Freshwater Pearl
Freshwater Pearls are found or cultured in mussels or oysters in
rivers, lakes or ponds and tend to be more irregular in shape and more varied in
color than saltwater pearls.
Nearly 96% of freshwater pearls today are
produced in China, With the development of culturing technique, Chinese
freshwater pearls has played an much more important role in the jewelry industry
than ever before.
Freshwater pearls¡¯ lower price than saltwater doesn¡¯t
necessarily mean low quality. In fact, some high quality freshwater pearls are
very valuable. Currently the typical sizes range from 4 mm to over 10
mm.
Those various shapes of pearls can be used to make impressive looking
jewelry pieces that sell for moderate prices.
The grading of freshwater
pearls is more variable than that of saltwater pearls because freshwater pearls
are more colorful and of various shapes. But we can still generally assess their
value according to the 7 factors:
Luster and Nacre
When
cultivating freshwater pearls,
it is not need to insert a shell bead. All that is needed is the insertion of a
piece of mantle. After the first harvest, mussels can spontaneously grow pearls
a second time. That means cultured freshwater pearls either do not have nucleus
or have a very little one inside, hence, freshwater pearls are make up with very
thick nacre.
Only those freshwater pearls with EVENLY high luster can be
considered as high valued ones. Judge luster see
Luster and Nacre
Surface Quality
Blemishes such as discolorations, pits,
bump, wrinkle and cavities can decrease the value of pearls.
Color
Freshwater pearls come in a wide variety of body
colors: white, pink, orange, yellow, lavender, gray¡
When determining
what color to buy, keep these in mind:
The color
doesn¡¯t affect the price of freshwater pearls as much as it does that of
saltwater pearls.
Pink or silver
overtone can increase the freshwater pearl value.
Iridescence
increases the value too.
Natural color
pearls are more valued than treated ones.
Shape
By inserting different shapes of nuclei, people can
harvest some unique shapes freshwater pearls as they desiring. Thin shapes
freshwater pearls tend to sell for less than fatter-looking ones. Symmetry and
round are of higher value than baroque.
Size
Size for freshwater is not as important of a price
factor as is luster and surface quality. But it still sticks with the rule of
the larger, the more valuable.
Treated Freshwater Pearl
People often treat freshwater
pearls to get colorful pearls in various shapes. Treated freshwater pearls bring
fashion industry more inspiration and possibility of creating shining pieces.
The most often used treatments are bleaching, dyeing, or irradiation. Those big
size cultured freshwater pearls mixed with small size ones create a changeful
world of pearl jewelry.
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