About Freshwater Pearls

Freshwater pearls are pearls which grow in non-saline environment in freshwater mussels.

Where Do Freshwater Pearls Come From?

Although the traditional source of pearls has been saltwater mollusks, freshwater mussels, which live in ponds, lakes and rivers, can also produce pearls. China has harvested freshwater pearls in the form of mabe since the 13th century, and has now become the world's undisputed leader in freshwater pearl production. The first record mentioning pearls in China was from 2206 BC. The United States was also a major source of natural freshwater pearls, from the discovery of the New World, through the 19th century, until over-harvesting and increasing pollution significantly reduced the number of available pearl-forming mussels in the US.
The Appeal of Freshwater Pearls

Generally speaking, freshwater pearls are not as round as saltwater pearls, and they do not have the same sharp luster and shine as akoya pearls. However, they appear in a wide variety of shapes and natural colors, and they tend to be less expensive than saltwater pearls, making them very popular with younger people and designers. Also, because freshwater pearls are solid nacre, they are also quite durable, resisting chipping, wear, and degeneration.



China Leads The World In Freshwater Pearl Production

With a total production of 1,500 tons in 2006, China holds a monopoly over the pearl industry today. Although the birth of the Chinese freshwater pearl industry is traced back to the area around Shanghai, freshwater pearls are now produced in all the surrounding provinces including: Zhejiang, Anhui, Jiangsu, Hubei, Hunan, and Jianxi. Local pearl trade is conducted mainly in the cities of Zhuji (Shanxiahu), Suzhou, Wuxi, Wenling, and Weitang. The largest marketplace for these freshwater pearls is the world's pearl trading hub, Hong Kong.
What Makes Freshwater Pearls Different?

Freshwater pearls differ from other cultured pearls, in that the great majority of them are not bead-nucleated. Freshwater mollusks are nucleated by creating a small incision in the fleshy mantle tissue of a 6 to 12 month old mussel, then inserting a 3mm square piece of mantle tissue from a donor mussel. Upon insertion, the donor, (graft) tissue is twisted slightly, rounding out the edges. What happens after this point is really just speculation. Some believe that this tissue acts as a catalyst in producing a pearl sac thus making the 'nucleation' actual 'activation'. Others believe the tissue molds with the host to create a pearl sac, while still others maintain the tissue is the actual nucleus. Although it is said that a freshwater mollusk can withstand up to 25 insertions per valve, it is common industry practice to perform only 12-16 insertions in either valve, for a total production of 24-32 pearls. The mollusks are then returned to their freshwater environment where they are tended for 2-6 years. The resulting pearls are of solid nacre, but without a bead nucleus to guide the growth process the pearls are rarely perfectly round.
What Makes Today’s Freshwater Pearls So Much Better?

The major increase in quality can be attributed to several factors. The primary jump in quality was accomplished when the industry shifted from the Cockscomb pearl mussel, (Cristaria plicata) to the Triangle shell, (Hyriopsis cumingii) in the middle 1990's. The Cockscomb was responsible for the low-quality rice-crispy pearls of the 1970's and 1980's. Another shift in quality can be attributed to the lower number of grafts inserted into either valve. This number has dropped by an average of 5 per side in the last decade. The turn of the century brought another wave of quality and exotic pearl colors in the form of mussel hybridization.
Japans Freshwater Pearl Industry, A Rough History

The Japanese have a distinguished history of culturing freshwater pearls as well. Lake Biwa was once world renowned for producing high-quality freshwater pearls produced by the Hyriopsis schlegelii, (Biwa pearly mussel) mussel. However, in the mid 1970's pearl farming all but came to a halt due to pollution in this lake that was once synonymous with freshwater pearls. The Japanese tried once again to farm freshwater pearls in Lake Kasumigaura in the last decade, utilizing a bead-nucleated hybrid mussel (Hyriopsis Schlegelii/Hyriopsis cumingii). The resulting pearls have been quite large and unique. The Kasumiga pearl industry had a very short life span, however, with production ceasing in 2006. The industry is once again a pollution fatality of Japanese industry. The remaining Kasumiga pearls are exclusively sold by the Belpearl pearl company.

