The pearl harvest is where years of hard work and investing significant amounts of money finally pays off. The pearl harvest traditionally happens in the winter months, primarily because the nacre platelets become thinner as deposition decreases and the host mollusks’ metabolism begins to slow down. The reason that this matter is because the luster of the pearl is greater once harvested. The pearl may not grow as much in the winter, but the outer layers of the cultured pearls’ nacre do look better.

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When harvesting cultured pearls at a pearl farm, the nucleation period before harvest can be anywhere between eight months and six years. While freshwater pearls such as the Tahitian and South Sea pearls culture between two and six years, the Akoya pearls culture between eight months and two years.

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Once the pearls are brought onto shore from their mooring positions, the actual pearl harvest can begin. The pearls are opened by hand, one by one, and the pearl (or sometimes pearls) are extracted. With freshwater mussels and Akoya oysters, the meat and shell are used for another purpose or discarded. For Tahitian and South Sea oysters, the meat and shell are used along with the nucleation.

For those oysters, it is important to open the shell slightly, extract the pearl, and then another nucleus is inserted into the preformed pearl sac. That oyster goes into the sea to produce another pearl after going through a recovery period.

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After the harvest, it is important to make sure that any debris is removed from the pearl. They also make sure to polish the pearl to bring out a higher luster.

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After cleaning and polishing the pearls, they are going to be sorted by both size and quality categories. Many of the pearls are going to receive additional treatment, depending on the factory preparing the finished goods and the type of pearl that is harvested. It is possible that pearls are heat-treated, bleached, or pinked (this means soaking the pearl in red dye in order to bring out the pearl’s pink coloration.

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When harvesting pearls, a good harvest means that there are a large number of marketable pearls when compared to the number of nucleated oysters. The success of the overall harvest that year is dependent on the percentage of high-quality pearls. In an average harvest, only about half the pearls are marketable and less than 10 percent of those are considered ‘high quality’ pearls.

You may have read about pearl treatments before, you may have heard some of the negative connotations that people have when talking about these type of treatments. The truth is that all pearls are treated, you would not want a pearl that comes straight from the shell. Those pearls would not look the way that we have become accustomed to. In order to clear up some confusion, we are going to detail some of the pearl treatments, explain why these standard treatments are used, and tell you what you should be aware of.

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We are going to define pearl treatments as anything other than polishing the pearl. These pearl treatments alter the overall appearance of the pearl and may include working, cutting, drilling, waxing, filling, heating, bleaching, and irradiation.

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Again, once someone harvests these pearls, there is always some form of processing that occurs. Freshwater and Akoya pearls routinely receive some bleaching. All of the pearls that you see are polished and cleaned before they are put on sale. However, some treatments for cultured pearls are going to influence the aesthetic qualities of the pearl itself.

The high-quality cultured pearls are almost ready to go after they are polished and cleaned. However, a low-quality cultured pearl may still not have the desired luster. This means that the pearl farmer has a number of different options. They are able to sell the pearl at a heavy discount (meaning they make less money), peel the nacre off the pearl, and then try to sell it, or change the appearance of the pearl by applying a treatment. If the pearl does not have many other flaws, the treatment option is the most economically sensible and will be the common approach for a pearl farmer.

Most low-quality pearls undergo three main treatments. These include:

Luster treatment – A way to enhance the luster artificially. The pearl is first heated and then cooled again. Alternatively, it could mean a coating treatment on the pearl surface

Irradiation – This refers to using gamma rays to darken the nacre layers in freshwater pearls and the nucleus in Akoya pearls

Dyeing – The pearl farmer uses an organic dye such as silver nitrate to darken the pearl nacre using a coating as treatment. This practice is greatly frowned upon and not widely practiced. This is the equivalent of applying some clear nail polish on the pearl. Even though the luster is initially going to look fine, that artificial coat may eventually start to peel or chip away. This shows the low-luster pearl right underneath the surface. Even though unscrupulous pearl dealers have tried selling these to unsuspecting consumers before, it remains rare to see this happen.

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Pearls provide their wearer with a sense of opulence, style, and sophistication. Pearl jewelry, including bracelets, earrings, rings, and necklaces complement a variety of outfits and can help spruce up someone’s wardrobe. If you are looking for pearls, you will likely notice that there is a large variety of pearls available. You may wonder which type of pearl is the right one for you. There are some large differences between natural and cultured pearls. By explaining the difference, it may make it easier for you to decide which is right for you when purchasing pearl jewelry.

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The largest difference between cultured and natural pearls is how they are made. A natural pearl is produced without human assistance, these are quite rare and pearl divers are constantly hunting for them. Once found, the pearl diver will harvest them, clean them, and make them into jewelry.

