Questions and Answers
What is one factor that contributes to the rarity and value of larger pearls?
Their rarity
What is essential for a cultured pearl to be of significant value?
Acceptable nacre quality
Why are round cultured pearls the most valuable?
Because they are the rarest shape
What can improve a pearl's luster?
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What is a common characteristic of all pearls?
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What is the term for irregularities confined to a pearl's surface?
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What is a pearl with one or more grooved or ridged rings all the way around it called?
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What is the process that includes cleaning, buffing, and sometimes bleaching, done to make cultured pearls presentable and appealing?
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What is a mixture of clear varnish and fish scales used in making imitation pearls?
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What irritates a pearl-bearing mollusk's soft tissue, leading to natural pearl formation?
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Why have people coveted natural pearls for thousands of years?
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What contributed to the decline of the natural pearl industry?
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What grows from a mantle-tissue piece and a bead nucleus implanted in a host mollusk’s gonad?
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What type of cultured pearls are most Chinese freshwater cultured pearls?
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How do most retailers prefer to buy cultured pearls?
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What is the chemical composition of nacre?
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What is the arrangement of aragonite crystals in non-nacreous pearls?
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What is the term for non-nacreous pearls that do not have aragonite crystals arranged in columns perpendicular to the pearl's surface?
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What is the typical shape of conch pearls?
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What is the size range of most pistachio pearls?
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What is the typical color of Melo pearls?
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What is the characteristic of a cultured pearl with a chalky appearance?
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What is a mabe pearl composed of?
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What is the characteristic of a cultured pearl with a nucleus that is not noticeable?
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Which type of pearl can appear in symmetrical dome, drop, and heart shapes?
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What type of pearls are produced using mantle tissue nucleation, second-generation production, and coin-bead/spherical-bead production?
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What is the term for one or more translucent colors that lie over a pearl's bodycolor?
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What is a characteristic of keshi pearls?
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What is the term for the external layer of a pearl?
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What is the typical size of seed pearls?
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What type of material was used to string seed pearls in jewelry?
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What is the term for a pearl's ability to reflect light?
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Which type of mollusk is commonly used to produce abalone pearls?
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What is the iridescent rainbow colors that shimmer on or just below a pearl’s surface ?
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Which type of oysters are Akoya pearls from?
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Which type of oysters are South Sea pearls grown from?
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Which pearls are grown from Pinctada Margaritifera oysters?
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What mussels do Fresh Water pearls grow from?
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Study Notes
Pearl Value Factors
- Rarity of larger pearls makes them more valuable
- Pearl color in demand and rarity increases its value
- Cool water and clean environment during growth improve a pearl's luster
- Round is the rarest and most valuable cultured pearl shape
- Any cultured pearl of significant value must have acceptable nacre quality
Pearl Characteristics
- Blemishes are irregularities confined to a pearl's surface
- Circled pearl has one or more grooved or ridged rings all the way around
- Bodycolor is present in all pearls, with some having overtone or orient or both
- Overtone increases value and indicates thick, high-quality nacre
- Orient is a rare and desirable phenomenon
Pearl Sources
- Akoya pearls come from the "Pinctada fucata" or "Pinctada chemnitzii" oyster
- South Sea pearls come from the "Pinctada maxima" oyster
- Tahitian Pearls come from the "Pinctada margaritifera" oyster
- Fresh Water Pearls come from the "Hyriopsis cumingii" (triangle mussel) or "Hyriopsis schlegelii" (Biwa mussel), or a hybrid of both
- Soufflé pearls are large, lightweight baroque Chinese freshwater cultured pearls with high luster and wide color range, typically 11-14 mm in diameter
- Non-nacreous pearls come from the Queen conch, "Strombus gigas" (snail shell), and Melo Pearls come from the Melo Melo Sea snail
- Three basic methods to produce whole freshwater cultured pearls: mantle tissue nucleation, second-generation production, and coin-bead/spherical-bead (CBSB) production
Crystal Structure and Phenomena
- Flame Structure occurs in Orange melo pearls
- Overtone is one or more translucent colors that lie over a pearl's bodycolor
- Orient increases value for its beautiful, usually indicates thick, high-quality nacre
Natural and Cultured Pearls
- Natural pearl formation starts when a foreign object enters a pearl-bearing mollusk's shell and irritates its soft tissue
- Pearl culturing is an adaptation of the natural pearl formation process
- Saltwater cultured whole pearls grow from a mantle-tissue piece and a bead nucleus implanted in a host mollusk's gonad
- Freshwater cultured whole pearls are grown from mantle-tissue pieces implanted in a host mollusk's mantle
Colored Stones
- Pearls display bodycolor, with some showing overtone or orient or both
- Bodycolor can be neutrals (white, gray, black), near-neutrals (silver, cream, brown), or hues (all other colors)
- Nacre is composed of microscopic platelets of aragonite, crystallized form of calcium carbonate
- Non-nacreous pearls have aragonite crystals arranged in columns perpendicular to the pearl's surface
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