http://www.pearl-guide.com/freshwater-pearls.shtml

Swarovski - the magic of Austrian crystal

Swarovski is an Austrian success story par excellence. At the end of the 19th century Daniel Swarovski founded a company with the aim to cut crystals automatically. The company was enormously successful and soon worked in numerous fields like the production of optical products, abrasives and grinding tools, the cutting of crystals and the manufacturing of decorative stones made from crystal. Those were mostly used for the jewelry and fashion industries, as chandelier parts, as accessories and as beads and ornaments for attire and jewelry. Swarovski's necklaces, pins and earrings are popular worldwide. Swarovski's crystal beads are also used to adorn dresses, shoes and handbags. By this they have entered the realm of haute-couture, James Bond movies, Hollywood celebs and Oscar night fashion talk.

In 1973 the company produced a paperweight and a key ring as memorabilia for the 12th Olympic Winter games in Innsbruck. A year later, designer Max Schreck 'accidentally' started a new product line: He built a little mouse out of chandelier parts. The mouse was followed by a series of crystal animals and decorative items, among them famous crystal lovebirds. Today, Swarovski's figurine collection Silver Crystal is a major branch of the company.

The company is also renowned for its optical products. Swarovski's binoculars and telescopes are ergonomic, elegant, well balanced and without frills.

In 1995 the company celebrated its 100th anniversary by building a spectacular theme park, Swarovski Crystal Worlds ('Kristallwelten') in Wattens, close to Innsbruck. It was designed by artist André Heller and takes you into a land of imagination and beauty. An exceptional park landscape bewitches with waterworks, labyrinth and spectacular lightening.

What you need to know about jewelry metals

There are several metals used in the creation of fine jewelry. By knowing information about the different metals, their benefits compared with each other and their unique qualities you will be able to make a better and more informed decision about purchasing your jewelry.

The metal types commonly used to make jewelry include gold, platinum, titanium, silver and stainless steel. Metals including rhodium and palladium are also used with jewelry.

Below you will find information about each of these metal types, together with information about which metals are best for particular types of jewelry.

Gold

Gold is the most popular choice for men's and ladies wedding rings and engagement rings. Gold is also very popular in dress rings, earrings, pendants, necklaces and bracelets.

There are two things to consider when looking at gold. First, which gold carat to choose and second, the gold color or the combination of gold colors available.

Gold carat

There are several carats available for gold.

The carat is the gold content of the metal. The carat measures the proportion of pure gold mixed with other metal alloy to make up the final metal.

The carat of gold is represented in many countries by the abbreviation ct. Carat can also be called karat, represented by kt or K.

You may notice that carat or ct is also used to measure the weight of diamonds and gemstones. Although the same name is used, the two measurements are measuring different characteristics of jewelry.

The gold carats normally used in men's wedding rings are 9kt, 14kt and 18kt.

The higher the proportion of gold used in the final metal, the more valuable and expensive the metal will be. So all other things being the same, an 18kt ring will be more expensive than a 14kt ring and a 14kt ring will be more expensive than a 9kt ring.

Gold

9kt gold contains 37.5% pure gold (375 parts per thousand parts).

14kt gold contains 58.5% pre gold (585 parts per thousand parts).

18kt gold contains 75% pure gold (750 parts per thousand parts).

The remainder of the metals is made up of a combination of alloys, different metals which can help to give the metal its unique appearance, such as a different color.

Other gold carats are used in different parts of the world including 10ct, 22ct and 24ct. It is generally considered that 22ct and 24ct gold are too soft to be used to make men's wedding rings.

10ct gold (417 parts pure gold per thousand parts) is very similar to 9kt gold and the reason why some countries use 9kt and other countries use 10ct is due to historical reasons, rather than one being superior to the other.

Jewelry is normally stamped with a marking to show the type of gold.

For 9kt gold the stamp will normally be either the number 375, 9kt, 9kt or 9K.

For 14kt gold the stamp will normally be either the number 417, 14kt, 14kt or 14K.

For 18kt gold the stamp will normally be either the number 750, 18kt, 18kt or 18K.

The stamps only indicate the carat of metal. They do not indicate the color of the metal. So for example an 18kt yellow gold ring would have a stamp of 750 as would an 18kt white gold ring.

9kt, 14kt and 18kt gold are each relatively hard and durable metals and are suitable for use in all types of fine jewelry. Gold is also suitable to be used in jewelry that is worn on an every day basis.