Meanwhile, pearl farmers are growing cultured pearls under tightly controlled conditions. These farmers will place a core into a mussel or an oyster. The mussel or an oyster is going to form a pearl around that newly introduced irritant. This is the same way natural pearls are made, with the exception that the process is sped up and multiplied.

Pearl farmers will design cultured pearls, making sure that these pearls are luminous and perfectly shaped. After they harvest these pearls, they will be treated, bleached, and made into jewelry. It is possible to have freshwater or saltwater pearls with both cultured and natural pearls. Saltwater pearls are created or occur in oysters while freshwater pearls are created or occur in mussels.

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Natural pearls are going to vary widely in luminosity and size. These pearls have a stunning iridescent quality. You will also see a great range of all types of shapes and sizes because these are grown in the wild. Many of the cultured pearls are going to have similar qualities. The shape and size is mostly uniform. It is possible to bleach or dye these to achieve different luster and color.

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Natural pearls are typically quite expensive, this makes sense if you consider that these are difficult to find and quite rare. It is even more uncommon to find perfect strands of natural pearls. While cultured pearls are by no means cheap (depending on the size, shape, and luster), they are available in more economically affordable price ranges. You want to shop for your pearl jewelry carefully, because all varieties of both cultured and natural pearls are a valuable jewelry investment.

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Remember that imitation pearls and cultured pearls are NOT the same thing. You should not confuse the two. Cultured pearls have the same material as a natural pearl; it still takes time to complete the organic growth. Imitation pearls are often made of glass or plastic and can be made quite easily and quickly. When shopping for pearl jewelry, make sure that you keep the difference in mind.

Pearls have been highly sought after since they were first discovered. They are also amongst the world’s oldest gems. Even though some would argue that all pearls are beautiful and special in their own way, there have been a select few that stand out even today. Some of these famous pearls are more than thousands of years old. Even better is that you can still see a great number of these for yourself.

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It is unlikely that the Scottish rivers will ever produce anything as perfect as this 44-grain, natural freshwater pearl. Bill Abernathy – a professional pearl diver – found this pearl in 1967 in the River Tay. While most people equate pearls with the Orient and the Caribbean, Scottish rivers have been home to some of the most wonderful pearls in existence. The pearl was sold for an undisclosed sum in 1992 after having been on display in a jewelry store for almost thirty years.

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In 1991, the value of this pearl was placed at $4.7 million US. You will still find this pearl in the Guinness book of World Records as the largest naturally produced abalone pearl in history. This pearl weighs a full 470 carats. This pearl was found by Wesley Rankin in Salt Point State Park in Petaluma, California one year earlier.

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Few people would argue that this is the most well-known and largest natural saltwater pearl that has ever been discovered. An astonishing gem that does not have an equal. It weighs almost 4 ounces and stands at an amazing 450 carats. This drop-shaped blister pearl has a base white color. Colors on the pearl range from natural white to greenish-gold. Those who want to see the pearl today can see it in the British Museum of Natural History.

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For pearl historians, it does not get much better than this pearl. This is the oldest known pearl in the world. The name of the pearl refers to the Jomon era – a period in Japanese history from 10,000 to 300BC. Estimates suggest that the pearl is at least 5,500 years old. The reason that the pearl bears the name that it does is because many of the artifacts surrounding the site of this pearl were thought to be from that period.

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This pearl was also known as the ‘Phillip II pearl’. The Spanish translation for Peregrina is Pilgrim. This was undoubtedly the most famous and celebrated pearl of its time. The reason that it became famous is not just because of its beautiful bright white coloration and perfect pear shape, but it also measures an impressive 203.8 grains. The pearl was originally found off the coast of Panama in the 16th century. After the pearl was delivered to King Phillip II of Spain, he immediately presented it to Queen Mary of Spain – his new bride.

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This large, round pearl was reportedly part of the French crown jewels and 27.5 carats. It cost an astonishing 200,000 francs in 1791 according to the listing in the crown jewel inventory. The description of the pearl describes a ‘virgin pearl of fine water, perfectly rounded’. In 1792, a large part of the French crown jewels was stolen, including this pearl.

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During the early 17th century, no found pearl could compare to this beauty found off the coast of the West Indies. The pearl had a pear shape and weighed in at a hefty 126 carats. The name supposedly came from the merchant who sold the pearl to King Philip IV. It is said that the merchant wore the pearl as a button in his cap before selling it.

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This pearl is not only remembered for its beauty, but also because of the way it was ultimately destroyed. Thomas Gresham was a merchant prince during the reign of Queen Elizabeth. Rumor had it that he owned a natural pearl of great value. In order to astonish the Spanish ambassador and provide a high-quality toast to his queen, legend has it that Gresham crushed the pearl, mixed it with a glass of wine, and drank it. The reason behind that rather stranger behavior? A bet with the Spaniards that Gresham would be able to spend more money on his feast.