The Essence of Pearls
On May 18, 2004 Tiffany & Company announced on their shareholder
report that they entering a new retail jewelry venture. The
venture was to open and operate a retail new jewelry store name
IRIDESSE that will be exclusively focused on pearls and pearl
jewelry. The approximate price points will range from slightly
under $100 to $40,000. The first store opened in McLean Virginia
in the fall of 2004. Within five years, Tiffany's expects to
open 20 IRIDESSE stores. These stores will NOT carry Tiffany &
Co. jewelry. IRIDESSE will be an indirect, wholly-owned
subsidiary of Tiffany & Co.
What this means for you and me is that pearls are going to be
everywhere ... more so than ever before. The designs are
creative, exciting and new. The single strand of small- to
medium-sized pearls will always be available and considered the
most traditional. Now there is abundance in the variety of
shapes, types, and color. The following charts will help you in
deciding which pearls are for you and how to care for them.
Natural pearls are rare and are usually found in estate sales or
in museums from when European royalty discovered the Americas
and the bays filled with oysters filled with naturally occurring
pearls. Those pearls had an irritant that naturally made its way
inside the muscle of the oysters started it producing layer upon
layer of nacre which continued to build until the oyster was
removed by men.
Now day's pearls that are affordable are cultured. Which means
that mature oysters are harvested from a riverbed or ocean: A
small round bit of oyster shell is inserted into the muscle and
the same nacre producing activity begins building a pearl over a
period of 10 months to 3 years.
Man-made or faux pearls are produced when a round glass bead is
covered with iridescent fish scales that generate a pearly
finish. When you rub one of these beads against your front
teeth, they feel smooth. Whereas when you do the same with a
cultured pearl, the nacre coating feels slightly gritty against
your tooth.
Man-made pearls, such as your standard Mardi-gras beads will
feel room temperature when you pick them up. Cultured pearls
will feel cold, especially when in an air-conditioned room.
Pearls need to be the last thing you put on after you have
dressed, applied makeup and fixed your hair.
Hair styling products, deodorant, fragrance and any
alcohol-based spray will break down the luster and finish on a
pearl causing it to look pitty because the nacre layers will
begin to peel off. The acid in our natural occurring body oils
can build up on pearls which can make them look dull. It is best
to wipe them off with a soft cloth or wash with a mild soap to
remove a build up on the pearl surface. Do not dip in an
ultrasonic cleanser, the damage would be immediate.
Your more expensive pearls will have a knot tied between each
pearl bead. This prevents them from scratching each other. Also
if you break a strand, you would only loose one pearl instead of
all the pearls in the jewelry piece. Store your pearl pieces in
separate silk pouches or lined jewelry box dividers so that
harder gemstones you own do not scratch the pearls either.
Start noticing the variety of pearls you see in stores and
catalogues. Because China has improved the quality of their
cultured pearls and have more pearl farms than another other
country (even Japan), pearls are now affordable and will be
available in more stores than ever before.
You can get a PDF version of this article and print it for
later use at:
http://www.powerfulappearance.com/articles/documents/essence-of-p
earls.pdf