How a pearl necklace is born

If you want to adorn your cleavage with a necklace made of real sea or freshwater pearls, you might be interested to know how this jewellery gem is actually created. Its birth stretches like a red thread. The art of recognizing the difference in quality of pearls and their processing will make you alert when choosing a necklace and buying it.

The mother of pearls revealing her secrets

Pearls are the fruit of certain freshwater and marine bivalves called pearlfish and oysters. Pearlfish feed on tiny particles of organic matter. They use their gills to filter them out of the water.

Pearlfish are generally sensitive to water quality. A grain of sand or a pebble that accidentally gets between the shell and the mantle is the primary stimulus for the formation of nacre inside the mollusc's body. The pearlfish then gradually coats the invaded grain in layers of nacre, or nacre, in an attempt to rid itself of irritation. This creates an uncultured (natural) and very rare pearl with an inimitable colour and lustre that can retain its beauty for 100 to 150 years. The colour of the pearl corresponds to the colour of the shell and the size of the pearl depends on the species of pearl.

Natural uncultured pearls are unavailable to most women because of their high price. That is why, among other things, Indonesian farms breed so-called cultured pearls, the price difference of which is more than noticeable. Uncultured pearls come from natural waters and are created without human intervention. Cultured pearls are farmed in freshwater and are created by human intervention. Today, marine pearls are cultivated by farmers inserting a round core into bivalve shells to naturally encase the pearls. A cultured marine pearl has a hard core encased in a layer of nacre, and for this reason its shape is also more round. River (freshwater) pearls are cultured differently, not using a bead but just a piece of tissue, the pearlfish then creates a pearl that is made entirely of mother-of-pearl. The pearls are not even artificially dyed during the culturing process. As with uncultured pearls, the pearlfish itself takes care of their colouring. The colour and shape of the pearls are influenced by the environment in which the pearlfish lives. If you reach for a necklace made from cultured pearls, you won't go wrong.

Imperfection belongs to genuine pearls

Don't let the authenticity of pearls fool you. You can tell the quality of pearls by their shape, colour, size and any blemishes. Yes. Imperfections really do describe and underline the authenticity of pearls.

Take a good look at the pearls on the necklace. Don't be afraid to find blemishes, smudges, or other irregularities. You can recognize faux pearls primarily by their luster. Their lustre resembles glass. They are also perfectly round, smooth and identical in size. That's not really what you're looking for. An artificial pearl will slip if you rub it lightly on a tooth, a real one will scrub.

On the other hand, real pearls are characterized by slight irregularities in shape and subtle variations in smoothness and color. Quality pearls must be uniform in colour, nice, clean and naturally lustrous. However, when choosing a necklace, make sure that the pearls that make up the necklace are as similar in shape and size as possible and also have similar imperfections. Only such a necklace will look really natural and beautiful on your neckline and you will become a beauty queen.

What does a knotted necklace mean?

The workmanship of a pearl necklace is equally important when choosing a quality piece of jewellery. A quality necklace is made up of pearls, which must have a pearl (knot) weave. This means that jewellery makers form tiny knots between the pearls. These mainly prevent the pearls from shifting and being damaged by rubbing against each other and also protect the pearls from spilling if the necklace accidentally breaks.

Knot-tying is quite time-consuming and requires the skill and precision of jewellers. If the pearl necklace has a knotted weave, then expect a higher but affordable price for the jewelry. If the pearls are strung as beads, i.e. without a knot, then it is a cheaper and low-quality model of jewelry. If you already have such a necklace at home, it is recommended to have it strung in any good jewellery shop with a workshop.