Pearl Jewelry Making - Make High Fashion and Stylish Pearl Jewelry

Pearl jewelry making: Pearls have been long known as the "Queen of Gems," and they possess a history and allure far beyond what today's wearer may recognize.

Before the creation of cultured pearls in the early 1900s, natural these jewels were so rare and expensive that they were reserved almost exclusively for the noble and very rich.

With the launching of the cultured industry by Kokichi Mikimoto, they became a fashion statement available to a larger group of people. Pearl jewelry making became more readily available to the fashion and jewelry world.

By introducing a foreign body into the mollusk he was able make more and better quality item. Nowadays, research and technology have increased production and created better quality gems. Different types of mollusks have been isolated and they produce high luster and exceptional quality gems.

They are produced as a natural reaction to the presence of a foreign body such as sand (introduced naturally) or a piece of shell (introduced by humans).

With the introduction of this foreign body and the right conditions the oyster produces concentric layers of nacre as a protective mechanism, covering the foreign object and producing a coveted gem.

The nacre is composed of multiple microscopic crystals that give the pearl its luster and its ultimate value and beauty.

The unique lustre depends upon the reflection and refraction of light from the translucent layers and is finer in proportion as the layers become thinner and more numerous.

The iridescence that some of these gems display is caused by the overlapping of successive layers, which breaks up light falling on the surface.

Every pearl jewelry making article tell us that they are usually white, sometimes with a creamy or pinkish tinge, but may be tinted with yellow, green, blue, brown, purple, or black.

Black pearls, frequently referred to as Black Tahitian, are highly valued because of their rarity; the culturing process for them dictates a smaller volume output and can never be mass produced. Before you decide to buy one of this coveted pearl necklaces make sure you educate yourself by reading different articles on pearls information.

Pearl Jewelry Making: The Different Types You Can Use To Enhance Your Pearl Jewerly

Freshwater they are formed in freshwater mussels that live in lakes, rivers, ponds and other bodies of fresh water. One of my favorite types of pearls under this category are Keishi pearls

Saltwater grow in oysters that live in the ocean, usually in protected lagoons. Akoya, South Sea and Tahitian are the three main types of saltwater pearls.

Jewelry Making Materials: How to Select High Quality Pearl Jewelry Making

• The luster: Quality items are brilliant, never opaque. You should be able to see your own reflection on the surface. As light is reflected in the successive layers of nacre, it produces and iridescent sheen.

• The surface: must be clean and free of bulges and imperfections. The smoother the surface, the higher its value.
  

• The shape: should be spherical. The more perfect the sphere the greater the value.
  

• The color: can range from white to pink, brown and black are also acceptable and many time coveted for their rarity.
  

• The size: is calculated in millimeters. they can reach a diameter of 20 mm. The greater the size the higher the price.
  

More Pearl Jewelry Making Information - Different Types

• Akoya: From the Akoya oyster are probably the most popular type, and are sought after for their round shape. Most are cultured in Japan and are available in their natural colors ranging from light pink, white or yellowish.


• Biwa: Lake Biwa is Japan's largest lake. Here is one of the first places where these gems were cultivated but unfortunately the lake is now very polluted.


• Black: Technically used to describe types of gems from the black-lip (Pinctada margaritifera) oyster in Western to Central pacific Ocean or from La Paz oyster (Pinctada mazatlanica) or rainbow-lipped oyster (Pteria sterna) in the Eastern Pacific between Baja California and Peru.


• Blister: refers to a pearl that has gotten embedded in the mother of the shell, so it looks like a "blister." It can be cut out and mounted so the back, which has no nacre, doesn't show.


• Mikimoto: Only the top 3 to 5% of Akoya pearls are used and sold by Mikimoto Co. They are recognized for the highest quality in the industry.


• Oriental:By the standards of the US Federal Trade Commission, they are natural gems found in oysters of the Persian Gulf.


• Imitation: Sometimes referred to as faux, are man-made. They are manufactured from glass, plastics, ceramics, or other similar materials. They are typically sold as costume or designer jewelry and do not have any gem value. The most common are Swarovski and Mallorca.


• White and Black South Sea: The gems from the white group are primarily cultured in the northern waters of Australia, the Philippines and Indonesia. Their rarity and exceptional sizes, from 8 to 20mm, make them highly prized. Their colors range from white and silvery blue to pale gold - the golden or light-yellowish varieties abound in Philippine and Indonesian waters while white or silvery hues occur mainly in Australian waters.
  

  Gems from the black group, among which is the legendary black gem of the South Pacific, are most frequently found over a wide area stretching from the Cook Islands, eastward through Tahiti to the Tuamotu Archipelago and the Gambier Islands in French Polynesia.



Tahitian: This cultured jewel of Tahiti is synonymous with magic and perfection. Most come from the atolls and lagoons of the South Pacific. They tend more toward drop shapes than round and vary in size from 7 to 15mm. They can be black, silver, dark or light grey. The rarest color is "peacock green" - the greenish black color of a peacock feather.

Two major grading systems are in fairly widespread use: the AAA-A system and the A-D system (also called the Tahitian system). These are the most accepted systems, and considered standard by nearly all reputable dealers, both retail and wholesale. Buyers beware, as of today there is no system adopted by the industry as a whole. Grading systems vary from seller to seller or from distributor to distributor. Eventually a standard system will come into the market - most likely developed by the Gemological Institute of America. Until that time, those in the industry must rely on commonly accepted grading systems.

I hope that this article on pearl jewelry makingwas helpful.

From pearl jewelry making back to pearl necklace