A pearl necklace or bracelet is a fine piece of jewelry that looks good for almost any occasion. Formal functions are ideally suited to the wearing of pearls and no woman's jewelry collection should be considered complete without them.
Pearls are classified by their origins (or the way they were grown) and their shapes. Based on their origins, pearls are either natural or cultured. Most of the pearls today are cultured. Both the natural and the cultured pearls grew inside the freshwater or saltwater mollusks like oysters or clams when a foreign object or particle gets inside the shell. The foreign particle causes the mollusk to produce nacre, the material that gives pearls their smooth, shiny appearance. Nacre coats the particle and the coating becomes thicker over time. In the formation of natural pearls, the foreign particle accidentally enters the mollusks’ shell while in the case of the cultured pearls, the foreign particle is intentionally implanted on live mollusks which are then returned to the water where the pearls will grow into the desired sizes. Pearl culture started in Japan.
In terms of shape, pearls are mainly classified as:
Spherical pearls, which are almost round, are the most valued.
Symmetrical pearls, which are not round, but exhibits symmetry in whatever shapes are formed.
Baroque pearls, which are irregularly shaped and their value depends on the beauty and uniqueness of the shape.
Since nature more or less controls the resulting shape, there are other kinds of less known shapes.
Whatever the type of pearl jewelry you have, be sure to realise that you will never regret your decision to acquire them and that, provided you look after them properly, you should have many years pleasure from wearing them.
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