Chinese
Freshwater Pearls are recognized as the most varied and beautifully
cultured freshwater pearls in the world. With pristine freshwater
lakes and abundant mollusk populations, Chinese harvesters
continue to awe the pearl-loving community with gems in every
size, shape and color and have been doing so for more than
four thousand years!
In contrast to the Akoya
pearls and
other saltwater pearls, the freshwater pearls are not nucleated
with round mother-of-pearl beads, but by inserting a small
piece of mantle tissue from one mollusk between the mantle
tissue and mother-of-pearl shell lining of the host mollusk.
After nucleation, the pearl producing oysters are returned
to their freshwater environments and nurtured for up to 6
years before the pearls are harvested.
While saltwater oysters are often
nucleated to produce a maximum of two pearls, the freshwater
oyster can be nucleated to produce upwards of fifty pearls
per oyster. While the freshwater pearl rarely rivals the
luster and roundness of the Akoya
saltwater pearl, they abound
in a beautiful variety of shapes and natural colors including
white, pink, lavender and peach. Because of the greater abundance
of the freshwater pearls, they offer a beautiful and affordable
alternative to more expensive Akoya pearls.
As the Chinese have continued to
increase their skill in pearl culturing techniques, the quality
of freshwater pearls has increased dramatically, so much
so that the top percentages of the pearl farmer’s harvests
have begun to rival the quality of many saltwater pearls.
Additionally, because of the larger size of the freshwater
pearl oyster, it is not uncommon to see freshwater pearls
many times larger than their saltwater counterparts (as large
as 16mm) at a fraction of the cost. |
