Do you find pearls elegant and classy? Have you been willing to try a piece of pearl jewelry because they would look oh so beautiful especially with a black evening gown? Pearls are not jut any kind of stones or gems and here are things you should know about them.
A pearl is a hard object produced within the soft tissue of a living shelled mollusk. Just like its shell, it is also composed of calcium carbonate in minute crystalline form, which has been deposited in concentric layers. Pearls have been a symbol of beauty and purity and today, they are regarded as both classic and contemporary, coming in many more fashionable styles.
Whether natural or cultured, they are formed when a mollusk produces layers of nacre around some type of irritant inside its shell. In natural pearls, the irritant may be another organism from the water while in cultured pearls, a mother-of-pearl bead or a piece of tissue is inserted into the mollusk by human manipulation.
For both, the quality of the nacre dictates the quality of the luster, or shine of the pearl, which is very important to its beauty and its value. The surface of the pearl should be smooth and free. Ideally, it should also be perfectly round but many other shapes occur (oval, pear-shaped, or even misshapen which are called baroque pearls.)
It is in Australia, Indonesia, and the Philippines where one can see the South Sea pearl – the largest of all the pearls. They range in size from 9mm to 20mm and can be naturally white, cream, or golden in color. Natural pearls, however, are extremely rare because today, most have already been harvested. You may be able to purchase small, natural pearls, but they will be costly.
Yes it is true, it is very elegant to wear pearl jewelry. Now, you know exactly where they come from and you know the basics of what they’re worth.
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