When choosing jewelry, particularly rings, many people consider the hardness and durability of gold to be used in their ring.

Metal hardness is measured by what is called the Vickers scale where harder metals receive a higher Vickers score than less hard metals.

9kt has a Vickers hardness of 120 and 18kt has a Vickers hardness of 125. This shows 18kt as harder, but the difference is so slight that in practical terms 9kt and 18kt are much the same in terms of hardness.

There is another difference that should be considered when comparing 9kt and 18kt. 9kt is more difficult to bend and is a little more springy and therefore a fine 9kt ring may be less likely to bend out of shape than a fine 18kt ring. However, if the ring is of a good sturdy construction neither metal will be likely to bend out of shape.

Gold colors

Next you need to consider the color of gold.

Gold is available in several different colors. The most popular is yellow gold, followed by white gold and rose gold, though other gold colors are sometimes also available such as bronze, red and lime gold.

Jewelry can also be made using a combination of different gold colors. These jewelry items are sometimes called two-tone, three-tone or multi-colored gold.

The gold content of yellow gold is measured in the same way it is measured in for example white gold. So an 18kt white gold ring contains 75% pure gold, just as 18kt yellow gold contains 75% pure gold.

The difference in color between yellow, white and rose is determined by the metals used in the alloy mix.

As the color difference is due to the metal components in the alloy mix, the color of yellow gold and rose gold will not chip, fade or wear off with age.

Yellow gold is made by mixing pure gold with alloy metals such as copper and zinc.

Rose gold is made using a mix of pure gold with alloys including copper. The copper provides the rose-reddish color.

White gold is an alloy of gold and some white metals such as silver and palladium.

Traditionally nickel was used in white gold, however, nickel is no longer used in most white gold made today as nickel can cause reactions with some people. We do not use nickel in our white gold

When white gold rings are new they can be coated with another white metal called Rhodium. Rhodium is a metal very similar to platinum and rhodium shares many of the properties of platinum including its white color.

The rhodium plating is used to make the white gold look more white. The natural color of white gold is actually a light grey color. The rhodium is very white and very hard, but it does wear away eventually. To keep a white gold ring looking its best it should be re-rhodium plated approximately each 12 to 18 months. Most local jewelers are able to rhodium plate jewelry for a cost effective price.

As each gold color contains the same proportion of pure gold all gold colors with the same carat weight when measured on the Vickers scale have the same Vickers score.

There can be a difference in color between the different carats of gold.

18kt yellow gold is more yellow than 9kt yellow gold with 18kt yellow gold having a richer golden color making 18kt yellow gold a more popular choice of yellow gold than 9kt for ladies engagement rings.

9kt rose gold has a darker rose-copper color than 18kt rose gold which has a more subtle rose color.

9kt white gold and 18kt white gold have a similar white color (as normally both have a rhodium plating finish.

When comparing the price of the gold colors in the same carat, white gold is normally a little more expensive than yellow gold and rose gold. Yellow gold and rose gold normally have approximately the same price.

When trying to decide between the gold carat types there are three things to consider.

1. The metals performance with every day wear
2. The difference in color between the 9kt, 14kt and 18kt gold
3. The difference in price between the gold carats.

In practical terms, 18kt generally holds up to everyday wear better than 9kt and tends to look better than 9kt as it ages over the years. This is one of the reasons why 18kt is normally preferred for ladies engagement rings rather than 9kt.

18kt is the superior metal for lady's and men's wedding rings provided that the ring is not a lightweight construction (Gillett's Jewellers rings are a good construction). However, 18kt is more expensive than 14kt and 9kt, which is usually fine for ladies engagement rings, though in a large men's ring the 18kt price can be a noticeable difference.

9kt, 14kt and 18kt are each suitable equally suitable for use in dress rings, earrings, pendants, bracelets and necklaces. Many people choose 9kt and 14kt for their earrings and pendants due to its lower price.

Titanium

Titanium is a natural element which has a silver-greyish-white color. Titanium is the hardest natural metal in the world. It is very strong, three times the strength of steel and much stronger than gold, silver and platinum and yet is very light weight. Pure titanium is also 100% hypo-allergenic which means that it if safe for anyone to wear as it will not react to your skin.

