The Pearl

I've fallen in love with pearls in general since the minute I was introduced to it. Unlike other sparkly rocky gemstones, pearls just humbly attract my attention to its perfect luster and the unique shape (baroque pearls!)  Here is the basic pearl knowledge brought to you by SunJewel...

Pearl is the only gemstone that is formed and found within a living creature, it's called a mollusk. The most comment place we know is in an oyster, but also could be in a mussel or a snail. It produces layers of nacre around some irritant in its shell, in other words, pearl is formed when something is hurting the mantle tissue, it could be a sand or parasite penetrates lodges inside the shell. The pearl starts forming when the irritant occurs overtime - It doesn't sound pretty this way, but here is my next point: the process and the environment. 

Cultured pearls

Most pearls sold today are cultured. Cultured pearls form around a nucleus placed in the oyster’s soft mantle tissue. In real world, a pearl farmer inserting an irritant into the mollusk and then cultivate the pearl.

Natural pearls

Natural pearls, form with no nucleus inside, everything happens naturally. Because of this, natural pearls are rare and require persistence to find.

Freshwater pearls

Produced majority in China, Japan and the United States. Freshwater pearls are more affordable, longer-lasting and come in a wider variety of colors, and the shape are more baroque are not as round as saltwater pearls.

Saltwater pearls

Produced in a saline environment, Japanese Akoya pearls, Tahitian pearls and South Sea pearls are common saltwater pearls. (Cultured) saltwater oyster only typically only produces one pearl at a time, when freshwater mussels can produce up to 30 pearls at a time, price wise, saltwater pearls are higher than (cultured) freshwater pearls.

Now, here is the problem child, keshi pearls... it combines both processes and environments to create this unusual pearls. 

Keshi pearls, the poppy seed pearls, are made of solid nacre, for that reason , it usually have a bright luster. Keshi pearls can form in either freshwater or saltwater, and there are two ways to form, none of which has to do with the usual process as described above. The first way that the keshi pearl can form occurs when the oyster rejects and spits out the nucleus - before the development of the pearl has had the opportunity to finish. The second possibility is that the nucleus fractures and forms two separate pearl sacs which in turn can form a keshi. Side note, Japanese Akoya keshi is a by-product of the culturing process, but the keshi itself is 100 % nacre unlike other cultured pearls, which contain a beaded nucleus.  

Pearls are believed to attract wealth and luck, known for their calming effect, balance strengthen relationships, and keep children safe. It is also said to symbolize the purity, generosity, integrity, and loyalty of its wearer. What's your reason to enjoy wearing pearls vs other gemstones? Comments below!