Buying pearls can be intimidating for someone who doesn’t know the first thing about pearls and their value. From colored pearls to dyed pearls, natural and cultured there value range is wide depending on the type of pearls you are looking for. The good news is that because the price range is so wide then there is a pearl out there to suit all budgets and tastes. There are some valuable tips that you should know before you go and buy the special gift especially online as there will be no expert jeweler there to offer advice.


Natural pearls are formed when a grain of sand enters the shell of an oyster becoming an irritant to the oyster. The oyster secretes mucus to lubricate the grain and this hardens over time approximately two years building up in layers producing a beautiful round hardened pearl that is usually white in color but can in some rare occasions become different shades. Natural pearls form of there own accord at the bottom of the seabed and special pearl divers search the ocean bed for these little gems, it is a long a painstaking process especially in today’s environment where pollution has made it very difficult for oysters to grow in great numbers. So natural pearls have become very rare indeed making them very valuable sought after item for the last century.


As a result people have found a way that makes the pearls more accessible and the pearl production
controlled, this is called cultured pearls. Cultured or man made pearls is a process that originated in Japan in the early 19th century but is practiced in many areas of Australia and the Philippians today. It a process by which oysters are harvested within a controlled environment and grains are inserted into the oyster by hand thus the natural process will begin producing a pearl but without the effort of the search and the dive and of course the romance of the natural pearl.
This process has made pearls widely available to the public in turn making them more affordable as supply is plenty. Many of the pearls produced today are produced in this way and are greatly affordable and just as beautiful.


The natural pearls are rarely found now days and many that are available are antique pearls that have been around for a long time, it is these pearls that are sought after by collectors and are very valuable in price as supply is rare. Unlike other precious gems pearls have a lifespan of about 50 years sue to the moister inside the shell will eventually weaken and crack. Also the pearl is affected when worn next to the skin due to acidity and moister. When valuing a cultured pearl it a few factors are considered, its size in millimeters, the luster of its coating and its color. Pearls can be natural formed in black, gold, purple, blue or orange although some these are rare and so more expensive some pearls are dyed different colors though so be sure you know if it’s the natural color or dyed.
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