Titanium provides several unique factors that make it a good metal for jewelry. It is very strong, more dent, bend and scratch resistant than gold, silver and platinum, is lightweight and importantly offers an exotic array of colors which other metals simply do not.

One factor to consider with titanium is that titanium cannot be soldered, which means that titanium rings cannot normally be resized.

Titanium rings made using pure titanium can normally be cut-off the finger in the event of an emergency, though they are more difficult to cut-off than gold, silver or platinum rings. Aircraft grade titanium rings normally cannot be cut-off in the event of an emergency.

Titanium is popular in earrings and bracelets for both ladies and men.

Platinum

Platinum is a white metal, but unlike gold it is used in jewelry in almost its pure form (approximately 95% pure). Platinum is extremely long wearing and is very white, so it does not need to be rhodium plated like white gold does.

Platinum is very dense and heavy metal, so a platinum ring will feel heavier than an 18kt gold ring.

Platinum is, however, significantly more expensive than gold. With all other things being the same, a platinum ring will be approximately twice the price of an 18kt white gold ring.

Platinum is a prestige choice and is often chosen for its sophisticated appeal and popularity amongst the rich and famous.

Platinum is normally not used in the full range of jewelry products due to its higher price.

Platinum is mainly used in ladies engagement rings, ladies wedding rings and men's wedding rings.

Platinum can also be used to make dress rings, though it is not commonly used to make earrings, pendants, bracelets or necklaces.

Silver

Sterling silver is a white-grey colored metal which is less expensive than gold, platinum and titanium.

Silver is a softer metal than gold, titanium and platinum and does not have hardness that the other metals do.

Silver is a popular metal for use in jewelry such as earrings, pendants, bracelets, necklaces and dress rings. It is best used for jewelry that will not be worn every day for an extended period. For that reason it is usually not recommend to be chosen for ladies and men's wedding rings, and is not suitable for ladies engagement rings.

Silver is also more prone to oxidisation, sometimes causing the silver to turn black. The silver jewelry can easily be made to look like new again if you use a silver jewelry cleaner (available from most department stores) or if you have your jewelry cleaned by a local jeweler.

Tungsten Carbide

Tungsten carbide, also referred to simply as tungsten, is a very hard, strong and durable metal. It's also quite heavy.

Tungsten has a characteristic unique to this special metal - tungsten is highly scratch resistant.

Unlike gold, platinum and even titanium, tungsten rings do not scratch with everyday wear like the other metals do.

It is technically possible to scratch tungsten, though only with objects that are harder than tungsten. So that leaves diamonds, sapphires, rubies and ceramic. Though unless you dragged the tip of a loose diamond along the tungsten, the metal will stay scratch resistant.

Having a wedding band that’s scratch resistant offers a lot of advantages.

Tungsten always looks new and bright and shiny. It doesn’t need the polishing maintenance that gold, platinum and titanium rings do.

Tungsten stands up to the wear that even the roughest husbands can dish-out, making it a popular choice for men's wedding rings.

Tungsten has an appealing color which almost all men like. The tungsten color is a grey-white color, similar to that of white gold or silver.

Tungsten is particularly popular in men's wedding rings.

The range of tungsten jewellery is generally more restricted than for other metals.

Stainless steel

Stainless steel is a metal not traditionally used in fine jewelry, though its popularity in dress jewelry is increasing.

Stainless steel is a relatively hard and durable metal. It is particularly popular in men's bracelets, necklaces and men's dress rings.

The range of stainless steel jewelry is generally more restricted than for other metals.

Tip

One of the best, simplest and least expensive ways to clean silver jewelry is to half-fill jar with hot water from a tap. Add a tablespoon of salt (or baking soda) and strips of aluminum foil. Then, drop a few pieces of silver jewelry in the mixture. Cover the jar and leave for a few minutes. Take out the jewelry, wipe it and voila - sparkling silver jewels

Did you know

Did you know why we traditionally wear a wedding band on the fourth finger of the left hand? Some say it's because this finger is the least likely to swell, but that's not the reason (nor is it true). Before people knew how the circulatory system worked, it was believed that there was a vein in the finger that led directly to the heart. The vein was named vena amori (vein of love) and the custom dates back to 3rd century BC.