two girls gems: We LOVE pearls!

Grace Kelly looking ever so chic

For centuries, pearls have been coveted by every culture and have been a symbol of beauty and purity. Queen Victoria, Jackie Onassis, Audrey Hepburn and Barbara Bush are among some of the leading ladies that made Pearls their legendary jewelry.

Ever classic, always inspiring, we can't get enough of pearls.

Natural pearls are a rarity today but thanks to the cultivation and marketing genius of Miki Moto cultured pearls are highly regarded. Pearls can be both classic and contemporary. They pair up well with either silver or gold and come in many fashionable styles. Learning about types of pearls is important when adding items to your jewelry collection.

These large oversized pearls add a contemporary feel. One of the Olson twins, always stylish.

Pearls 101

Pearls, natural or cultured, are formed when a mollusk produces layers of nacre (pronounced NAY-kur) around some type of irritant inside its shell. In natural pearls, the irritant may be another organism from the water. Today almost ALL PEARLS ARE CULTURED. A cultured pearl is when, a mother-of-pearl bead or a piece of tissue is inserted (by man) into the mollusk to start the process. For both, the quality of the nacre dictates the quality of the luster, or shine of the pearl, which is very important to its beauty and its value. The surface of the pearl should be smooth and free of marks while the overall shape could be round, oval, pear-shaped, or even misshapen. The misshapen pearls are called baroque pearls.

Saltwater pearls take longer to develop, they have a deeper luster and are uniformly round. The freshwater pearls have a faster development, not as deep of a luster and not as round and actually oblong and irregular in shape.

While shopping for pearls, there are various lengths available: A collar fits directly against the throat. A choker rests at the base of the neck. The princess length reaches near the collarbone. A matinee length is usually 20-24 inches; and the Opera length is 30-36 inches. The longest length, known as a rope, refers to all strands longer than 36 inches. Necklaces can also be classified as uniform (where all pearls are about the same size) or graduated (pearls change uniformly from ends to center).

Luminescent, timeless and treasured throughout the world.

Needle Nose Pearls
We've make these unique earrings over and over yet every time they are a little different. The antique watch links are always distinctly unique and full of detail.

Natural Pearls are extremely rare. Historically, many were found in the Persian Gulf; unfortunately,

today most have all been harvested.

Cultured Pearls — are grown in pearl farms. The mollusks are raised until they are old enough to accept the mother-of-pearl bead nucleus. Through a delicate surgical procedure, the technician implants the bead and then the mollusks are returned to the water and cared for while the pearl forms. Not all produce a pearl; and not all the pearls are high quality. Over 10,000 pearls may be sorted before a 16” single strand of beautifully matched pearls is assembled.

A fact about pearls is that they can be found in saltwater and in freshwater. There are also different types of mollusks that produce very different looking pearls.

Saltwater Pearls — these include the akoya cultured pearls grown in Japanese and Chinese waters. They range in size from 2mm (tiny) to 10mm (rare) and are usually white or cream in color and round in shape. Australia, Indonesia, and the Philippines produce the South Sea pearl – the largest of all the pearls. They range in size from 9mm to 20mm and can be naturally white, cream, or golden in color. Tahitian pearls are interestingly not exclusively from Tahiti – they’re grown in several of the islands of French Polynesia, including Tahiti. Their typical sizes range from 8mm to 16mm. These naturally colored pearls are collectively called black pearls, but their colors include gray, blue, green, and purple.
Freshwater Pearls — these cultured pearls are grown in freshwater lakes, rivers, and ponds predominately in China. Although many are white and resemble the akoya cultured pearls in shape and size, they can also be produced in various shapes and in an array of pastel colors. Many freshwater pearls don’t have a bead nucleus — only a piece of tissue — resulting in a pearl with thicker nacre than the akoya