Pearl Facts

Natural pearls are extremely rare. Historically, many were found in the Persian Gulf; unfortunately, today, most have already been harvested. You may be able to purchase small, natural pearls, but they will be costly.

Given the rarity of naturally occurring pearls, a process of cultivating pearls in farms was introduced in the early 1900s.

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 a small bead of polished shell into each mollusk. Then, they are returned to the water and cared for while the pearl forms - which can take up to 24 months.
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.

Pearls can be found in saltwater and in freshwater. There are also different types of mollusks that produce very different looking pearls. Pearls are classically elegant and never go out of style!

Scroll down to learn more about the classifications of popular cultured pearls.

The Akoya cultured pearl is grown in Chinese and Japanese waters. They are generally around 2mm, but in some rare cases can be as large as 10mm. They are round, and usually cream or white in color. They come from the Pinctada Fucata Martensii Oyster, which are fairly small, thus produce the smaller pearls.

Australia, Indonesia, and the Philippines produce the South Sea pearl - the largest of all the pearls. They range in size from 9mm to 20mm. South Sea pearls can be either cream, white or golden in color, and are harvested from the Pinktada Maxima Oyster.

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.

The Tahitian pearl comes from the black lip Pinctada Margaritifera Oyster. These pearls are considered the most striking and sought-after in today's market.
While collectively described as black, their colors cover the complete spectrum from dark-black to silver-white, and almost every color in between, including gray, blue, purple and green. The colors of these Tahitian pearls are completely natural and guaranteed to be unprocessed. For the most stylish pearls, consider a full strand of Tahitian pearls.

These 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, the freshwater pearl is usually slightly less round, smaller in size, and possesses less luster than other varieties of saltwater pearls. They can also be produced in various shapes and in an array of pastel colors.
These pearls are usually cultivated in China and provide a value-priced option.

Pearls are produced in a variety of colors, as noted in the types of pearls. Most range from white, cream, and yellow to pink, silver, and black. Most pearls will have both a primary color, the first color you will notice, and a secondary color, the overtone you notice when you take a closer look. Color variation does not decrease the value of the pearl, but is important when matching pearls to be used in strands, earrings, bracelets, etc.