Pearls that are carefully looked after can last for several hundred years. Here are some tips on how to wear and look after your pearls correctly.
As they originate from calcium carbonate, pearls are sensitive to atmospheric agents.
Pearl jewelry needs to be cleaned regularly using a soft, slightly-moistened cloth. Each pearl should be cleaned individually and thoroughly, including the hard to reach corners. Store your pearl jewelry in its own case, or wrap it in a soft cloth to prevent it from coming into contact with other gems.
See the Take Care section for some practical advice on how to wear and take care of them correctly.
Nacre is the very essence of a pearl.
As it has a direct influence on the luster, the nacre is an essential criterion when classifying pearls: the thicker the nacre, the more resistant the pearl.
There are no universally-recognized criteria for cataloguing and classifying pearls, as is the case for diamonds.
This lack of a universal standard is one reason why there is little knowledge of pearls. There can sometimes be confusion about the difference in price between one pearl and another, as the differences may appear unjustified in some cases.
Gemologists deem that small differences in quality can lead to big differences in price.
FRASHWATER PEARLS 2.5 BILLION/YEAR
400 million high quality pearls 1.4 billion medium quality pearls 700 million low quality pearls
AKOYA PEARLS 18 MILLION / YEAR
2.7 million high quality pearls 9.9 million medium quality pearls 5.4 million low quality pearls
WHITE SOUTH SEA PEARLS 5 MILLION / YEAR
750.000 high quality pearls 2.75 million medium quality pearls 1.5 million low quality pearls
BLACK SOUTH SEA PEARLS 7.5 MILLION / YEAR
1.125 million high quality pearls 4.125 million medium quality pearls 2.250 million low quality pearls
South Sea pearls are easy to recognize thanks to their large size. In general, they range in diameter from 9 mm to 15 mm, but in rare cases can be even larger (16-20 mm).
South Sea pearls do not need to be artificially dyed or treated before being sold. Thanks to their beauty and distinctive qualities, South Sea pearls are known as “the Queens of Pearls and the Pearls of Queens”.
The first step is culturing the oyster. It takes approximately two years to culture a South Sea pearl. A single nucleus is implanted in each oyster. After the first harvest, the oyster is returned to the water (at a depth of around 10 m) in the hope that a new harvest can take place, two years later. In rare cases, this process can be repeated a third time, depending on the age and health of the oyster.
Only a small part of the harvested pearls are round. Most of them have different shapes: semi-round, teardrop, button, circle-shaped or baroque. This diversity of shape, together with the unlimited variety of natural colors, is what makes each pearl unique.
South Sea pearls usually have a higher value than other varieties, for various reasons: their limited availability, large size, the length of the cultivation process, the thickness of the nacre (nacre, or motherof-pearl, is a substance that the mollusk or oyster secretes to form the inside of the shell), and the variety of natural colors.
These pearls are cultivated inside the Pinctada Maxima, a mollusk whose shell can reach a diameter of 25-30 cm. The color varies from silver white to dark gold, enriched with nuances of pink, cream, yellow, green and blue. Australia is the main producer of this type of pearl, followed by Indonesia and the Philippines.
These pearls are cultivated inside the Pinctada Margaritifera, which has a diameter of 12-15 cm. Black South Sea pearls are the only naturallyoccurring black pearls and are found in a huge range of shades. The colors range from black to peacock green, grey to blue and brown. This type of pearl is cultured in the Southern Pacific, which stretches eastwards from the Cook Islands towards Tahiti (the main producer), the Tuamoto Archipelago and the Gambier Islands in French Polynesia.
Akoya pearls are cultured inside a bivalve mollusk, the Pinctada Fucata Martensii. As this oyster is smaller in size (approximately 7-8 cm), the diameter of these pearls is between 2 and 9 mm, and they rarely reach 10 mm. Originating from Japan, the Akoya is cultured according to a tradition that dates back more than a century.
