Be a Queen of the Orient - Sea Water Pearls

Pearls have been highly valued as objects of fashion for many centuries, and because of this, the word pearl is synonymous with words such as beauty, elegance and wealth. Extremely rare, the most valuable pearls are the ones that grow naturally in the wild. Cultured or farmed pearls from fresh water mussels or sea water oysters make up the majority of pearl jewelry sold today. Sea water pearls are harvested in the earth’s seas and oceans.

 

How are Sea Water Pearls formed?

Liked oysters? Well that’s where your Sea Water Pearls come from. All pearls are made of a substance called nacre. Nacre is type of calcium that is naturally secreted by the Oyster. Pearls are formed when foreign material, like a grain of sand, enters the oyster. The nacre secreted by the oyster naturally covers and hardens on the foreign substance. Over a bit of time and many layers of nacre, a pearl will slowly start to form. . It takes approximately 5 to 7 years for the pearl to be ready for harvesting and cultivation normally results in only 1 pearl per oyster, hence why Sea Water Pearls are considerably more expensive than Fresh Water Pearls.

 

How are Sea Water Pearls graded?

The quality and characteristic of fresh water pearls are determined by its size, shape, surface, lustre and colour.

Type	Akoya, South Sea, Tahitian
Size	Varies from approximately 3mm – 15mm
Shapes	Round, semi-round, baroque, semi-baroque
Surface	Spotless, slightly spotted, lightly spotted and spotted
Lustre	Very bright, bright, medium, slightly dull
Colour	White, cream white, different shades of light pink and light orange

The grading is ranked AAA, AA, A, B, C, etc where AAA is the best grading a pearl can get.

The bigger the size, the better the roundness, the more spotless the surface and the higher the lustre – the more valuable the pearl.

 

Types of Sea Water Pearls 

Akoya	Are the most well known pearl and are available in white and cream white shades with silver or pink overtones.
South Sea	Have a thick coating and are bigger in size and are available in shades of white and cream white colours.
Tahitian	Are very rare and expensive which is blue/grey in colour, are big in size and are known as the Black pearl. They are cultivated in the Tahitian sea.

How do I know that my pearls are not imitation/fake?

This can be very challenging to the untrained eye. Firstly, we always recommend purchasing all your pearls from a reputable jeweller.  Maslov Jewels only keeps authentic and genuine pearls and gemstones. We do NOT deal or sell any imitation products. Secondly, if you are inexperienced but would like to try test whether the pearl is authentic, a popular method used is to rub the pearl gently along the biting edge of your teeth. Genuine pearls will always feel gritty against the tooth. If it feels smooth the authenticity of the pearl could be questionable.

 

Pearl care

The pearl coating is soft and can be easily scratched, thus they should always be store separately, away from other jewellery which could scratch it.

Pearls are made of organic material and are sensitive to heat and acid. People’s perspiration and perfume contains small traces of acid, which can be harmful to the pearls over time. We recommend you lightly wipe your pearls with a soft cloth after wearing them.

Avoid putting your pearls under water. Do not wash with any soap or detergent.