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| Freshwater Pearls |
| them a favorite amongst jewelry designers, shoppers, and pearl connoisseurs alike. Although several areas of the world are home to pearl-producing mussels, the global freshwater market is overwhelmingly dominated by Chinese pearl farms, which account for nearly all of the freshwater pearls sold today. Freshwater pearls are produced by the Hyriopsis cumingi, Hyriopsis schlegeli, and Cristaria plicata mussels, which mostly live in lakes and rivers in China and Japan. The mussels are grafted with tiny pieces of mantle tissue, resulting in pearls of solid nacre. Roughly the size of a human hand, these prolific mussels are able to produce up to 32-50 pearls at a time. Over the course of 2 to 7 years, the mussels deposit layer upon layer of nacre around the growing gems. Texture & Luster The character of a freshwater pearl is found in its distinctive surface texture and the warmth of its luster. The nacre of a high-quality freshwater pearl does not typically have the glossy finish found in Akoya pearls, and they are evaluated on separate quality scales. Size Their sizes range from tiny seed pearls measuring 1 or 2mm in diameter to 15mm and larger. Shape Their varied shapes include baroque, potato-shaped, stick, rice, button, coin, drop, off-round and nearly-round pearls. A perfectly round freshwater pearl is extremely rare. Keep in mind that even the roundest freshwater pearls are almost never perfectly spherical, although they may appear so to the naked eye. Color In addition to the traditional white body color, these pearls come in a rainbow of natural colors as brilliant as lavender, tangerine, mauve, aqua-silver, peach, and every shade in between. |
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