PEARL FASHION: 5 Lovely Pearl Heart Pendants for Valentine’s Day

As you hold and embrace the one you love this upcoming Valentine’s Day, give her something she will always cherish and wear close to her heart—a pearl heart pendant. These pendants that we are sharing with you are not only beautiful but they are also an inexpensive way to give the one you love something totally unique and straight from the heart. There is no doubt that she will love these pieces for years to come. 

Check out some of the most heartfelt pendants for this loving holiday.

 Leeza Pendant – Lavender AA 9-10mm Freshwater Pearl Pendant read more

PEARL FASHION: 5 Unique Pearl Pendants

Many of us associate a pearl necklace with a simple strand of white freshwater pearls, but in modern times, you can now find some really gorgeous pearl pendants in different styles, colors, pearl qualities, and origins—how wonderful is that?

With unique and beautiful pearl pendants like the ones we included below, you can now give up the “old school” ideas that pearls are for a mature woman, and catch up to the latest trending pearls that are sleek and chic. Pearls can now be worn at any age and for almost any occasion. read more

How Are Freshwater Pearls Made?

Both buyers of pearly jewelry creations and jewelry designers the world over has become enamored with freshwater pearls. However, there is still some mystery when it comes to freshwater pearls, most specifically how these are different from the ‘traditional’ pearls and how these freshwater pearls are made. We will try to offer some knowledge on the subject.

The name

The name freshwater pearl comes from the type of water where these pearls are produced. The fresh waters for pearl production may include Asian pearl farms, ponds, lakes, and rivers. Many of these freshwater pearls come from China, the country with the largest freshwater pearl production in the world. read more

baroque-portrait-of-woman-with-pearls

Are Freshwater Pearls Worth The Purchase?

We get this question quite often – ‘are freshwater pearls worth the money?’ The answer is simple – absolutely. There are several reasons that these pearls are worth a second look.

Freshwter pearls contain more nacre

When drilling the freshwater pearl, the mantle tissue used to nucleate the pearl is drilled out or dissolved. This means that you have a solid pearl that does not have any immediate flaws, meaning it can last you a lifetime. You buy a quality pearl that does not contain the nucleus in the finished product. This guarantees that freshwater pearls have a unique, glassy luster that you cannot find anywhere else. read more

Why are Edison pearls so affordable?

The Edison pearl is the largest freshwater pearls available on the market and produces colors that are simply unmatched by most other pearl options. They are still pricey, but affordable if we compare them to the price of pearls less than 40, 50 years ago. Why is that?

Freshwater pearls have changed
About a century or a little more, pearls were so valuable that a single string of naturally formed pearls could net you a mansion on Park Avenue in New York city and it would have been considered a fair trade. Nowadays it seems as though pearls are becoming more affordable than ever before. While these Edison pearls are still expensive (make no mistake about it) they are more affordable than pearls were before. read more

The new era of pearls – the Edison pearl

Until a few years ago, freshwater pearls with a size of 10 millimeter or more might sound too good to be true. Fast forward a few years, and the Edison pearl has made those large pearls a reality. These Edison pearls are the latest development in the Chinese freshwater pearl production. At the time of writing, only three pearl farms are making Edison pearls.

What about the details of these pearls?
These pearls are relatively innovative and large, but what about the quality of these pearls? Can these pearls compare to what shoppers have become accustomed to? We will break down the specifics about these Edison pearls. The shape is usually round to slightly off-round. As with most freshwater pearls, you should not expect a perfect round shape for every pearl. read more

Edison Pearls – Game Changer for large pearls

Just when people in the pearl industry think they have seen everything, they are witness to the introduction of a new pearl. The Edison pearl is the result of a new freshwater pearl culturing technique. When looking at the traditional freshwater pearls, you will notice that these are relatively small when cultured. The donor mollusk’s tissue is only about a 2 millimeter square of tissue. Per host mollusk, this means that we should realistically expect between 12 and 14 freshwater pearls.

The Edison pearl is changing the game
However, that is until we saw the newest addition to the family of freshwater pearls – the Edison pearl. The cultivation of these pearls uses some techniques that manufacturers also use during saltwater culturing. This means that for every mollusk, only a single pearl is cultured. Now that might seem like a strange idea (less pearls = less money right?) but the harvest is a much larger sized pearl. These pearls have bright luster and colors that range from plum, peach, pink, white, and even exotic purple tones. read more

Freshwater Pearls History

One of the largest natural pearls in existence today is the Hope Pearl. It belonged to its namesake – Henry Phillip Hope. Hope’s incredible gem collection also included the infamous blue Hope Diamond. The Hope Pearl is a Freshwater pearl that is mainly white and gradually becomes dark bronze towards the bottom. It is approximately 450 carat or 1800 grains. The hope pearls measures 51 mm wide and 114 mm long.