The rise of fake pearls.
Natural pictures of real pearls.
Real pearls are a precious gemstone made by oysters mussels and various other bivalve mollusk species.
Imitation pearls are usually perfectly round and flawless.
Cultured pearls natural pearls.
Pearl natural or cultured is a us birthstone for june together with alexandrite and moonstone.
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Depending on whether human assistance is involved or not this organic gem can either be cultured or natural.
There is still a lot of confusion surrounding natural pearls and what the natural distinction truly means.
Even today natural pearls are extremely rare and valuable.
Ironically the better grandma s pearls look the more likely it is they aren t real.
The iridescent nacre is the hallmark of a real pearl.
Some variations in color nacre luster and shape may exist between cultured and natural pearls.
As the popularity of pearls continued to grow in the 20 th century so did the rise of counterfeit pearls.
In natural pearls the irritant generally comes from the water its surrounded by while in cultured pearls a piece of tissue is inserted by people to get the process started.
If you pick up a strand of them they are going to feel really light whereas real pearls are kind of heavy to your hand.
Browse 1 153 oyster pearl stock photos and images available or search for pearl oyster or oyster shell to find more great stock photos and pictures.
Most real pearls today are cultured or farmed by inserting material into a mollusk after which the mollusk lays down concentric layers of nacre until a pearl is formed.
A real pearl is produced by pearl bearing oysters either in fresh or salt water.
That is the main reason why nearly all of the pearls available on the market are now cultured.
It s worth noting that almost all pearls on the market today are cultured.
Pearl culturing and processing has come a long way in the last thirty years but pearls are still a natural product often slightly off round with small imperfections visible on the surface.
Natural pearls tend to be rarer and more expensive than cultured pearls.
Natural pearls which are from shellfish caught in the wild and cultured pearls which are farm raised.
Natural pearls form in the bodies or mantle tissue of certain mollusks usually around a microscopic irritant and always without human help of any kind.
If you were to take a string of pearls and run them along.
This is key to both its value and its beauty.
Most fake pearls that are on the market today come from china and are made in labs using materials such as plastic and glass.
As mentioned earlier only natural and cultured pearls and considered authentic.
In both instances the nacre quality will dictate that quality of the pearl s lustre and shine.
Here is all the information regarding natural pearls that you should be aware of.