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Freshwater Pearls
Freshwater Pearls are a kind of Pearl that comes from
freshwater mussels. They are produced in Japan and the
United States on a limited scale, but are now almost
exclusive to China The U.S. Federal Trade Commission
requires that freshwater Pearls are referred to as
"freshwater cultured Pearls" in commerce.
Harvesting Freshwater Pearls
Freshwater Pearl harvests are typically purchased while
still in the shell. After harvest the Pearls are
delivered to a first stage factory. This factory is
responsible for cleaning and sorting the Pearls by size
and shape. After this process has been completed, the
Pearls are considered ready material for processing
factories. These smaller factories perform the
treatments [2] that are nearly universal to all
freshwater Pearls. The Pearls are pre-treated (maeshori)
in a warm and cold chemical solution and then bleached.
The Pearls that exhibit strong coloration will only go
through the maeshori. After the Pearls are bleached they
are drilled and then polished with a mixture of cornmeal
and wax. Finally they are matched into temporary
strands, which are then matched again into hanks. Hanks
are composed of 5 to 10 temporary strands and are
considered wholesale ready.
Freshwater Pearl Culturing
Freshwater Pearl cultivation is dominated by the Chinese. To produce
freshwater Pearls, a small piece of mantle tissue from one mussel is
placed into a second mussel; shell beads and small seed Pearls are also
used. The quantity of freshwater Pearls produced far exceeds that of
saltwater Pearls, and freshwater Pearls are also significantly cheaper.
Although many freshwater Pearls are irregular oblong “rice Pearls,”
round and near-round Pearls are also produced. Inferior Chinese Pearls
are crushed and used in cosmetics and medicines.
The Chinese were the Pioneers
The Chinese were the first to culture a product from
freshwater mussels, though their centuries-old Buddhas
are not true Pearls but shell mabes. The first cultured
freshwater Pearls originated in Japan. Chinese
freshwater mussels were once grafted up to 50 times per
shell, or 25 times per valve. Although the Japanese
freshwater Pearl industry has nearly ceased to exist, it
does hold special historic value as the first country to
cultivate whole freshwater Pearls in Lake Biwa. As Biwa
production diminished, China filled the vacuum. China
has all the resources that Japan lacks: a huge land
mass; countless available lakes, rivers, and irrigation
ditches; a limitless and pliable work force that earns
less than a dollar a day; and an almost desperate need
for hard currency. In 1968, with no recent history in
Pearling, China startled the gem world with prodigious
amounts of ridiculously inexpensive Pearls.
What is a Biwa Pearl?
Biwa Pearl is a freshwater Pearl cultivated in a mollusk
only in Japan&9;s Lake Biwa. Biwa Pearls are produced at
lake Biwa, Japan using freshwater clams. They are
irregular in shape but have good color and luster.
Instead of a bead a small square of mother of Pearl in
inserted into the clam. These Pearls require three years
to produce good results. Smoother and more lustrous than
fresh water Pearls from China. The Biwa Pearl industry
was started by an ex-colleague of Mikimoto, a Dr. Masao
Fujita. He operated on the first Biwa shells in 1924 and
harvested the first Biwa Pearls in 1925. He only
harvested a few Pearls and they were all baroque and
colored. The method they used was very similar to the
method used in Pearl production in Lake Kasumigaura. A
drilled mother-of-Pearl bead was inserted into the
mollusk along with a piece of mantle tissue.
Natural Pearls
A natural Pearl is a Pearl that forms in nature with no
human intervention. Natural Pearls, What is a Natural
Pearl Natural Pearls are grown in wild oysters. The
process begins when an irritant, such as a grain of sand
or a piece of shell, gets inside an oyster's shell...
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Saltwater Pearls
Although freshwater Pearls can be grown in mussels and
other mollusks, saltwater Pearls are always grown in
oysters. Most saltwater Pearls are harvested in the Red
Sea, the Persian Gulf, and the coastal waters of India
and Japan. Generally, saltwater Pearls...
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Cultured Pearls
Cultured Pearls are those in which humans take a helping
hand. By actually inserting a foreign object into the
tissue of an oyster or mollusk, Pearl farmers can induce
the creation of a Pearl. The same natural process of
Pearl creation takes place...
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South Sea Pearls
South Sea Pearls is a generic name for the
Pearls, usually 9mm-16mm in size, produced by the two groups of large
Pearl producing oysters. These oysters can grow to 25-30 cm in size, and
are much rarer than their Akoya counterparts....
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Tahiti Cultured Pearls
Tahiti cultured Pearls are Pearl concretions
that are secreted inside the black-lipped Pinctada Margaritifera species
of Pearl oysters cultivated mainly in the lagoons of French Polynesia.
They consist of thick Pearly layers containing organic substances..
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Akoya Pearls
Akoya Pearls are found only in Japan, China,
and Vietnam. Japanese Akoya Pearl farms are shifting towards the warmer
Chinese waters, where these Pearls take only half as long to grow.
Overtone colors of Akoya Pearls include white, cream, rose, silver, and
green...
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Mabe Pearls
Mabe Pearls are large, hemispherical cultured
Pearls that grow attached to the inside shells of oysters. Mabe Pearls
are of hemispherical shape, grown against the inside of the oyster's
shell, rather than within its tissue. Mabes occasionally appear in
nature...
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Rainbow Mabe Pearls
In general, you would think that all Pearls are round
shaped or spherical. However, Mabe Pearls are not
completely round. They come in various shapes. The
subtle hues give it a unique presence, a quality that
can't be found in other Pearls. Mabe Pearls are suitable
for...
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Keshi Pearls
Tiny Pearls, some a little bigger than a grain
of sand, which form naturally in many cultured Pearl oysters. Keshi is a
Japanese word for "poppy seed". Thus, keshi is also called the seed
Pearl deriving the name from its size. Keshi Pearls are irregularly
shaped...
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The Pearl Myths
There are many myths
about Pearls that have continued through the centuries.
"Pearls of Wisdom", is a common saying and even
shares the title of some books in areas such as
medicine, country living, inspiration and wisdom
collections and Oriental teachings...
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Back to 'All About Pearls' Summary
Ever since the ancient Egyptians first started creating
jewelry, Pearls have become one of the highest regarded gemstones. Even
today Pearls still hold their value due to the rarity of "mother nature"
creating this form of jewelry. Pearls are created from a core. The core
of a natural Pearl is simply a fragment of shell or fishbone, or a grain
of sand that strays into the unsuspecting Pearl oyster's shell. To
protect itself from this irritant the oyster secretes multiple layers of
nacre, forming a Pearl...
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What is Freshwater Pearls
