Scallop Pearls

Scallop Pearls

Scallop Pearls Defined

A scallop pearl is a non-nacreous calcareous concretion produced by any member of the pectinidae (scallop) family.

Scallop Pearls, “The Pacific Lion’s Paw”

Unlike other non-nacreous pearls such as the melo-melo and conch pearl, the scallop pearl comes from a bivalve mollusk know as the "Mano de Leon", or the "The Pacific Lion's Paw". This shellfish garners its name due to the unique shape of its shell, which resembles a lion's paw. Scallop pearls are native to the coastal waters of Central and North America and most commonly found off the coast of Baja California.

Scallop Pearls Are Another Very Rare Pearl

The scallop pearl is a very rare occurrence and is the bi-product of wild-harvested scallops. Due to the rarity of the gem, scallops are not sought for their pearls. Scallop fisherman, that spend their whole lives harvesting the meat of the shellfish, may only find a small handful of pearls during their entire lifetime.

Scallop Pearls Are Unique In Their Coloration

Scallop pearls have a unique shape and coloration absent in other calcareous concretions. Scallop pearls are generally symmetrical in an oval, round, drop, or button shape. These pearls range in size from seed to 40 carats. The color of the scallop pearl is unique among all pearls and calcareous concretions. Scallop pearls generally exude a rare maroon to plum coloration, and are also commonly found in deep purple, orange and pink.

Scallop Pearls Have A Unique 3-D Effect

The scallop pearl has a unique 3-dimensional effect within the reflective platelets of their surface, which adds to the unique beauty of the gem. This gives the pearl a sort of flash effect, similar to the flame-like appearance of the conch pearl.

Abalone Pearls

Abalone Pearls

Abalone Pearls Defined

Abalone Pearls are natural pearls found in the gastropod mollusk Haliotis. The pearls are most often an iridescent blue color and the most common shape is the horn.

Abalone Pearls, Some Of The Most Beautiful Pearls In The World

Abalone pearls are considered by many to be some of the most beautiful pearls in the world, and they are also some of the rarest. Abalone pearls come from the gastropod mollusk, Haliotis. The inner mother-of-pearl shell of the abalone has an intense luster and a mixed color palette of blues, lavender, orange, green, pink and silver, in nearly every conceivable combination. The beauty of the abalone pearl is the reflection of this color potpourri in its typical irregular shape.

Abalone Pearls Have A Different Shape

Abalone pearls are rarely (but occasionally) symmetrical. The most common shape is the "horn" shape. This is due to the anatomy of the abalone. A large, brilliant, symmetrical pearl is a nearly one in 100,000 occurrence.

Culturing Abalone Pearls Is Difficult

Although abalone pearls are highly desirable and widely sought after, culturing these gems has been a very difficult venture. Abalone are hemophiliacs, and if they are nucleated in a fashion similar to a mollusk, they will bleed to death quite quickly. Because of this, only abalone mabe pearls have been successfully harvested on a large scale. The culturing process is distinctly similar to that of other pearl producing mollusks, except that much more care must be exercised so that the abalone sustains no internal damage.

Abalone Pearls Are Becoming More Plentiful

Abalone pearl jewelry has yet to hit the main stream in the United States and Europe. The pearl is very popular in New Zealand and Australia, in no minor part due to the marketing and farming efforts of the Eyris Blue Pearl Company in New Zealand. As the industry grows, we can expect the beauty of these gems to soon grace the consumers of the West.

Melo Melo Pearls

Melo Melo Pearls

Melo Melo Pearls Defined

A melo melo pearl is a non-nacreous, natural calcareous concretion by the marine gastropod melo melo.

Melo Melo Pearls are Non-nacreous Concretions

The melo melo "pearl" does not come from an oyster or mollusk, but comes instead from the melo melo marine snail, which is found in the waters of the South China Sea, as far south and west to Singaport and Andaman Sea. Like conch pearls, the melo melo gem is not actually a nacreous pearl because it contains no nacre. It is created by a similar process, however, in response to a foreign substance that invades the snail's shell.

Melo Melo Pearls Are Usually Large And Round

Melo melo pearls are extremely large and generally very round. One of the largest discovered is nearly the size of a golf ball! The pearls' colors range from tan to dark brown, with orange being the most desirable color. Also like the conch pearl, the color is believed to be subject to fading over time.

Melo Melo Pearls - Another Rare Natural Gem

Melo melo pearls are extremely rare. Although researchers are attempting to culture them, none have yet succeeded -- so all melo melo pearls are natural. Although these pearls have been known and collected in Asia for many years, they have only recently been introduced into the West.

Conch Pearls

Conch Pearls

Conch Pearls Defined

A Conch Pearl is a non-nacreous, calcareous concretion produced primarily by the Queen Conch (Strombus gigas). Conch pearls often exhibit a flame-like pattern due to concentrically arranged calcium carbonate plateles in a lamellar fasion.

Conch Pearls, The Pearl That’s Not Really A Pearl, in the Technical Sense

Conch pearls (pronounced "konk") contain no nacre, so technically they are not actually pearls at all. Instead, the gems are calcareous concretions, similar to kidney stones in humans. They are produced by the Queen conch mollusk (Strombus gigas), which lives primarily in the Caribbean near southern Florida.

Conch Pearls Are A Very Rare Occurrence

No one has yet devised a method for culturing conch pearls, so every one you see will be a natural pearl. Therefore, they are extremely rare and valuable. It is estimated that only one in 10,000 conchs produces a pearl, and that less than 10 percent of those are of gem quality.

Conch Pearls Are Nature’s Surprise

Since the meat of the Queen conch is prized as food, it is generally harvested by fishermen, rather than being sought for its pearls. The pearls tend to be "by-products" of the harvest, discovered by the fishermen as they clean their catch.

