Types of Natural pearls
Marine Pearls
Freshwater Pearls
Types of Marine Pearls:-
1 Tahitian Black pearls
- The Colour Black Pearls range from Grey to Black and is Technically a South Sea Pearl Cultivated by special Variety of Pinctada Oyster.
- These are Cultivated in the South Pacific.
- Tahiti is the leading Producer of top Quality Cultured Pearls and in Other Islands of French Polynesia.
SEE THIS – DIFFERENT TYPES OF PEARLS
2 Akoya Pearls
- These type of Pearls Come from Japan and China and are Cultured Pearls.
- Akoya Pearls are lustrous, round, White Pearls and are more perfectly rounded than other Pearls also have a high lustre.
3 Abalone Pearls
- Abalone Pearls alike Other Pearls are not produced by Bivalve molluscs but by Cuvalve ear-shaped mollusc.
- Abalone pearls display a lovely lustre and iridescence in comparison to other varieties of pearls.
- Abalone pearls are true pearls and rare and beautiful gems.
- The Colors of ablone pearl ranges from a metallic silvery colour to steel black, Cream, golden, pink and silvery green with pronounced highlights of pink or magenta.
- The most highly priced and rarest Abalone pearls are peacock blue and green ones.
- Abalone Pearls are mostly baroque in shape or shape like dongated spheres or like discs or horn or tooth-shaped.
- Truly round or spherical round abalone pearls are virtually unknown.
- Most of the above pearls are natural pearls and found in Pacific Coast of United States, Japan, New Zealand, Korea etc.
4 South Sea Pearls
- These are Cultured pearls produced by large seawater Oyster Pinctada maxima.
- Most of these pearls are Cultivated in waters of Australia, Indonesia and the Philipines
- The Species of mollusc producing south sea pearls is rare and supply of pearls in never Certain and these pearls are Expensive.
- South sea pearls are Cultivated for the longer period and have much thicker nacre coatings than other pearls.
- The rarest and most expensive Color in south sea pearls is Warren pinkish white but silvery white is more in demand and also very expensive.
- South Sea Pearls are rare in fine qualities and more expensive than most other pearls & also have the longest life expectancy of any cultured pearl.
5 Burmese Pearls
- Once Burma was one of the Important producers of south sea pearl and pearls have exceptionally high “Silky lustre” in Comparison to other South Sea Pearls.
- Due to Political Situation of Burma South Sea Peals are no more Cultivated in Burma.
Types of freshwater pearls
1 Biwa Pearl
- The most famous freshwater pearl is the Biwa Pearl mussel(Hyriopsis Schlegel) and was native to Lake Biwa in Japan.
- Biwa pearls were first freshwater non-nucleated Cultured pearls.
2 Cristaria plicata (Cockscomb pearl)
- Another freshwater mussel from Japan and China is The Cockscomb pearl mussel(Cristaria plicata) and are naturally white but were dyed frequently.
READ THIS – PEARL IDENTIFICATION
3 Triangle shell pearl
• The triangle Shell pearl mussel(Hypriopsis Cumingii) from China and is also formed in Japan.
• The Shell of this Oyster is much thick than Cockscomb and can produce nearly perfect round pearls with good lustre.
• The European freshwater pearls were produced by the European pearl oyster(margaritifera)
• This Species was native to
Europe
Part of North America
• These pearls are Smooth and Silvery white with good lustre.
