Black Pearl Pendants

Pearls for the bride, pearls for the old and young, pearls for you and me, how can you not miss the pearls on the wearer's hands and neck? Pearls of white, pink, blue and black, how pearls can loose their charm when there are so many admirers all over the world. Pearls have been used as jewellery for a long time. Almost all cultures have used pearls and pearls symbolize innocence and purity and hence are used mainly in marriages. Pearls are exquisite pieces of jewellery. They are available in many colours, shapes and sizes and are used in making pendants, bangles, ear-rings and chains. All pearls are cultured pearls produced by pearl farmers. Kokichi Mikimoto is the the most famous among the pearl inventor.

The Technique

Cultured pearls are produced from saltwater or freshwater mollusks. The farmers grow pearls by introducing a shell bead into the oyster and the animal deposits layers of nacre around the bead. Some people use the term cultured pearls only to refer to pearls produced from saltwater mollusks whereas the same technique is used in freshwater pearls also.

Varieties of Pearls

Cultured Saltwater Pearls
The pearl from Akoya Oyster is called Akoya pearls. They are also called Mikimoto pearls in the name of the company that produces these pearls. These pearls are made in Japan. Akoya pearls are most difficult to produce because of the low survival rate of the oysters. Only 5 in 10 will survive the nucleation process. Only 0% will successfully secrete nacre. Of the total output only 5% has high quality.

Cultured Freshwater Pearls
The freshwater pearls are produced in Japan, China and United States. Among these pearls the most famous is the Biwa which is grown in Japanese freshwater lake of Biwa. There are different coloured pearls like pink, fine pink, salmon pink, blue-green, lavender pearls produced by these freshwaters mussels.

South Sea Pearls
The Silver lipped oyster produces south sea pearls in the south seas around Northern Austraili and South East Asia. The pearls thus produced have silver of gold colour The exotic shell of these oysters is used to make valuable mother of pearl to make buttons .

Tahitian Black Pearls
The pearls which are bred in the waters of French Polynesia are called Tahitian Black Pearls. These saltwater pearls are produced from the black lipped oyster. The pearls have colours raning from gray to black with red, green or blue overtones. An Adult black lipped oyster can weigh around 5 kgs and takes two years for harvesting. Only 30% have pearls in them

Mabe orBlister Pearls
Mabe pearls are produced by Black winged and white winged pearl oyster found in Japn, Indonesia or Australia.

Keshi Pearls
Keshi means poppy seed in Japanese. These pearls are produced when the oysters rejects the nucleus or a pearl when the epithelium may produce keshi baroque shaped pearls which have not nucleus. These pearls come in different shapes and sizes.

Mother of Pearl
In some freshwater and salt water mollusks the inside linning of the shells has an iridescent substance. It contains alternate layers of calcium carbonate and conchiolin. It is called Mother of Pearl. These pearl oysters are they are often referred to is found in the rivers of United States, Europe and Asia. This mother of pearl is used for making jewellery.

History of Pearls

Pearl is a symbol of unblemished perfection. It is the oldest gem and for centuries considered valuable. The pearls are considered a symbol of the moon and were thought to have magical powers. The latin meaning for the word pearl is unique, emphasizing the fact that no two pearls are identical. Pearls are considered an ideal wedding gift because of the quality of purity and innocence which they project. Hindu customs, undrilled pearls were presented and the piercing of the pearl formed the marriage ceremony.

Margarita means pearls in Spanish, French and Italian. Pearls were considered fashionable personal ornaments in the 13th and 14th centuries and the clothing of men and women were embroidered with pearls.

In the 13th and 14th centuries there were laws regarding wearing of pearls. Teachers and lawyers were not allowed to wear pearls.

The native Americans of the Atlantic and Mississippi coasts were the first to collect the freshwater mussel pearls and shells. Pearls were used for decorative purposes on clothing and were worn by both sexes. Pendants and ear rings made of pearls were also used by both men and women.

Black Pearl Pendants

Tahitian pearls are also called black pearls. The pearl farms were first established on island of Bora Bora toll of Hikueru in the 1960s. The pearls were first harvested in 1965 and in 1972 the exports of the black pearls started. Large scale production was subsequently started in the islands of Marutea Sud and Mangareva.

Pendants made of black pearls are available in white gold in various shapes. They may be combined with diamonds to give a charming and exquisite look. There are main stores that deal in this type of jewellery. The details are given below:

ebay specializes in selling solitaire black pearl pendants

NextTag has 60 varieties of pendants to choose from

Amazon.com has exquisite pieces of black pearl pendants which are done by Mondera

Blackpearlpendants.com displays 849 Tahitian pearl pendants

Mauidivers.com displays 117 styles of black pearl pendants in 14Kt White Gold, 3 styles in 18Kt yellow gold, 152 styles in 14 Kt Yellow gold, 11 styles in 18Kt White Gold.

With so many stores selling these black pearls, how can one not fall in love with their beauty and charms. They remain forever a reminder of the shiny hospitality of the islands from where they come from. This wide selection of jewellery of Tahitian black pearls offers unique designs which will suit everyone's style. Choose one pendant for your evening party with your favourite black satin gown. Wear it for formal office meetings. Gift one to your best friend on her wedding. Options are many only you can decide. Come on let us fall in love again with these black beauties from the seas.