The Akoya oyster can be implanted with 3 to 5 nuclei, depending on the size and condition of the shell and the diameter of each nucleus. As Akoya pearls spend less time in the sea than South Sea pearls, the mother-of-pearl around the nucleus is thinner.
Generally, the percentage of round or semi-round Akoya pearls is significantly higher than the pearls cultivated in the South Seas.
The main colors of Akoya pearls are white, silver grey, pink and champagne.
As with other pearls, the price of Akoya pearls is based on their availability, size and quality. Their quality depends on the shape, color, luster, surface and thickness of the nacre.
Japan, China and Vietnam are the major producers of Akoya pearls.
Freshwater pearls come in an almost infinite variety of shapes, colors and sizes. They range in diameter from 2-3 mm to more than 10 mm. The mollusks used to culture them come from the Unionidi family. They can be found in many rivers, lakes and ponds. Externally, they are generally brown in color and oval in shape, reaching lengths of up to 30 cm, and widths of up to 20 cm
Unlike sea-cultured pearls, most freshwater pearls do not have a nucleus. Depending on age, the size of the shell and the size of the pearls, growers can inject between 20 and 60 mantle fragments from another mollusk, under the oyster’s mantle.The more time that passes, the larger the pearl becomes. After harvesting, the shells can be returned to the water, to yield new pearls a few years later.
Freshwater pearls come in an infinite number of shapes, although the most popular are the semiround, oval, egg, button and teardrop shapes.
The range of colors is vast, incorporating different shades: white, champagne, cream, pink, orange, purple, lilac, blue and brown.
Le perle | Take care
Pearls that are carefully looked after can last for several hundred years. Here are some tips on how to wear and look after your pearls correctly.
Evitate che le perle entrino in contatto con profumi, lacche per capelli e cosmetici contenenti alcohol e acidi, dannosi per la loro lucentezza e superficie.
Fate in modo di custodirle lontano da prodotti utilizzati per le pulizie domestiche, in quanto alcuni di questi contengono sostanze chimiche altamente aggressive che potrebbero rovinarne la superficie.
Sudore e polvere possono anch’essi danneggiare le perle, si raccomanda pertanto di pulirle con delicatezza, dopo averle indossate, utilizzando un tessuto leggermente umido.
Le perle vengono infilate con un filo di pura seta che viene poi annodato tra l’una e l’altra (in questo modo anche se il filo si dovesse rompere, si rischia di perdere solo una perla). Con il passare del tempo, i fili di seta si indeboliscono e tendono ad allungarsi, si consiglia di far rinfilare le perle da un professionista almeno una volta all’anno.
Si consiglia, inoltre, di evitare di immergere le perle in acqua o di indossarle mentre si fa il bagno, l’acqua, infatti, tende a indebolire il filo di seta.
Riponete le perle in una scatola o in un sacchetto, separatamente da altri gioielli o pietre preziose che potrebbero rischiare di graffiare la loro superficie.
Sistemate le collane di perle su un piano orizzontale in modo da evitare che il filo di seta si possa tirare. Si consiglia di evitare di conservarle in sacchettini di plastica che potrebbero emettere sostanze chimiche e, dunque, deteriorare la loro superficie.
Evitate di conservare le perle in cassette di sicurezza per lunghi periodi di tempo, poichè l’aria secca inaridisce le perle provocandone eventuali danni. Prolungate esposizioni al calore diretto o al sole possono scolorire e persino inaridire le perle
Pulire delicatamente le perle con un tessuto umido dopo ogni uso, per evitare che la traspirazione (che è leggermente acida) consumi il nacre della perla. Per rimuovere tracce di make-up o di sporco si consiglia di utilizzare un sapone molto leggero.
La pulizia effettuata da un gioielliere professionista assicura che le perle non rischino di essere danneggiate da sostanze chimiche o da saponi aggressivi. Si consiglia di evitare l’utilizzo di spazzole o di materiali abrasivi, per la loro pulizia.
