Every pearl is different in its colour, lustre, shape and size. Pearl is one of the most fascinating and extraordinary gemstones available. Pearls have a timeless charm to them and enduring and global popularity.
Getting pearls for the first time can be challenging; you will face numbers of diverse varieties at a massive range of prices. The two most important differences are the pearls habitat (saltwater or freshwater) and how the pearls have been developed, are they cultivated or natural?
Here Are Some Types of Pearl
Types of Saltwater Pearls
Saltwater pearls grow in oysters and muscles in seas, gulfs, oceans, and bays. They are generally high-quality and more costly than freshwater pearls. Freshwater pearls are discovered in molluscs and rivers, lakes and ponds. They are usually more extraordinary and different in shape than saltwater pearls.
Akoya Pearls
They are the pearls that the Mikimoto brand was found in. Akoya pearls are the preeminent cultured pearls. Appreciated by royalty and pearl experts for centuries, Akoya pearls have long been desired for their round shape, richness and deep lustre.
The natural body colours range from pale yellow to light pink to white and green and blue-grey tones. Akoya pearls are typically connected with Japan, frequently if they measure over 7 mm. Korea, Hong Kong, Vietnam, China, and Sri Lanka all produce Akoya pearls in smaller sizes.
Some of the most well-known and precious pearls come from a group of marine bivalves called pearl oysters from Pinctada and Pteria’s family.
South Sea and Tahitian Pearls
These pearls are cultured in the big muscle Pinctada heights and usually need a longer developing time in the shell than Akoya pearls.
They can be white with a blue-grey or green tent, green, golden or pale yellow. The lustre and light-toned South Sea pearls manage to be less potent than the dark pearls.
Vibrant golden-coloured South Sea pearls are famous and demand a high price, as does the white rose colour.
South Sea pearls are the biggest cultured pearls of all, and as their size rises, so does the cost. Round pearls are the most precious and most expensive.
Types of Freshwater Pearls
Biwa Pearls Lake Biwa is Japan’s biggest lake and was the first freshwater culturing place. Biwa pearls are remarked for their top quality surface and excellent lustre. They don’t have a nucleus as the mussel won’t receive one, and as a consequence, some unusual shapes can happen.
The colours vary from creamy-white to white-rose, salmon-orange, dark wine, red and violet. Various freshwater pearls on the business are called Biwa pearls, despite being developed in China. This is done to impress or convince customers and to earn higher prices.
Chinese Freshwater Pearls
Chinese freshwater pearls are a common type of cultured pearl. They are different because they are nucleated with a tiny piece of mantle tissue from another oyster. There are over 350 varieties of freshwater mussels living in lakes, rivers and streams.
Many species have more recently become lost due to water pollution and the development of surrounding areas.
However, the Chinese have successfully created plenty especially cultured freshwater pearls utilising the pearl mussel Hyriopsis cumingii, giving an economic staple of the refined pearl business.
The colours are wide-ranging but include blue-grey, rose, salmon-orange, wine red and violet.
Mabe Pearls
Mabe pearls are cultivated by fixing a half-bead nucleus into the inside of the shell. When the hemisphere pearl is covered in nacre, it is cut, and the nucleus is eliminated, and space is then filled and the pearl backed with mother-of-pearl.
Because mabe pearls are created, they are not as tough as other types of peals, and over time the nacre coating can lift off, become damaged, or sometimes fade. If a male has a line around it, making it look like a fried egg, it is named a blister mabe.
Blister Pearls
These pearls become connected to the inner surface of the shell rather than free in the mantle. They have the identical iridescent nacre as the shell’s inner surface, and the end is flat, without any pearly coating.
