Pearl Jewelry – The Object Of Beauty
Pearl jewelry is an all occasion jewelry that goes with any type of wardrobe. Pearl is the birthstone for June and a symbol that shows deep love. Pearl is a very rare, very fine, very admirable and very valuable object of beauty. Pearl jewelry is elegant and classic as well as hip and trendy.
A pearl is made up of calcium carbonate, a common substance found in rocks and shells of mollusks. Calcium carbonate deposited in concentric layers found in pearls is in minute crystalline form. A pearl is roundish, hard object produced within the soft tissue of living shelled mollusks. It is secreted by the epithelial cells of the mantle, a curtain of tissue between the shell and body mass.
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, also known as mother of pearl, is an inner shell layer that is strong, resilient and iridescent. Secretion of nacre around the irritating object builds a pearl within the body of the mollusk. But not all mollusks have nacre, some mollusks have an inner shell layer that is porcellaneous. This type of mollusk can also produce pearls, which may even be highly valued commercially.
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 freshwater and saltwater cultured pearls. Cultured freshwater pearls are produced by making small incisions to the mantle organ of the host mollusk. Saltwater cultured pearls are cultured in a saline environment. To produce this, a rounded bead of freshwater mussel shell is introduced into the gonad of the host oyster.
Pearls come in a various shapes. The ideal pearl is perfectly round and smooth. Other shapes is rice-shaped, pear-shaped, irregular (baroque) or button-shaped. Pearl gemstones are valued for their luster, translucence and for the delicate play of surface color.
The pearl shows iridescence, if successive layers overlap and the light falling on the surface breaks up. A pearl's luster is finer if it has thinner and more layers. Luster depends upon the diffraction, reflection and refraction of light from the translucent layers. Pearl grade or the quality of the pearl, is determined by its color, luster, orient, shape, size and surface perfection.
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 is an organic gem and is the oldest known gem. For centuries, it was considered to be the most valuable. It is the only gem created by a living creature and the only gem that requires no cutting or polishing before use. Though it is delicate, it has been successfully used in jewelry for thousands of years.
About the Author: Fred Gagnon specializes in providing tips and information on jewelries. He owns a wide collection of stunning, glamorous and elegant jewelries. To learn more about jewelries, accessories, precious metals and gemstones, visit and .
