How Cultured Pearls Are Formed

Princess Diana once said: “If a woman could own only one piece of jewelry, it would have to be pearls.” Below, the editor introduces how cultured pearls are formed and how they differ from natural pearls.

1. How cultured pearls are formed

According to the theory of how natural pearls form, mollusks and their mantle tissue are cut into small pieces by artificial means and transplanted into the tissue of another mollusk. After a series of changes, the transplanted mantle piece forms a pearl sac and secretes nacre to form a non-nucleated pearl. In addition, while transplanting the mantle piece, a bead nucleus made from freshwater mussel shell or other materials is implanted. After a series of changes, it surrounds the bead nucleus to form a pearl sac, then secretes nacre that deposits around the bead nucleus to form a cultured pearl.

2. The difference between cultured pearls and natural pearls

Simply put, pearls are actually divided into two major categories, namely wild pearls and cultured pearls. Many people have a deep misunderstanding of “cultured pearls,” believing that they are not natural pearls! Let us correct this here → cultured pearls, like wild pearls, are both natural pearls, and 99% of the pearls on the market are cultured.

Wild pearls

Wild pearls should be easy to understand: they are pearls formed naturally inside mollusks and sea snails without any human intervention. They can be said to be extremely rare, and those suitable for making jewelry are even fewer! At present, there are only 4 types of wild pearls, namely conch pearls, melo pearls, abalone pearls and keshi pearls.

Cultured pearls

Compared with the rarity of wild pearls, cultured pearls appear much more accessible. Cultured pearls are mainly divided into saltwater pearls and freshwater pearls. The quality of freshwater pearls is generally quite ordinary, and prices vary. There are 4 common types of saltwater pearls on the market → South Sea saltwater pearls, Japanese akoya saltwater pearls, mabe pearls and Guangxi South Pearls.

South Sea saltwater pearls

Most pearls produced in the South Sea are of very good quality. Well-known South Sea white pearls, South Sea golden pearls and Tahitian black pearls all belong to the South Sea saltwater pearl category! The biggest feature of South Sea pearls is their large size, generally 9~20mm in diameter, which makes them very sought after! In addition, South Sea pearls also have a very good luster and a thick nacre layer, no wonder they are so popular!