A Fresh Look to Fresh Water Pearls

Pearls are so special. They are considered as a sign of wealth.Its elegance has been adoredas a symbol of affluence and exquisite taste. They are popularly made into elegant jewelry and sold in different shapes for accessories as necklaces, bracelets, earrings or even as an accent to a ring. Market today displays various pearl jewelry designs, if not thousands, there are hundreds of designs to choose from. It comes in perfection and beauty. Since they are considered expensive, knowledge in classifying pearls is an advantage.When buying a pearl, make sure what you are getting is genuine and not fake.

There are two kinds of pearls available in the market. They are classified in two:

Freshwater Pearls - are grown in freshwater mussels living in lakes, rivers, ponds, or any other body of fresh water. They are much smaller and less expensive than saltwater pearls. They are symmetrical and less spherical. Their natural luminescence and remarkable colors, which you cannot see in saltwater pearls, have made them popular.

Saltwater Pearls - are grown in saltwater oysters. They are bead-nucleated and more lustrous than freshwater pearls. Typically, saltwater pearls tend to be of higher quality, but there are some types of freshwater pearls that have high quality as well. Akoya, Tahitian, and South Sea pearls are some commontypes of saltwater pearls available today.

Saltwater and freshwater pearls exist naturally or cultured. Natural pearls are created entirely by Mother Nature, meaning there is no human interference. They are formed when a grain of sand (intruder) enters an oyster (mollusk) and settles inside the shell. The oyster, being irritated by the intruder, secretes the pearl substance called nacre, (Nay-Ker) an iridescent material made of calcium carbonate to cover the irritant. The nacre will coat a microscopic irritant entering its shell until a pearl is formed. If we talk about a genuine pearl, it does not only mean "natural". There are also "cultured" pearls produced out there that are genuine as well. They are cultured pearls farmed by pearl growers. This is done by carefully opening the shell and introduces a small object as an irritant (commonly a bead or metal) to it, then place them back into the water and wait for the pearl to form. This usually takes 2-5 years. Natural pearls are expensive so it is an advantage that people have found ways in order to come up with this cultured pearls.

In reality, it is more satisfying to own a genuine pearl jewelry at least once in a lifetime. Since affordability is not always available to all, some pearl lovers will just buy fake ones. Fake pearls are proliferating in the market. They are man-made pearls made of glass, ceramics, plastics or any other similar materials. They are called "faux" pearls and are sold as costume jewelry. Modern technology enables man to create fake pearls and imitate the exact original look. But imitation ends there, they cannot get the luster which genuine pearls have, fake ones are dimmer and do not have the same weight or texture as the genuine pearls. Only real ones contain gem value. Versatility in identifying freshwater pearls is necessary.

Here is how to identify fresh water pearls. This three-way test will help you.

Tooth test -run the pearl against the front of your biting teeth. Real pearls produce a gritty feeling unlike fake pearls which are like glass or plastic, they are smooth. Nevertheless, you should be careful since some fake pearls can also be gritty since they are made from ground shells.

Luster test - simply use all kinds of light. When you test the fake pearls, only the surface shines while genuine pearls shine from within.

Rub test - rubbing two pearls together. If it is gritty and not sliding off each other, it is real.