Cultured pearls (Tahiti, Australia, Akoya, fresh water)

The Pearl of Tahiti

The pearl of Tahiti is the treasure of the islands of French Polynesia. She has earned her notoriety and her place in the most prestigious showcases in the world. The Tahitian pearl is the result of a long and magical transformation orchestrated by nature and the hand of man. Tahitian pearls are jewels that will make everyone travel passionately through a universe of magic and beauty.

The classification concerning the quality of the surface of Tahitian cultured pearls:

Category A: Pearls presenting at most one imperfection or a group of light imperfections concentrated on no more than 10% of its surface. Very beautiful chandelier.
Category B: Pearls with some slight imperfections concentrated on no more than 30% of its surface. Fine to average luster.
Category C: Pearls with slight imperfections concentrated on no more than 60% of its surface. Medium luster.
Category D: Pearls presenting either light imperfections on more than 60% of the surface, without deep imperfections, or light and deep imperfections concentrated on no more than 60% of its surface. Low luster.

(2) The luster of a pearl is the measure of the quantity and quality of light that is reflected from the surface of a pearl or just below the surface of a pearl. The luster of a good quality pearl is crisp and bright. You should almost be able to see your reflection on the surface of a pearl. A pearl that appears too white, dull or chalky is of low quality.

(3) A pearl's orient is how the prism of natural light breaks down into the depths of a pearl's aragonite layers. This iridescence gives the pearl all the shine which will be enhanced by reflections of colors which range from white to black in tones of cream, pink, blue, peacock green, purple and gold.

Care of Tahitian Pearls:

To keep your Tahitian cultured pearls looking their best, wear them as often as possible!
Avoid contact with chemicals like perfume, bleach, shampoos, etc.
Very resistant, Tahitian pearls can however be scratched on contact with abrasive objects/materials.
We clean them using a soft cloth, we can rub them with olive oil.
If you store them for a long time, place a small container of water next to them, so that they are always hydrated.

Whether golden, champagne or white, Australian pearls are magnificent! I like to use them in my creations, mixing them together or with Tahitian pearls.

The Pearl of Australia

White Australian pearls

White South Sea pearls are known for their satin luster and deep inner glow (orient of the pearl) not found in Akoya pearls or freshwater pearls. They are rare and highly sought after; their value is directly linked to the quality of their practically impeccable surface as well as their luster and their astonishing dimension.
Produced by the very large silver-lipped Pinctada oysters, which live around the shores of Australia. These fascinating pearls are different from all other pearls in the world in their majestic size and rare colors. They are esteemed for their large and luxurious size, with a range starting at 9.0mm and capable of reaching in their growth up to 22.00mm for the largest!

Golden and champagne pearls

The gold or golden pearl appeared in 1954 in Myanmar (formerly Burma).
It comes from a special grafting technique on the golden-lipped Pinctada Maxima, a large oyster which can reach up to 30 cm, cultivated in the warm, plankton-rich waters of the South Seas. This mollusk is found in particular in Australia, Indonesia and the Philippines. The production of the gold pearl remains long, from 18 to 24 months (compared to 9 to 16 months for the Akoya pearl).

The Akoya Pearl

The name Akoya is the Japanese translation for salt water. In the jewelry world, Akoya pearls or Akoya cultured pearls are known as saltwater cultured pearls . They have been obtained for more than a century by introducing a graft into sea oysters ( Pinctada fucata and Pinctada martensi ), and are between 2 and 9 mm in diameter. They are naturally yellow, green and cream, but are reprocessed to become champagne, white or silver.

The Freshwater Pearl

Freshwater pearls are the only pearls not to have a “mother pearl” or “nucleon” as a matrix at their heart. The entire pearl in its entirety is formed by the mollusk. The Freshwater pearl is therefore entirely formed of nacre produced by the mollusc.

These are pearls of very high resistance, they cannot chip since they are formed from a block. Their prices are often attractive because each grafted mollusk can produce up to fifty pearls instead of one or two in the cultivation of other pearls. This cost in no way alters the quality, quite the contrary.