Ever wonder what the difference between cultured and natural pearls
is? So did we, before we became pearl experts. Read on and get the
skinny...
Cultured vs. Natural Pearls
What is a pearl?
A pearl forms in a mollusk (a diverse group of animals that includes
the snail, oyster, mussel and squid, among others) such as an oyster
or mussel when an intruder, often a parasite, enters the animal and
causes irritation. To protect itself, the mollusk forms a sac around
the irritant and secretes nacre, an organic substance comprised of
aragonite (calcium carbonate) and conchiolin (a kind of organic "glue"
that holds the aragonite crystals together). Over time, the layers
build up and form what we call a pearl. (Mother-of-pearl, the
substance that lines the animal's shell, is also made of nacre.) Left
unmolested, the pearl will grow in size.
Among the first gems to be valued by people, pearls are considered
organic colored stones in the jewelry trade. (Other organic stones are
amber, coral, ivory and jet). Due to pearls' popularity, over time,
over fishing caused the supply of natural pearls to decrease
dramatically. Although natural pearls can still be found in the market
today--usually at auctions and estate sales--and some are still
harvested, they are rare. The vast majority of pearls sold today are
cultured pearls.
What is a cultured pearl?
A cultured pearl is a real pearl, made from the same substance as a
natural pearl. Cultured pearls, however, get their start with a little
nudge from man. Rather than waiting for nature to take its course, a
highly skilled worker called a nucleator surgically places an
irritant--a mother-of-pearl bead or piece of mantle tissue (the mantle
is a soft fold of outer skin that lines the mollusk's shell) is often
used--in the mollusk to stimulate the formation of a pearl sac and the
secretion of nacre. By allowing more pearls to come to market, pearl
culturing makes these wonderful gems affordable to more people.
Luckily, you no longer have to be Cleopatra to own a beautiful pearl
necklace!
The first cultured pearls produced were blister pearls, which are
pearls that grow around a core that has been glued to the inside of
the mollusk's shell. According to the Gemological Institute of
America, blister pearls have been around for 700 years. Thanks to
improvements in modern pearl culturing practices, which began in
earnest in the 1900s, (Kokichi Mikimoto is widely credited with
developing modern pearl culturing techniques), we can now produce
large, round, lustrous pearls that rival the beauty of natural pearls.
One difference between the two is how their size is measured: Natural
pearl size is measured in grain weight, while the size of cultured
pearls is measured in millimeters. Since today's cultured pearls can
rival the beauty of natural pearls--indeed it can be very difficult to
tell them apart--the savvy buyer should always ask whether the pearls
he or she is buying have been cultured. When buying pearls off the
Internet, keep in mind that the U.S. Federal Trade Commission requires
pearl sellers to disclose the fact that their pearls are cultured if
indeed they are. While sellers are not required to use the world
"cultured" each and every time, it must be made clear at the beginning
of the presentation that the pearls are cultured.
Freshwater cultured pearl strand and studs in pink rose from
MoonRiverPearls.com. All pearls sold by MoonRiverPearls.com are
cultured pearls.
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