Buy pearls as they are queen of gems

The discovery of a glimmering, lustrous object from the sea that seemed to embody the glow of the full moon was undoubtedly the inspiration for a new cult . It is believed that pearls were known and esteemed 3,500 years before Christ . To the ancients the sea was the source of all life . And in the lands around the Mediterranean, a shell cult developed that brought such status to the pearl that it remained a Queen of Gems . No other gem has retained its level of value and position of desirability for as long a time . The pearl is actually the response of a mollusk to the presence of an irritating impurity in its body. Saltwater pearls are found in non-edible oysters, and freshwater pearls in mussels (clams) . The principal genus of oyster associated with saltwater pearls is PINCTADA , and UNIO is the primary freshwater pearl- producing clam genus. Many other types of mollusks produce concretions in their bodies, but few display the iridescence associated with gem pearls. Within the two hinged shells of the PINCTADA mollusks are various tissue layers. Mother-of-pearl is the layer to which the body parts are attached , lining the inside of the shell .If an irritating particle , such as a grain of sand, gets inside the shell, the mollusk ‘ s tissues will start to deposit a protective layer of nacre (mother-of-pearl) around it. This accretion may become a pearl. If the particle is enclosed completely by soft tissue the pearl may be round and well formed. If the irritating particle becomes attached to the shell of the mollusk, a hemispherical shaped blister pearl will result.
A pearl is built in layers concentrically arranged around the irritant. The layers may consist of a mineral produce by the mollusk, but unless outer layers consist of nacre, the pearl will not display lustrous iridescence cold orient that makes pearl so highly price and beautiful. Edible oysters cannot manufacture the semi transparent layers of nacre that are characteristic of gem pearls.
Below the orient, some times called overtone, is the body color or the background color of the pearl. Overtone is seen in reflected light coming from the surface of the pearl and its colors include purple, green, yellow, pink and orange. Body color is subdivided in to three basic colors: white, black and colored – including red, yellow, purple, violet, blue and green. Black pearls include grays as well plus bronze, dark blue, blue green and green pearls with metallic luster. White pearl include cream colored, light rose, cream rose and so called fancy pearls which always have three colors: cream, rose and a blue or green overtone
Fine pearls also come from Sri Lanka, Australia, Japan, Mexico, Venezuela and Tahiti. Fresh water peals are found in Mississippi river.
The pearl trade employs a variety of trade names. And these are the followings,
1) Oriental pearls – found in salt water mollusk of the Persian gulf
2) Ceylon or the madras pearls - fancy blue, green or violet overtones on a white or cream based
3) Venezuela pearls – white or yellow more transparent than oriental
4) Tahiti pearls – white pearls with little overtone, some times with grayish metallic cast
5) Australian pearls – white with almost no overtone
6) Panama pearls – usually black, grayish or yellow
7) Fresh water [pearls have strong color and orient