Fine Handmade Pearl Jewelry

All About Pearls

A natural pearl is a hard, roundish object produced within the soft tissue of a living shelled mollusk. Just like the shell of mollusks, a pearl is made up of calcium carbonate in minute crystalline form, which has been deposited in concentric layers. The ideal pearl is perfectly round and smooth, but many other shapes of pearls (baroque pearls) occur. The finest quality natural pearls have been highly valued as gemstones and objects of beauty for many centuries. Cultured pearls (nucleated and non-nucleated or tissue nucleated cultured pearls) and imitation pearls can be distinguished from natural pearls by X-ray examination. Nucleated cultured pearls are often 'pre-formed' as they tend to follow the shape of the implanted shell bead nucleus. Once the pre-formed beads are inserted into the oyster, it secretes a few layers of nacre around the outside surface of the implant before it is removed after six months or more. Freshwater pearls are a kind of pearl that comes from freshwater mussels. They are produced in Japan and the United States on a limited scale, but are now almost exclusive to China. Man made glass pearls are manufactured to look like the real pearl but are mass product. VP's Jewelry offers a selection of fine cultured pearls like this Peacock Pearl and Gemstone Necklace here