Conch Pearls, Small But Pretty In Pink

Conch pearls are usually small in size -- 3 millimeters or less -- and baroque or oval in shape. Their colors are generally pink, yellow, brown, white, or golden. Pink (or a salmon-colored orange-pink) is generally the most sought-after color, while white and brown are relatively rare.

Conch Pearls Have A Flame Structure

In addition to its striking colors, the conch pearl often has another important surface feature called a "flame structure," which is a unique pattern in the coloration. The flame structure generally appears in the pink or white-pink pearls, although the other colors sometimes also exhibit it.

Be Careful, The Color Of Conch Pearls Can Fade

An important fact to remember, if you are considering purchasing a conch pearl, is that its colors tend to fade significantly over time. Experts are not completely sure why, although sunlight is often cited as at least one factor in the fading. Thus, it's recommended that conch pearls be worn primarily in the evening and not exposed to excessive sunlight.

Finding Pairs Of Conch Pearls Is Extremely Rare

Since conch pearls are naturally both rare and unique, finding matching pearls for sets, earrings, strands, etc. is extremely difficult, thus significantly increasing both the cost and the value of such sets.

Natural Pearls

Natural Pearls

Natural Pearls Defined

Natural pearls are calcium carbonate secretions which form within mollusks without human intervention.

Natural Pearls - Accidents of Nature

Natural pearls are formed randomly and really are simple accidents of nature. When a certain type of irritant, such as a parasite, becomes lodged in the tissue of a mollusk, the animal responds by secreting a calcium carbonate substance called nacre to coat the intruder and protect the mollusk. Over a period of several years, this build-up of nacre forms a natural pearl.

Discovery of Natural Pearls is Rare

Natural pearls of any commercial value or desirability, are extremely rare. Instead, since the early part of the 20th century, cultured pearls have supplanted natural pearls as the most common and available pearls.

Cultured Pearls vs. Natural Pearls

Cultured pearls are still real pearls, grown organically inside of oysters in the same way as natural pearls. The difference is, that in the case of cultured pearls, the pearl farmer intentionally stimulates the development of the pearl by inserting a "nucleus" into the oyster. Thus, the formation and discovery of the pearl are no longer left to chance.

Natural Pearls Today

Although natural pearls are found primarily in older jewelry from estate sales and auctions, their popularity is making a comeback. Colorful abalone and conch pearls have begun to find favor in exotic, unique designs. Recently, in 2007, a double strand of 68 perfect natural pearls known as the ‘Baroda Pearls’ was auctioned at Christie’s Auction House for $7 million.

Mabe Pearls

Mabe Pearls

Mabe Pearls Defined

A mabe pearl is a worked and assembled blister pearl (attached to the shell).

What Is A Mabe Pearl?

A mabe pearl is a hemispherical shaped pearl which is grown against the inside of the oyster's shell, rather than within its tissue. Mabes occasionally appear in nature.

Mabe Pearls Develop On The Shell

Cultured mabes are grown intentionally, by using a hemispheric nucleus, rather than a round one; and by implanting it against the oyster's shell, rather than within its tissue. The pearl then develops in a hemispheric form, with a flat back. While in the oyster a mabe pearl is actually considered a blister pearl not a mabe pearl.

Creating Mabe Pearls

After the blister pearl has developed, it is 'worked' to become a mabe pearl. Blister pearls are ‘worked’ by cutting the pearl out of the shell with a circle-bit drill. The nucleus is then removed and replaced with a resin. The back of the pearl is then capped with a piece of mother-of-pearl to complete the mabe pearl.

Mabe Pearls, Perfect For Jewelry

Cultured mabes are used for such things as rings and earrings, rather than for stringing on necklaces. They tend to be very beautiful with high luster and orient, but are priced much lower than round pearls.

Keshi Pearls

Keshi Pearls

Keshi Pearls Defined

A keshi pearl is a non-beaded pearl formed by accident as a by-product of a pearl culturing operation.

How Keshi Pearls Are Formed

Keshi pearls are formed when the oyster rejects and spits out the implanted nucleus before the culturing process is complete, or the implanted mantle tissue fractures and forms separate pearl sacs without nuclei. These pearl sacs eventually produce pearls without a nucleus.

Keshi Pearls Can Be Salt Or Freshwater

Keshi may form in either saltwater or freshwater pearls. They are generally small in size and, because there was no nucleus to guide the ultimate shaping of the pearl, their shapes vary widely. Keshi come in a wide variety of colors, and tend to have high luster and even rare orient. This is due to their solid-nacre composition.

Keshi Pearls Are Known For Their Luster

Because the oyster has expelled the implanted nucleus of the pearl, the resulting keshi pearl is 100% nacre. This gives it an especially lustrous and shimmering surface quality. Most keshi, in fact, have a greater luster than even the highest quality cultured pearls.

Keshi Pearls Are Not Considered Natural Pearls

The fact that keshi pearls are solid nacre does not, however, give them the classification of natural pearls. This is because keshi are a bi-product of the culturing process, and not a natural occurrence.

Keshi Pearls Are Now A Very Rare Find

Keshi pearls, especially Tahitian and South Sea keshis, were once quite the bargain, yet beautiful and unique pieces. Today, Keshi pearls are much more rare. This is because Tahitian and South Sea pearl farms are now x-raying oysters to determine whether or not the nucleus has been expelled. When a nucleus-free oyster is found they are then re-nucleated before a keshi has time to form. This practice has made keshi pearls much more of a rare find than they once used to be. The word keshi means "poppy seed" in Japanese, and these pearls are often also referred to as "poppy seed pearls."