Culturing Freshwater Pearls
Freshwater rice pearls (and other freshwater varieties) have a unique little quality. When they are cultured, farmers don't use a bead as the nucleus to begin forming the pearl. a bit of another mussel's mantle tissue, which is the tissue that secretes mother of pearl. However, I'll bet you didn't know that the pearl farmer can insert more than one bit of mantle into the animal's tissue. That means that one mussel or freshwater oyster can produce up to 50 pearls at once.
The Lavender Hue
Pearls take on the colors of the animals that produce them. Lavender rice pearls, for example take on their delicate shades from the mantle of the producing mollusk, but even water conditions and the type of nucleus used to grow the pearl can influence the final color. Lavender rice pearls can be dyed, but they can also occur naturally. To see if they are dyed, look into the drill hole and see if you can see a concentration of color. That's a good indication the pearls are dyed and not naturally colored.
Too Many Pearls, Too Little Time
Too many types of pearls to choose from? Not to worry! Pearls can be broken down into various categories: cultured and natural types, and those oddities in between, like keishi, mabe, and mother-of-pearl. Mabe is another form of cultured pearl, and the mother-of-pearl that lines shells is actually made up of nacre, which also forms pearls. It creates the lustrous surface you see inside an oyster or abalone shell. This mother-of-pearl is necessary for the mollusk to actually produce a pearl, no matter what type it is. Only shells with mother-of-pearl inside have the ability to ultimately create a fine pearl.
A Flip of the Coin
There's a great advantage to working with coin freshwater pearls. They wear many colors, but they also come in a wide variety of shapes, too. You can find these coin pearls in round, oblong, teardrop, oval, and just about any shape you can imagine. A key advantage of coin pearls is that you get a large pearl for the price. While coin pearls can be expensive for freshwater pearls, they come in an array of colors, plenty of sizes, and beauty to boot ¨C it¡¯s enough to make you flip! What more could you ask for in a pearl?
Crimp Beads and Coin Pearls
Stringing pearls, like coin freshwater pearls is a bit more demanding than stringing regular beads. Most experts don't recommend using a crimp bead with pearls, because the bead can damage the delicate gems. So, how do you put a clasp on your finished project? Some beaders simply tie on a clasp before the first knot between the coin freshwater pearls, but others use a bead tip to cover the knot and attach the clasp. They then tie a knot in front of the bead tip to keep it from coming in contact with the first pearl. Voila, a necklace that is safe for the pearls and still looks attractive and professional!
Keishi Pearls Feel Rejected
Keishi pearls are unusually shaped, and there's a good reason for that. They form as a result of rejection! The implanted bead nucleus of these pearls is rejected by the mollusk, and the result is this all-nacre pearl. They are usually shaped very haphazardly, and are quite lustrous. They make spectacular jewelry, and since no two look quite the same, your design will always be unique.
Buying Pearls
Generally, when you are buying pearls, you want to consider several factors. They include luster, shape, blemishes, size and color. Luster refers to the brilliance of the pearl and to how the surface of the pearl reflects light as well as to its ¡°inner glow¡± - refracting light from the layers of nacre. Blemishes relate to surface quality or the number of blemishes on a pearl. Natural pearls have blemishes while imitation pearls do not. Blemishes include holes or cracks in the surface of the pearl, and flaking nacre. Shape is usually round, but pearls are rarely perfect spheres. Consistency is the most important factor in choosing a shape for beads in a necklace or for beading in general. Color would typically be white or off white but pearls come in many different colors. Color preference is really a matter of personal taste. Size is also an important factor. Pearls range from under 1mm to 20mm. In round pearls, the most popular size sold today is 7mm to 7.5mm. Generally, the larger the pearl the greater it's value but only when taking into account the other factors mentioned. Smaller pearls can be more expensive in price though, because pearls typically come on a 16" temporary strand. Obviously, this would mean that you will get more small pearls on a strand and thus making the strand more expensive to purchase.
The Mother of all Pearls
What's at the heart of any wholesale or retail freshwater or saltwater pearl bead? Well, it used to be an irritant ¨C like a grain of sand ¨C that told the oyster it was time to begin secreting nacre around the offending object. Today, most pearl farmers use a bit of mother of pearl from the shell of an oyster or other mollusk. They insert this tiny treasure inside the animal's tissue to urge it to begin the process that will ultimately create a pearl. So, a tiny bit of mother of pearl is at the heart of just about every wholesale and retail mother of pearl bead you can buy!
Luster and Coin Pearls
When you look for high-quality pearls, one of the qualities to look for is luster. That's a combo of the deep glow of the pearl paired with surface shimmer and sheen. The luster should always be shiny, rather than dull or dusty. Coin pearl beads are especially lustrous, and most of them carry shiny overtones, so they are a perfect pearl for the beginner to buy. These striking pearls will give you an idea of what to look for in luster and sheen. They have plenty of texture, too, which seems to help reflect and refract the sheen back to your eyes. So, if you want to bone up on luster, look to coin pearl beads as your example.
Need a Little Polish Remover?
Perhaps the most disturbing trend some wholesalers use to camouflage a low grade pearl bead is to layer it with a clear coating somewhat like nail polish. It's almost impossible to tell the pearl's been coated, too. About the only way is to compare a suspected strand with one you know is untreated under high magnification. The untreated pearls' nacre will appear scaly, while the treated pearls will appear even and glassy. Almost all wholesalers of freshwater pearl beads will avoid this practice. Reputable wholesalers of freshwater pearl beads will try to hand pick their selections to avoid low quality pearls of this type.
Designing With the Rice Pearl
What can you do with rice pearls? Well, you can string them in stands of pearls, but partnered with other gems, the rice pearl is especially stunning and eye-catching. That's because of the rich colorations and even size of these gems. Rice pearls look grand alone, but next to a glass bead or gemstone they take on even more wondrous characteristics. Some rice pearls have subtle banding, while others do not. Usually, the rice pearl bead is drilled end to end, to enhance the thicker center of the pearl.
"Poppy Seed" Pearls
It's not a good idea to sprinkle poppy seed pearls on your morning muffin, but they can create a hot set of earrings. Many people refer to the irregular form of the keishi pearl as a poppy seed pearl. That may be because the poppy seed packs a lot of punch into a small package, and the keishi pearl packs a lot of luster and sheen into an equally diminutive pearl. The keishi pearl is an abnormality, but because it's extraordinary and hard to find, you may become quite attached to these fine, cherished pearls.
Freshwater or Saltwater to Your Liking
The keishi pearl can be either a freshwater or saltwater pearl. If you prefer one variety to the other, you can still have your keishi pearl and bead it, too! Pearl graders consider these gems by-products of the culturing process, so they fall somewhere it a gray area. They are quite rare, since most growers routinely check their mollusks to find out if they have rejected a nucleus, and if they have, they renucleate the animal. Once you see these lustrous beauties, you'll know why they are highly prized by many jewelry designers.
Pearls and Necklace Design
Different pearls work well for different necklace designs. For a traditional strand of pearls, you will want round or nugget pearls. Buy according to uniformity of shape and color. You can also make a necklace of white dancing pearl beads from rice pearls. You will want to buy rice pearls that are drilled through the top. They look great as drops on a necklace or in a stylish, asymmetrical design. Look for rice pearls with uniform luster and color and very smooth surfaces. You'll need a lot of these pearl beads on a strand because of the way they're drilled, so make sure you purchase enough.