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Bella Blanca sells only genuine Freshwater and Akoya pearl jewelry. Why settle for fake glass pearls when you can have genuine Bella Blanca pearls.
AKOYA PEARLS - Akoya Pearls are exquisite in beauty and found only in Japan, China, and Vietnam. Overtone colors of Akoya pearls include white, cream, rose, silver, and green and sizes range from less than 5mm to 9mm. Larger Akoya pearl sizes are found, but rare.
FRESHWATER PEARLS - Freshwater pearls are grown in mussels. The irritants used in making freshwater pearls are often smaller than those used in saltwater pearls, which results in a pearl with more nacre, or more pearl, and less core irritant.
Nacre - Oysters secrete a substance (also called mother-of-pearl) which form the inside of the oysters shell. When a foreign substance invades the oyster (often a grain of sand) the oyster deposits secretions around the substance which eventually form the pearl. The thickness of the nacre (or number of individual layers) is important in the specific luster, iridescence, and colouring of each pearl.
Pearl Luster - Luster is essentially the reflective quality or brilliance of the surface of the pearl nacre. The amount of nacre deposited on the pearl aids in its overall luster.
Match - As nature would suggest, no two pearls are made alike. Matching is the care that jewelers take to ensure that each pearl in a stand or set is chosen to "fit" in a pleasing manner, and that variations among them are either minimal, or gradual.
Surface - It is extremely rare to find a pearl with a perfect surface. The surface quality affects the value of the pearl depending on how visible or obvious imperfections are.
Shapes-Pearl experts generally divide pearl shapes into three broad categories, based on their overall characteristics:
- Spherical shapes are perfectly round or nearly round. They are the "classic" pearl shape that is most familiar.
- Symmetrical shapes are are balanced and regular. If you sliced this pearl in half, each half would be a mirror-image of the other half.
- Baroque shapes are irregular or abstract. They are non-symmetrical in nature.
Within these three broad categories, pearls can be classified into seven basic shapes:
- Round: Round pearls are perfectly spherical -- the shape most people think of when they think of a pearl. Because of their relative rarity and "classic" nature, they are highly desirable. Round pearls fall into the spherical category.
- Near-round: These pearls are not perfectly round. Instead, they are slightly flattened or elongated, rather than being a perfect sphere. Nonetheless, they are so nearly perfect that they, too, are classified as spherical.
- Oval: These pearls are shaped like an oval -- narrower at the ends than they are in the center. Ovals are categorized as a symmetrical shape.
- Button: Button pearls are flattened to some degree, making them resemble a button or perhaps a disk rather than a perfect sphere. These pearls are often used in earrings, where the flattened side can be attached to the setting. Buttons are also categorized as symmetrical.
- Drop: Drop pearls are pear- or teardrop-shaped. The drop can either be "long" or "short," depending on its proportions. These pearls make attractive earrings or pendants. This is also a symmetrical shape.
- Semi-baroque: These pearls are slightly irregular in their shape. For example, a pearl which might otherwise be considered an oval, button, or drop pearl, but which is not symmetrical in nature, would be considered semi-baroque. Semi-baroque pearls fall into the baroque category of shapes.
- Baroque: This is a pearl which is both non-symmetrical and irregular in shape. The baroque pearl can be purely abstract in its shape, or it can resemble a cross, stick, or some other shape. Baroque pearls fall into the baroque category.
-Pearl Guide.com |
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