Clutches for Less

Posts Tagged ‘pearl jewelry’

Pearls have had a long history as precious gemstones – as gifts for ancient royals or prized possessions sought-after by anxious criminals – from China, to Europe, to the Americas. Learning how to choose the right pearl earring for the right occasion is a skill you can benefit from if you want accessories that flatter your best features.

While naturally formed pearls come in all forms of irregular shapes and often cannot be used for jewelry, cultured pearls can be grown in a variety of shapes – spherical, oval, teardrop and baroque. Learning how to choose the right pearl earrings for the right occasion will involve finding a design or combining various shapes of pearls that suit your face shape.

Before you go about learning how to choose the right pearl earrings for the right occasion, it is imperative that you learn how to spot quality pearl drop earrings. Judging a pearl requires consideration of a few factors – color, overtones, size, luster, shape and surface quality.

Pearls are grown in a variety of shapes. You have the round or spherical, the oval, button and pear-shaped pearls as well as the baroque (also known as irregular-shaped). If you’re learning how to choose the right kind of pearl earrings for the right occasion, shape isn’t just a consideration. You’ll also want to look out for the luster or reflectivity of a pearl as well as the smoothness of its surface.

Pearls are delicate gems and are generally softer in composition than other jewels. Because of this, they are prone to damage like cracking and scratches. Its porous nature also makes it susceptible to other substances like perfume, sweat and makeup. Keep your pearls clean by wiping them with a soft, damp cloth and try putting on these accessories after you’ve worn your makeup and applied your perfume.

Accessories like pearl earrings are designed to draw attention to your face. Carefully choosing the right pearl earrings for the right occasion is important if you want to flatter your face and enhance your features.

Pearls will always among the favored gemstones around. They may not be diamonds, but they are as favored as them, as well as other gems around. One can easily spot them out, as people commonly display their collection of necklaces, brooches, bracelets, and most popularly, pearl earrings.  

What are the things one consider when searching out the best selection of a set of these? There’s the price of course; however, they can not really be the determining factor, as some vendors may easily overprice those jewels, while some selling them lesser than what they really are worth.   Although scratching off that natural perception of more expensive equals better quality, these pearls generally cost some dough, as these water treasures are not that easy to find and produce.  

 Normally one can easily associate pearls to those white beads inside a clam shell. Generally these bead-like gemstones are perceived to have that smooth and shiny finish.   As the coined term, pearly whites, pearls are regarded as precious and of high quality. In owning a pair of earrings with these pearls, one can select from a number of colors as, white, creamy beige, pinkish, yellowish, bluish, and brownish. Among these, you have the rarely seen black ones, that accordingly, are the most valued and considerably the best of their kind. Just like other marketed product, the rarity of the pearls largely determine their corresponding desirability and price.
 
The colors of pearl earrings can only be as much, however, the varieties are countless. Nevertheless, they are classified and categorized, as Freshwater, Tahitian, Black and Cultured.   

Pearls from freshwater, and even those from saltwater are among the most commonly sought out in the market, greatly because compared to the other kinds, they are not as expensive but still offering that similarly great quality. Next we have the Tahitian, that come from the Malayan-Polynesian area, from which a lot of pearls are sourced from. Among the richest water resources, this part of the Oriental would easily be the home of these pearls in variety. Then there are the black cultured pearls, which are among the most in  demand, with its shine lasting longer than most types – aside from its rare color.    

A fun trivia though for those who do not know it yet. These cultured pearls, as much as they are valued, are generally coming from something amazingly simple. Would you amazed if you’ll learn that they are just by-products of shelled mollusks? However, the deal is that these seemingly treasured wastes are very hard to find. As they are the most favored gemstones around, those pearl earrings would be a treasure.   And if you don’t have any yet, and wish to get one, it would boil down to how much you can spare, as your preference on what design would suit you best.

When you shut your eyelids and envision a pearl necklace, what do you see? Chances are, it is a perfectly matched strand of round, lustrous pearls- and if so, the image that comes to mind is the famous Akoya pearl! Ever since Mikimoto revolutionized the glamorous world of jewelry by commercializing the first cultured Akoya pearls, this lovely and luminous gem has gained attention and won the hearts of all cultures around the world.

The cultured pearl was born out of Japan during the 1900’s as the result of many years of conducting trials and tests by three Japanese men: Nishikawa Mikimoto, Tatsuhei Mise and Tokishi Nishikawa. Experimenting independently on various nucleation methods with the Pinctada martensii oyster (the indigenous saltwater oyster that produces Akoya pearls) the researchers each discovered the surgical nucleation techniques that will force the oyster to create a pearl- this is the same technique used now by nucleation technicians worldwide, known as the Nise-Mishekawa method. However, Mikimoto was the person who intuitively used his business proess to gain worldwide attention and has made a worldwide brand based off of his name.

For decades the Japanese maintained a monopoly on the Akoya pearl trade, guarding their cultivation and processing techniques jealously. They were- and are- acknowledged as the masters of their trade; to this day the Japanese Akoya pearl is considered the finest in the world. Harvest periods (the amount of time that the oyster was allowed to secrete nacre over the nucleus) were approximately 3-5 years per pearl, ensuring thick, lustrous nacre layers that gave the pearls their renowned glow and shine. It also made them much more durable and able to resist wear on the nacre brought about by exposure to cosmetics, sweat, acids and perfumes.

