Pearl Jewelry – The Symbol Of Deep Love

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 made up of calcium carbonate, a common substance found in rocks and shells of mollusks. Calcium carbonate deposited in concentric layers found in pearls is in minute crystalline form. A pearl is roundish, hard object produced within the soft tissue of living shelled mollusks. It is secreted by the epithelial cells of the mantle, a curtain of tissue between the shell and body mass.

A pearl is formed when an irritating microscopic object or a parasite is caught up inside a mollusk’s mantle folds. The mollusk, irritated by the intruder, secretes the calcium carbonate and conchiolin to cover the irritant. As long as the mollusks live, the encystation (or the secretion process) continues, the pearl keeps on growing in size.

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 saltwater pearls and freshwater pearls. Saltwater pearls come from marine pearl oysters. A freshwater pearl of course comes from freshwater mussels. Saltwater pearls are valued higher 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 saltwater cultured pearls and freshwater cultured pearls. Saltwater cultured pearls are pearls cultured in a saline environment. They are produced by introducing a rounded bead of freshwater mussel shell into the gonad of a host mollusk. Freshwater cultured pearls are produced by creating small incisions to the mantle organ of a host mussel.

There are different shapes of pearls such as round, rice-shaped, pear-shaped, button-shaped or baroque (irregular). But the ideal pearl is perfectly round and smooth. Pearl as gemstones, are valued for their delicate play of surface color, luster and translucence.

The quality of pearl, or pearl grade, is determined by its size, luster, shape, color, orient, and surface perfection. Luster depends upon the reflection, refraction and diffraction of light from the translucent layers. A pearl’s luster is finer if it has thinner and more numerous layers. If successive layers overlap, the light falling on the surface breaks up and the pearl displays iridescence.

“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 is the oldest known gem, considered to be the most valuable. For thousands of years, this organic gem, though delicate has been successfully used in jewelry. It is the only gem which requires no polishing or cutting before use and is the only gem created by a living creature.

Author Fred Gagnon is an expert on providing tips and information on jewelries. He owns a wide collection of beautiful, glamorous and chic jewelries. To learn more about jewelries, accessories, precious metals and gemstones, visit Black Pearl Earrings and Hip Hop Jewelry.

Posted: November 10th, 2009 under Fashion.
Tags: accessory, black pearl, black pearl earrings, Fashion, Jewelry, pearl earrings, pearl jewelry, pearl necklace, pearl rings, pearls, Tahitian pearls, trend fashion