Pearls of promise
By Never teh Bride
Pearls are pretty. To me, they say class. They speak of a time when people dressed for dinner and jeans were something you wore to work in the garden (and then only when you were sure no one was going to drop by). I know, I know, they’re not so wonderful in rings because rings tend to get bumped around more than other jewelry. But I don’t care. I keep telling myself that if I had a lovely pearl engagement ring (like the one above from Jewelry Central) I’d be ever so careful with it!
But how does one choose the perfect pearl? Pearls present a difficulty in that you have natural pearls and cultured pearls. According to Love to Know, cultured pearls are made when “shell beads or other irritants are placed inside a small cut in an oyster or mussel, triggering the mollusks to begin covering the offending intruder with nacre. The thicker the nacre becomes, the more lustrous the pearl will be.”
Though pearls are traditionally white or cream colored, pearls come in a range of colors from black to blue to green to pink to gold. Colors influence price, and a white pearl with pink overtones will be the most expensive.
Shape and size also influence price. “A perfectly round pearl is considered the most valuable shape. However, other beautiful pearls may be tear-dropped in shape, which is a common choice for pendants and earrings. Uniquely shaped pearls are commonly referred to as baroque pearls.”
When choosing a pearl, it’s important to consider a number of factors:
- Do look for cracks in the surface of the pearl, which could indicate problems in the future.
- Do look for good, uniform luster in a pearl. The pearl should appear iridescent under a fluorescent light.
- Do ask the jeweler about the thickness of the nacre.
- Do perform the tooth test on a pearl to determine if it is real. Cultured and natural pearls will feel rough against a tooth, while imitation pearls will feel smooth because it is actually a type of manufactured bead.
- If you think you are purchasing a natural pearl, ask to see the x-ray results for verification. A cultured pearl will show the bead or other artificial irritant in the center.
It’s interesting to note that the world of pearl-dom is populated by more than oysters. Conch, scallops, abalone, and some snails are also skilled pearl producers!
May 2nd, 2006 at 1:53 pm
I’m a complete sucker for a really wildly shaped Baroque pearl! Yeah, I know, I know, Twisted pearls for a Twisted mind. ; )
That’s really interesting about other aquatic creatures that produce pearls. Never knew that before. Kewl.
May 2nd, 2006 at 2:15 pm
Got my ring this weekend! If anyone is curious, it looks like this:
https://secure.experimetal.com/catalogue/retail.jsp
it is the polka dot band on the second page of the rings.
Pearls would be very nice but I don’t think I will be able to hurt this one (can’t be too delicate with me wearing it).
May 2nd, 2006 at 2:32 pm
Oh, how gorgeous, Anne! I love it!
May 2nd, 2006 at 3:06 pm
Very nice, Anne!
May 2nd, 2006 at 3:55 pm
In an amusing story, my mother’s father was in Korea and bought two inexpensive cultured pearl necklaces for my mother and grandmother. They were cheap because cultured pearls had just been developed and were considered “fake.” The brand that had developed this method: Mikimoto. Since my grandmother passed, and my Mom’s neck is no longer the same slenderness it was as twelve year old, my sister and I have each inherited one, (I got my grandmother’s- which came in the original box.)
May 2nd, 2006 at 5:45 pm
That’s lovely, Anne! So’s the pearl ring in this post, NtB…so elegant.
I think I’m getting pearl wedding jewelry from my fiance and I’m verrrry excited. I agree with you, NtB, that pearls have a look to them that says elegance and class.
May 2nd, 2006 at 10:23 pm
My father has always associated pearls with Death unfortunately and as such hates to see them worn. I imagine when he was young pearls were pulled out for funerals only. I am quite a fan of black pearls though, much more so than white.
I used to work in retail jewelry and worked with pearls, so I know a bit about them and I think the checklist above is a bit full on for people buying pearls. It should be about whether you like the look of them, not how think the nacre is. If you are buying them as an investment then you might want to know all that stuff but asking for an X-ray of the pearl is a bit over the top. I mean, we’re just individuals, not scientists. If you like the look and you can afford it, go for it!
May 3rd, 2006 at 2:41 pm
*sigh* Dataceptionist, I suppose it would be snarky to tell your Dad that fine, he needn’t wear them? I’m not trying to be rude, really, and not to someone’s father, but … everything that’s born is connected with death, eventually. It’s part of the cycle. It seems a pity to associate something so beautiful, the wearing of which makes the owners happy, only with death. It’s more miraculous than not that the oyster (conch, abalone, snail, scallop) can produce a thing of beauty in response to an injury - a better life lesson than “pearls mean Death!!” don’t you think?
I have a bucketload of them, myself (being prone to stringing pearls), and I love them: white, cream, black, pink, peach, green … necklaces, earrings, rings, bracelets! IMO, there are pearls that go with everything - except hairspray, soaps, perfumes, and lotions, which can damage them.
I’m ambivalent (look! A bivalve!): it probably isn’t necessary to ask for an X-ray, but, since I like to collect books on pearls, I tend to believe You Can’t Know Too Much. It is, at least, important to examine for cracks, and to see how much lustre the pearls have, when buying them.
May 3rd, 2006 at 10:00 pm
Do you have any unusual pearls, La BellaDonna? I went to a pearl exhibit at the Natural History museum in Manhattan and there were such beautiful and odd specimens! Especially the ones from animals other than oysters.