Pearls

Pearls, classified as gems, are produced within the mantle or soft tissue of a living shelled mollusk. Chemically, they are composed of calcium carbonate, the same material as shells.

Pearls are created when a mollusk accidentally or deliberately receives an external material, such as a grain of sand or any other foreign body, inside its interior. At that moment, the mollusk, to protect itself, develops a series of concentric crystalline layers over the object to insulate it within its interior.

This coating is made of calcium carbonate crystals and a protein called conchiolin, both of which combine to produce nacre, which is also observed inside shells. After approximately three years, the pearl becomes a pearl.

By the same principle, man has created cultured pearls, introducing spherical pieces of mother-of-pearl of different sizes, usually spherical, into the interior of different types of oysters and mollusks, creating cultures and over time obtaining pearls of different sizes and qualities. These are influenced by the length of cultivation, the quality of the water, the mollusk's diet and the different geographical location, the type of mollusk, as well as the cultivation techniques.

Pearls come in a wide variety of sizes, shapes, and colors: spherical, semi-baroque, baroque, pear-shaped, stick, teardrop, rice-shaped, black, gray, green, blue, silver, pink, very white, chocolate, yellow... and come in countless qualities, based on origin, luster, cultivation layer, and color.

Their price varies and depends on all these characteristics, as well as the type of production, the current state of the international markets, etc.

Although it can be said that their value increases if they have an attractive color (whatever it may be), a good cultivation layer (years of age), a beautiful luster, a smooth and particularly even skin, and, in short, a "good oriental" quality, given by all these factors.

Types of Pearls

South Sea or Australian Pearls

Cultivated in saltwater in Australia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. They are notable for their sizes, ranging from 9 to almost 30 millimeters, spherical and baroque, with silver and gold colors.

Akoya Pearls

Cultivated in saltwater in Akoya (Japan), with sizes ranging from 1 to 11 millimeters, their cultivation is difficult and delicate, ranging in color from white to pink to cream. They can be cultivated for 2 to 3 years.

Tahitian Pearls

Cultivated in French Polynesia, they are unique for their colors, which range from green, gray, orange, blue, and black with a special luster. They take 2 to 3 years to cultivate. Their sizes can reach up to 14/15 millimeters, exceptionally.

Freshwater Pearls

Typically cultivated in lakes and rivers in China, although to a lesser extent in Japan and the United States.

Currently, pearl sizes range from 1 to 12 millimeters. They come in a multitude of colors. Production is much higher than that of other types, and pearls show a noticeable improvement in quality and shape over the years. Culture times range from 6 months to 4 years.