Pearl Jewelry - The Timeless And Elegant All-Occasion Jewelry
Pearl jewelry is timeless and elegant as well as hip and modern. They are often preferred by many because they are simply the most elegant adornment to finish off every outfit for every occasion. Pearl has been valued as objects of beauty and became a metaphor for something very admirable, very valuable, very fine and very rare. Pearl is the June birthstone and is also considered as a symbol showing deep love.
A pearl is a roundish, hard object found within a soft tissue of a living shelled mollusk. The epithelial cells of the mantle secrete it. It is a curtain of tissue in the middle of shell and body mass. It is made up of calcium carbonate, a common substance in rocks and shells of mollusks. The concentrated layers of calcium carbonate deposits found in pearls are in very tiny crystalline form.
A pearl is eventually formed through a process called encystations. This process begins when a parasite or an irritating microscopic object is trapped inside the mollusk's mantle folds. The mollusks, being irritated by the intruder, secrete the calcium carbonate and conchiolin to cover the irritant. As long as the animal lives, the pearl keeps growing because the secretion process continues.
Nacre, the mother of pearl, is an inner shell layer that is strong, iridescent and resilient. Nacre secretion around the irritant creates a pearl inside the body of the mollusk. Some mollusks have a porcellaneous inner shell layer, instead of nacre. This type of mollusk produces an even higher value pearls.
There are freshwater pearls and saltwater pearls. Freshwater pearls, as the name suggests, are a kind of pearl that comes from freshwater mussels. Saltwater pearls are produced by several species of marine pearl oysters. Pearls from the sea are valued highly than freshwater pearls.
Pearls can be cultured or farmed, but valuable pearls are those that occur in the wild. Culturing or farming of pearls has become successful because of its scarcity. Cultured pearls are pearls grown in pearl-producing mollusks with the aid of human intervention. These are also considered genuine pearls as they do not differ from their natural pearl counterparts.
There are freshwater and saltwater cultured pearls. Cultured freshwater pearls are produced by making small incisions to the mantle organ of the host mollusk. Saltwater cultured pearls are cultured in a saline environment. To produce this, a rounded bead of freshwater mussel shell is introduced into the gonad of the host oyster.
Pearls come in a various shapes. The ideal pearl is perfectly round and smooth. Other shapes is rice-shaped, pear-shaped, irregular (baroque) or button-shaped. Pearl gemstones are valued for their luster, translucence and for the delicate play of surface color.
The pearl shows iridescence, if successive layers overlap and the light falling on the surface breaks up. A pearl's luster is finer if it has thinner and more layers. Luster depends upon the diffraction, reflection and refraction of light from the translucent layers. Pearl grade or the quality of the pearl, is determined by its color, luster, orient, shape, size and surface perfection.
"Pearl of Allah", with a weight of-- lbs or 6.4 kilograms, is the largest pearl known. It was discovered by an anonymous Filipino Muslim diver in'34 in Palawan, Philippines. It was found from a giant clam, a non-nacreous mollusk. It is not pearly as it did not grow in a pearl oyster, but the pearl is glossy like a china plate.
A pearl, although delicate, has been successfully used in jewelry for many years already. It is the only gem created by humans who can be used without cutting or polishing. For centuries, pearl is considered to be the most valuable oldest known and organic gem.
A pearl is a roundish, hard object found within a soft tissue of a living shelled mollusk. The epithelial cells of the mantle secrete it. It is a curtain of tissue in the middle of shell and body mass. It is made up of calcium carbonate, a common substance in rocks and shells of mollusks. The concentrated layers of calcium carbonate deposits found in pearls are in very tiny crystalline form.
A pearl is eventually formed through a process called encystations. This process begins when a parasite or an irritating microscopic object is trapped inside the mollusk's mantle folds. The mollusks, being irritated by the intruder, secrete the calcium carbonate and conchiolin to cover the irritant. As long as the animal lives, the pearl keeps growing because the secretion process continues.
Nacre, the mother of pearl, is an inner shell layer that is strong, iridescent and resilient. Nacre secretion around the irritant creates a pearl inside the body of the mollusk. Some mollusks have a porcellaneous inner shell layer, instead of nacre. This type of mollusk produces an even higher value pearls.
There are freshwater pearls and saltwater pearls. Freshwater pearls, as the name suggests, are a kind of pearl that comes from freshwater mussels. Saltwater pearls are produced by several species of marine pearl oysters. Pearls from the sea are valued highly than freshwater pearls.
Pearls can be cultured or farmed, but valuable pearls are those that occur in the wild. Culturing or farming of pearls has become successful because of its scarcity. Cultured pearls are pearls grown in pearl-producing mollusks with the aid of human intervention. These are also considered genuine pearls as they do not differ from their natural pearl counterparts.
There are freshwater and saltwater cultured pearls. Cultured freshwater pearls are produced by making small incisions to the mantle organ of the host mollusk. Saltwater cultured pearls are cultured in a saline environment. To produce this, a rounded bead of freshwater mussel shell is introduced into the gonad of the host oyster.
Pearls come in a various shapes. The ideal pearl is perfectly round and smooth. Other shapes is rice-shaped, pear-shaped, irregular (baroque) or button-shaped. Pearl gemstones are valued for their luster, translucence and for the delicate play of surface color.
The pearl shows iridescence, if successive layers overlap and the light falling on the surface breaks up. A pearl's luster is finer if it has thinner and more layers. Luster depends upon the diffraction, reflection and refraction of light from the translucent layers. Pearl grade or the quality of the pearl, is determined by its color, luster, orient, shape, size and surface perfection.
"Pearl of Allah", with a weight of-- lbs or 6.4 kilograms, is the largest pearl known. It was discovered by an anonymous Filipino Muslim diver in'34 in Palawan, Philippines. It was found from a giant clam, a non-nacreous mollusk. It is not pearly as it did not grow in a pearl oyster, but the pearl is glossy like a china plate.
A pearl, although delicate, has been successfully used in jewelry for many years already. It is the only gem created by humans who can be used without cutting or polishing. For centuries, pearl is considered to be the most valuable oldest known and organic gem.
About the Author:
About the Author: Fred Gagnon specializes in providing tips and information on jewelries. He owns a wide collection of stunning, glamorous and chic jewelries. To learn more about jewelries, accessories, precious metals and gemstones, visit Black Pearl Earrings and Hip Hop Jewelry.