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Freshwater pearls are becoming all the rage from fashion runways in the big city to the streets of the small country towns. The freshwater pearls used today are even more gorgeous and lustrous than ever, and provide the perfect counterpoint to almost any style of dress.
If you are looking for a specific type of freshwater pearls to design your own jewelry, or looking for a unique piece of pearl jewelry, you can check out our entire freshwater pearls collections here.
Freshwater Pearls for Every Age
Freshwater pearls have always been thought of as a sweet and romantic jewel, mysterious yet simple, exotic yet girl next door, sensual yet innocent. These ‘tears of the sea’ are equally in demand for the little girl, the prom queen, the bride and the grandmother.
A little girl’s first strand of pearls need not be shabby or even made up of tiny pearls. A high quality pearl necklace made of genuine freshwater pearls of considerable size and luster is definitely available, and can be added
to and restrung as the child grows.
Pearls are a perfect gift as childhood gives way to young womanhood, and birthdays, dances and
gra
duation are perfect times to build her a collection that will last her a lifetime.
A necklace first, followed by different earring pairs and an assortment of bracelets, bangles and brooches can make for a timeless collection she can wear for every day or formal events of every kind.
The versatility of freshwater pearls is compounded by the different colors available which you can exploit to match different outfits or use to accent shoes and other accessories.
All the various shapes of freshwater pearls make it possible to add ambience to your wardrobe - traditional round pearls can now be replaced or mixed with coin shaped or irregular pearls for an eclectic feel that is sure to draw admiring looks.
Freshwater pearls can make a woman's day when presented as a special gift for sister, daughter or niece. Commemorate special days by giving them as a thoughtful present to a grandmother, mother or mother in law.
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Get any size, any color and any shaped Freshwater Pearls at any time
Because we own freshwater pearl farms in China, that is why we can produce the best quality pearls at the lowest wholesale prices, selling them worldwide to jewelers and store owners and now to you, our customer directly, therefore fresh water pearls are the majority of what we sell at Orientalpearls.net.
You can really make a hobby come to life by bringing an exquisite touch to your jewelry creations, since we have any shape of Freshwater Pearls available. You can choose from any type of pearls: coin pearls, Biwa pearls, Keshi or cornflake pearls, teardrop pearls, rice pearls, and Baroque pearls.
You can choose either loose Freshwater Pearls to create you own jewelry or choose finished Freshwater Pearl jewelry as a gift.
What are Freshwater Pearls?
Freshwater Pearls come from fresh waters while Akoya or saltwater pearls are from a saltwater environment. The process of natural freshwater pearls occurring is pretty much the same as that of saltwater pearls, except one occurs in mussels and the other in oysters respectively.
Freshwater pearls are different from any other gemstones. They are similar to saltwater pearls in that both are produced by nature, however, the difference being that freshwater pearls are almost seedless, quite similar to the wild natural pearl. A variety of factors determine the shape and quality of pearls such as the raising of the infant oyster, the health of the oyster, water ingredients, water temperature, fertilization, etc.
Round Pearls |
Drop Pearls
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Coin Pearls
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Baroque Pearls
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Peanut Pearls
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Keshi Pearls
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Button Pearls
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Sea Shell Pearls
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How Freshwater Pearls are Cultured?
Because of scarcity and rareness of natural freshwater pearls, the Japanese originated the first cultured freshwater pearls in Japan. To culture these pearls, workers would slightly open the mussel shells, cut small slits into the mantle tissue inside, and insert small pieces of live mantle tissue from another mussel into the openings. In freshwater mussels, the insertion alone is sufficient to start nacre production.
Most cultured freshwater pearls are composed entirely of nacre, just like their natural freshwater and natural sa ltwater counterparts.
In the 1950s, the Japanese experimented withfreshwater mussels in a large lake near Kyoto with great success. The all-nacre Biwa pearls formed in colors previously unseen in saltwater pearls. Instantly appealing, their luster and luminescence rivaled naturals because they were whole pearls, just like their natural freshwater counterparts.
Freshwater Cultured Pearls in China
The Japanese dominated the cultured-pearl industry from 1950 to 1990. However because of industrial pollution and over development for in the region, the quality of Japanese cultured pearls are seriously challenged the quality of Japanese cultured pearls from China. China has a great deal of natural resources that Japan lacks: a huge land mass, countless lakes, rivers, and irrigation ditches and a limitless and pliable work force that earns much less than their counterparts in Japan.
Today, the best and largest freshwater pearl producers are from China. In the 1990`s, poor pearl farmers had to cultivate pearls with traditional methods, which was not economically effective. The introduction of modern technology and cutting edge techniques have been used not only for processing pearls, but also in cleaning, polishing, bleaching, drilling, etc. to ensure the best quality of pearls. Most stringing today is done by hand.
Today, most of Akoya pearls, labeled "Japanese Akoya,” are actually imported from China to Japan, and then processed and labeled as made in Japan.
We are a U.S. company incorporated i n California. However, our founder is one of the family members and joint-ventured cultivators who own thousands of acres of water surface in China. By studying Japanese pearl processing techniques and investing in research and technology, China’s pearl processing techniques are now superbly unique in the world`s pearl market. The transparence and luster of pearls are improved through processing.
Freshwater Cultured Pearls and Natural Pearls
The least expensive cultured pearl product on the market today rivals the quality of the most expensive natural pearls ever found. Not only because of the obvious price-value anomaly consumers experience as they hasten to buy Chinese freshwater bargains, but also because in the 1990s, China surprised the market with products that revolutionized the pearl industry. The shapes, luster, and colors of the new Chinese production often match original Biwa quality and sometimes even surpass it. “As testimony to China`s achievement, their freshwater pearls are round enough and good enough to pass as Japanese Akoya. China sells round white pearls to 7mm for about a tenth the price of Japanese cultured saltwater pearls,” said Fred Ward, gemologist and author.
The Chinese are nucleating mussels with their own tissue-cultured freshwater pearls, resulting in all-nacre round or nearly round pearls. "Aiming for an even higher percentage of rounds, the Chinese are even reshaping reject freshwater pearls into spheres, then nucleating mussels with them. That process and technique has radically altered freshwater culturing, making saltwater and freshwater techniques indistinguishable."
"After one experimenter used small off-round naturals as nuclei, he sent the resulting freshwater pearls to a gem lab and received a report identifying them as "naturals."
(Special thanks to Fred Ward, who is a gemologist and author of the book "Pearls" (Gem Book Publishers, Bethesda, Maryland, 1998). from which this article was excerpted in quotation and adapted.)
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