However, as with any monopoly, the hey-day would not last forever. In order to satisfy a continually mounting demand for their beautiful pearls- which had quickly staked their place as a staple of every woman’s wardrobe throughout the 1940’s and 50’s- the Japanese began cutting their growth times in order to accommodate the burgeoning market’s requirements, and quality began to suffer. Other factors such as water pollution and farmed oyster stocks that have become vulnerable to disease through decreased genetic diversity also play a large part in the weakening of the Japanese grip on the international Akoya pearl market. With an eye toward the future, the Japanese have begun to culture larger pearls measuring over 8.0mm almost exclusively, focusing their efforts on maintaining their position as a leader, and the best source for gem-quality cultured pearls today.

China began culturing Akoya pearls as well starting in the 1960’s, although quality was acknowledged to be quite inferior to that of their Japanese neighbors. However, the Chinese pearl farmers learned what it took to become successful in an industry that was considered to be unshakeable. Concentrating their efforts on perfecting the smaller pearl sizes of 4.0mm to 8.0mm- as they have not yet mastered culturing the larger sizes that Japan is renowned for.  Utilizing their vastly cheaper production costs than that of Japan, and adopting a wiser, more long-term approach in terms of pearl quality and reputation, China has found their way to the top in the pearling world.

Throughout history pearls have been worn by the rich, and given as rare and expensive gifts. Traditionally worn by brides, for thousands of years they have been a symbol of love, purity and perfection. Nowadays pearl jewellery is available to more people than ever before, and you no longer need to be royalty to afford it. Pearls are grown on farms and with so many varieties to choose from any bride-to-be can find the perfect pearls to suit her wedding gown. In fact there are so many varieties that it can be difficult to know what to look for, so here are a few things to look out for:

Pearl type – There are two types of pearl, saltwater and freshwater. Saltwater pearls are found in oysters in the sea, and are usually larger, rounder and clearer than the freshwater variety. They are also usually more expensive because of this. Freshwater pearls are farmed in lakes and rivers, usually smaller and often less regular in shape, though they come in a large range of different colours.

Size – When it comes to pearls, size really does matter. The bigger the pearl, the more desirable it is and the more expensive it will be. Saltwater pearls are generally larger than freshwater, and are more highly sought after.

Nacre – Pearls take years to form inside the shell of an oyster. When a foreign object is introduced into the shell, the oyster produces layers of nacre, which gradually build up forming the pearl. The thicker the nacre coating, the more durable the pearl will be. Some cultured saltwater pearls are ‘beaded’ with a larger nucleus used to speed up the process and ensure a round shape. Natural pearls are formed entirely of nacre, which is why their shape is often less regular.

Luster – No pearl is perfectly shiny like glass but they do have a certain reflective sheen to them, called the lustre. Pearls that have this shimmery effect on the surface are the most desired.

Colour – The natural colours of pearls are various shades of white, pink and lilac although cultured pearls are often dyed so they are available in the colour of your choice. A pearl necklace made of matching naturally-coloured pearls will cost more than dyed ones, as it can take a long time to collect enough matching pearls for a whole string.

Shape – When we think of pearls, we usually picture that they are all perfectly round and shiny. In reality this is rare, and these round pearls are highly in demand and so can be very expensive. Small cultured pearls tend to be more rounded and some of the larger ones have been formed around a bead to coax it into a round shape. Irregularly shaped pearls are also used to produce unique pendants and earrings.

Matching – It can be hard to find enough pearls of the same size, shape and colour to make a whole necklace, so a string of regular naturally coloured pearls is more desirable and will be more expensive.

Not so long ago, a lot of people considered pearl jewelry to be a thing of the past, something that was to be found only about the necks of grandmothers and rich women with outdated fashion sense. But this attitude to pearls is changing fast. From the catwalk to the red carpet, the Sex and the City movie to the White House, classic pearls are becoming popular again. It could be the current trend for retro fashion, or that a few of the most up to the minute fashion icons have taken their love for pearls public, but whatever the reason pearls are definitely back with a vengeance.

Great news for anyone who was getting a little tired of so much ‘fake’ jewellery on the high street and wanting to go for something a bit more classic. But how do you know you’re getting the real thing and not just imitation pearls? And aren’t pearls a bit of an expensive frivolity, particularly when we’re in the middle of a recession? Well in fact, with so many varieties of cultured pearls available to buy, you can pick up a genuine pearl necklace for a really quite reasonable price. You just need to know the best sort of pearls to look for.

Real celebrity-style big saltwater pearls like those that Michelle Obama is often seen in will be pricey, but there are many varieties of pearl which don’t need to break the bank. Natural pearls usually cost considerably more than cultured pearls, and are far more highly valued as they are much rarer. Cultured freshwater pearls are usually the cheapest variety, they are much more common as they are grown in pearl farms and they come in the largest selection of sizes and colours. Saltwater pearls take longer to cultivate, and usually have a bigger, more regular shape, which is why they are rarer and more sought after. It’s easy to tell real pearls from fake ones as the fakes rarely have the correct lustre or weight, and are smoother to the touch. Genuine pearls have a slightly rough feel to them, and perfectly round pearls are very rare, so if you find a cheap string of perfect ‘pearl’ spheres, check it out before buying it!