subject: How To Pick Out Pearl Jewellery [print this page] If you are looking to buy a pearl necklace, then doing a bit of research will pay off big time. Pearls are great to look at and have been used as jewelry for hundreds of years. In fact, they used to be an adornment, reserved only for the very wealthy. That was naturally because of the way natural pearls are formed; a small piece of sand encased within a mussel or oyster for up to 10 years.
Natural wild specimens like this are very valuable, because they are so rare. With overfishing and demand for pearls, there are fewer mussels left to produce pearls. Natural pearls may take as long as 10 years to develop.
More common is the cultivated pearl, which is most often grown in freshwater. Records show that freshwater specimens were cultivated as early as 700 years ago by the Chinese. Today, cultivated freshwater pearls are very popular as they are the closest to the quality of wild pearls.
Pearls come in many colors, rangin from pale white to black, they may even be brown, silver, cream and pink. The color depends on where it was grown and what shellfish created it.
When judging the value of a pearl, there are several factors to take into account.
Lustre is the combination of the inside glow and outer brilliancel. The highest quality pearls will seem more solid and dense, while the lower quality pearl may seem dull and chalky.
The smoothness of the surface is the second consideration. Is the pearl smooth all around or are there blemishes and cracks? Pearls are almost never flawless as they are grown organically. The pearls suitable for jewellery may have blemishes that are visible from up close, but not visible at an arm's length.
The shape of the pearl is also very important. Few pearls are born perfectly round. It is much more common for pearls to be shaped a bit differently. The rounder the pearl, the higher quality it is considered.
The color is less important and really depends more on the wearer's preference.
