Pearl jewelry is undergoing a fashion

Quality freshwater pearls are a fairly recent product of more advanced cultivation methods. In the early 1900s and early, freshwater was seen as an inferior product. Saltwater pearls were more valuable since their shape was more regular, they were more lustrous, and their size was much bigger. Today, things are a little different. These two types of pearls are still different from each other but the differences are much less than they used to be.

Freshwater pearls are, as the name implies, only found in freshwater mollusks. Though they may also have a perfectly round shape, just as saltwater ones, they are slightly more likely to have an irregular, baroque shape. This is due to the cultivation method, in part. Whereas saltwater cultivation methods use a small piece of shell or a bead, freshwater pearls are cultivated by implanting a small piece of mantle or other tissue. The nacre doesn't have a completely round nucleus and so is less likely to be round when harvested. Natural pearls are almost always irregular. It is also much easier to mass produce freshwater pearls, as each oyster may be implanted multiple times - I've read that they can produce up to 20 pearls for each oyster though less is more likely.

white pearl necklace is undergoing a fashion revival and is becoming increasingly popular again. And although some would argue that it has never really gone out of fashion, the pearl jewelry of even a decade ago was principally white, and mostly round. Today this is just not the case. Nowadays, pearls range from black to gray, silver, gold, and all the pastel shades from peach to pink and lilac. There are so many shapes too! Rondels, elongated and naturally shaped baroques are all widely available!

Although white pearls, with their legendary iridescence add luminosity to any complexion and flatter just about everyone, women the world over love to co-ordinate their clothes with their accessories. Pearls are ideally suited to meet this demand because they form in a range of shapes and colors specific to the molluscs which created them. And they can be skilfully dyed to meet demand when there is a shortfall of natural "production" of the most popular colors!MORE:vintage pearl drop earrings