PEARL
Pearl correlates to the ‘Moon’ and the zodiac sign ‘Cancer’. Pearl gemstone is available in various colours.
The Makings of a Pearl
Pearls begin when a grain of sand, another piece of pearl, or any other irritant contained in the oyster’s shell. To protect itself the oyster secretes multiple layers of a calcium carbonate substance called nacre around the foreign object to isolate it from the rest of the oyster. After a few years, the original irritant is covered in a silky coat and that is a pearl.
Both natural and cultured pearls are born and grow inside live oysters. The difference between the two is that natural pearls are formed by nature, or by chance, and cultured pearls are made by man’s assistance by injecting an irritant into the oyster. Today, most pearls are cultured.
Pearl Color
Typical pearl colors are white, cream, yellow, pink, silver, or black. A pearl strand may appear white, but when examined more closely, a pink overtone may become apparent.
Pearl Luster
Pearls produce an intense, deep shine called luster. This effect is created when light reflects off the many layers of tiny calcium carbonate crystals that compose the pearl. This substance is called nacre. When selecting a pearl, consider that the larger the pearl, the more nacre it has.
Pearls are very soft and need special care and attention. You should never store your pearls in a jewelry box next to other jewelry, because both the box and other pieces of jewelry can damage pearls by scratching and nicking, so keep them in a fabric lined box or fabric pouch.
PEARL CARE
Avoid using chemical or alcohol cleaners, nail polish, abrasives, solvents, and polish removers while wearing them. Soft gems like pearls should never be put in an ultrasonic cleaner. Instead, wash your cultured pearls in very mild, soapy water.
Before storing your pearls, wipe them with a soft, damp cloth to ensure that they remain free from any harmful buildup of these compounds. Easily scratched if bumped by other jewelry, pearls are best stored in a soft cloth pouch or in a separate, lined jewelry box.
TYPES OF PEARLS
There are two types of pearls – natural and cultured – which are judged by their luster, absence of blemishes, color, size and shape (round, irregular, baroque, pear, drop or button).
Natural pearls are produced – without any intervention by man – by certain types of mollusks (oysters and clams) found in a number of both salt and fresh water sources including areas of the Pacific Ocean, the South Sea Islands and the Persian Gulf. Natural pearls are extremely rare and therefore, generally more costly than cultured pearls.
Cultured pearls – the type carried in our stores – have almost completely replaced the natural variety on the market since the process was first discovered in the early 1900s. The process begins with the insertion of a mother-of-pearl bead inside the living tissue of the mollusk, which coats the bead with nacre, producing a cultured pearl within one to three years (depending on seasonal conditions and water temperatures). The advent of pearl cultivation has made pearls more affordable and thus more available to consumers.
