Pearl Guide

Am I Getting Freshwater or Cultured Pearls?

A common question faced by many pearl buyers today is whether a particular strand of pearls is composed of freshwater or cultured pearls. This question cannot have a definitive answer because freshwater pearls are in fact cultured pearls.

Freshwater Pearls Are Cultured Pearls, But They Are Not Akoya

The reason so many buyers distinguish cultured pearls from freshwater pearls, is because "cultured pearls" is a trade term still used by many today...

Freshwater Pearls Defined
Freshwater pearls are pearls which grow in non-saline environment in freshwater mussels.

Freshwater Pearl Grading
There currently is no internationally recognized grading standard for freshwater pearls. Every system in use is subjective and unique to the company or organization that creates the system.

The Chinese government has begun work on a system, but the tremendous number of variants strongly discourage adaptability. In addition, the system only accounts for...

The Genus Pinctada, Roding 1798
The family Pteriidae is composed of nine or ten genera, and pearl oysters belonging to the Pinctada and Pteria genera are the most important from our point of view. We start off with the firts of these genus.

Pinctada History and Discovery

Historically, there is a large amount of duplication among the names of pearl producing mollusks. This is partly due to independent geographical discoveries that were later found to be the same oyster. Furthermore, the...

Alishan Halebian designs sculptural and sensuous jewelry. Having seen some great Alishan pearl pieces in the past, I hurried over to the new JCK Tucson show to find his booth.

These thrilling rings are the inaugural Pearl Jewels of the Week. Alishan and his wife, Lydia Tutunjian are lovely people, always willing to help. Lydia arranged the South Sea and Tahitian pearl rings for this photograph.

You can see more at their website, AlishanOnline.com, on their Facebook page, or at JCK shows...

The Pearl Necklace comes in many Sizes and Colors

The "classic" piece of pearl jewelry is, of course, the pearl necklace. Akoya pearls are the most traditional type of pearl used in necklaces, but freshwater pearls, Black Tahitian pearls, and large South Sea pearls are also used, often to stunning effect.
Akoyas, of course, exhibit the traditional white, silver, or cream colors, while Tahitians and South Sea pearls yield pearl necklaces ranging from bright white to darker tones. Freshwater...