subject: Freshwater Pearls You Would Like for Your Jewelry [print this page] Freshwater Pearls You Would Like for Your Jewelry
Freshwater pearls occur in a wide variety of pale shades including white, pink, orange, salmon, lavender, purple, green, and bronze. These pearls also come in many shapes. Pearls are named according to their different shapes and colors. When a pearl is irregular in shape it is called baroque; if it is shaped like a small dome and flat at its base, it is called a button pearl. Many names describe the pearls' shape such as: coin, cross, keshi, peanut, round, potato, rice and stick. The shape of a pearl depends on many factors, the most important being the location in the mollusk where it was formed. If formed between the mantle and shell, a non-spherical blister pearl will form attached to the inside surface of the shell. If formed within the mollusk's soft tissues, it will be free and unattached from the shell wall (these are called true pearls). If formed adjacent to a muscle in the mollusk, it could become irregular in shape. The most prized shape today is spherical, called "round" in the pearl industry, a shape that becomes increasingly rare as the size of the pearl increases. Thus, very large round pearls are both rare and very expensive. A perfectly round pearl should roll in a straight line when placed on an incline. Pearls that veer of course are not perfectly round and are called semi-round. The most highly prized non-round pearls are symmetrical and include teardrop and pear-shaped pearls.
Button pearls and characterized by rounded tops and flattish bottoms. Potato pearls produced by freshwater oysters are off round in shape and resemble small oval potatoes. Pearls with irregular shapes are called baroque. This term usually describes large pearls with an irregular but interesting shape.
Keshi pearls, also called chance pearls, are one the main types of baroque pearls on the market today. Other shapes such as cross or stick pearls are descriptive names, these pearls are formed from the nucleus that is placed inside the gonad of the oyster. If the nucleus is shaped like a heart then the pearl will come out heart-shaped and so on.
Freshwater pearls are not only the most common of pearls but they are the most versatile in the culturing processes. Fine jewelry is made from these first class pearls. The many types, shapes and colors of freshwater pearls make desirable and resplendent jewelry.
