Thursday, April 9, 2009

Uniquely and Different Freshwater Pearls

Freshwater pearls are known as “freshwater cultured pearls” in commerce. These pearls are, traditionally harvested only in saltwater mollusks, but now, they are found to be produced by freshwater mussels which live in ponds, lakes and rivers as well. Freshwater pearls were first mentioned to be harvested in the form of mabe in the 14th century by China. Today, China holds domination over the production of these pearls, totaling to 1,500 tons in 2006; and they are mainly marketed in Hongkong, which is the world’s pearl trading hub. The Hyriopsis Cumingi (triangle shell) species produce most of this type of pearls today.

Majority of freshwater pearls are not bead-nucleated. The process of nucleating freshwater mollusks is done by creating a small incision in the fleshy mantle tissue of a 6 to 12 month old mussel, then inserting a 3mm square piece of mantle tissue from a donor mussel. Upon insertion, graft tissue is twisted slightly to round out the edges. Afterwards, the mollusks are returned to the freshwater where they are tended for 2-6 years.

Freshwater pearls have the widest range of colors, size, and shapes as compared to other types of pearls. Freshwater pearls produce an optical effect where rainbows of colors glisten beneath the pearls’ surface. They are solid nacre, durable, and quite resistant to chipping, wearing, and degeneration. Their nacre thickness ranges from 0.2mm to 4.0mm.

The body color of these pearls can be cream, white, orange, pink, purple, or yellow. Higher-quality of freshwater pearls has overtones of blue, green, and rose. The sizes of these pearls range from 2.00mm to 15.0mm. Those with sizes ranging from 6.0 to 7.00 mm are best suited for maintaining an understated, minimalist appeal; 7.0 to 8.00 mm are good for making a refined statement; and 9.0 to 10.00 mm are suited for young adults or mature teens.




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