to the breakup of the falling light on the surface. Luster depends upon the diffraction, refraction and reflection of light from the translucent layers.

The largest pearl known is the “Pearl of Allah”, which weighs– lb or 6.4 kilograms. It was discovered in Palawan, Philippines in’34 by an anonymous Filipino Muslim diver. It was found from a giant clam, which is a non-nacreous mollusk. The pearl is glossy like a china plate and not pearly as it did not grow in a pearl oyster.

A pearl, although delicate, has been successfully used in jewelry for many years already. It is the only gem created by humans who can be used without cutting or polishing. For centuries, pearl is considered to be the most valuable oldest known and organic gem.

Author Fred Gagnon is an expert on providing tips and information on jewelries. He owns a wide collection of stunning, glamorous and chic jewelries. To learn more about jewelries, accessories, precious metals and gemstones, visit Horse Jewelry and Small Gold Hoop Earrings.