About Pearls

One of the most timeless and classic pieces in a woman's jewelry box, a string of pearls has been a lasting trademark for a woman's beauty. A fine set of pearls exhibits class, style and sophistication. Ultimately, a pearl is produced from a mollusk such as an oyster. When dirt or sand gets in their system, they produce a pearl as a defense mechanism for their safety. The objected is covered with nacre until a pearl is created.

Ultimately, not all oysters make pearls or not the quality ones that many woman of old times remember. The best pearls are cultured in farms within a mother of pearl shell. There are two types of pearls – freshwater or saltwater. Ultimately, mussels in lakes, ponds, or rivers produce a certain type of pearl, while those in salt water (South Sea, Tahitian, Akoya) grow in the ocean or a lagoon.

Pearls are used for more than just jewelry and can be used within paint or cosmetic mixtures as well. They are valued as gem and many times can be worth much money. These rare jewels' value depends on the shape, quality and size of the gemstone. Because natural pearls are more rare, the chances of finding them are less, thus the value has risen continuously in the past few decades. Most often these types are sold to dealers or ultimately collectors, thus they are rarely used in the production of modern pearl jewelry.

The larger the pearls, the more valuable they are. Also, round pearls are most more rare than that of teardrop shaped ones (usually produced in pendants). The odd-shaped pearls are most often used in the creation of necklaces. However, natural pearls are even more valuable. Most often, the only present day pearls of this type are found in Bahrain. Australia has also been known to house many pearls as well with pearl dives who dive in the south sea searching for these gems.

There are eight shapes of pearls including button, drop, oval, pear, baroque, ringed, round and semi-round. The rarest and most expensive form is that of the round pearls. These are used in string of pearls because they are more durable than that of the others. Button pearls are mass produced for pearl earrings, while the baroque variation is used to create unique necklaces.