On 21st December 1966 we harvested Japanese seeded pearls and obtained an extraordinarily large cultured pearl. The lustre was good, colour was silver and shape was baroque. It weighed 9.80 momme, the width was 32 mm and the height was 41 mm. It is the largest cultured pearl in the World until now.
1.A. There are natural pearl and cultured pearl. In cultured pearl you will find freshwater pearl and seawater pearl. In seawater cultured pearl, there are half pearl or mabe pearl and spherical pearls. In spherical pearls there are Japanese pearl or akoya pearl, Tahitian pearl or black South Sea pearl and white and gold South Sea pearl. Every pearl has its qualities. But in terms of market value white and gold South Sea pearl is the best. It is because they are less in supply and more in demand. Moreover they have two unique qualities, size and nacre thickness which no other pearl can't beat.
2.A. The value factors of a pearl are Lustre, Nacre thickness, Surface quality, Size, Shape, Color and Matching. Luster is more than just a surface sheen. It is an inner glow from the heart of the gem.
Thick nacre makes good lustre and durability.In an ideal world, all pearls would be spotless. In reality, a completely clean pearl is a rare treasure.Spherical pearls can range from 2mm to more than 20mm in diameter. A larger pearl is more valuable. Pearls are not manufactured by machine. So there are countless numbers of shapes. Out of three major categories, spherical, symmetrical and baroque, spherical are the most expensive.A bold, bright hue like the red of a fine ruby is foreign to the softer world of pearls, but a pearl can be white, pink, gold, yellow, cream, purple, brown, blue, black, green, orange, or many other colours. Certain pearl types typically display certain color ranges. In terms of market value, white-pink pearls are most valuable. Realistically no two pearls are exactly alike. But matching is very important for a string of pearls or jewellery mounted with more than one pearl.
3.A. Currently we produce white and gold South Sea pearls from Pinctada maxima oyster in Myeik archipelago. Once we tried to produce black pearl at Thandwe near Ngapali beach, but it was not successful. Moreover we had tested to produce freshwater pearl and half pearl but not successful to produce economically.
4.A. Black pearls are produced from black-lipped oyster Pinctada margaritifera. It means that Pinctada is genus and margaritifera is species. The largest and darkest of these "black-lipped" shells are found around Tahiti. Our black-lipped oysters around Ngapali beach are different sub-species and the size of oyster is very small and the pearls produced are small with no lustre. The pearl oysters can grow and produce pearl only at their natural habitats.
5.A. Pearl oyster of Mergui Islands, being well-known since ancient times, fished for in shallow waters by the Salons, the inhabitants of the same islands, who used free-diving method in collecting shells, were put on the market through the medium of Chinese merchants. In 1890 the Government divided Mergui Islands into five maritime zones, putting the shell collection right up at auction. It was then that men started getting engaged in shell collection, using diving apparatus. The first three fishing vessels were from Queensland, Australia.
6.A. The oysters are reared on the seabed in cages, made up of wire or plastic, which are tied to a
well secured wire cable. The seabed must be flat rock or hard sand. A wire cable can hold 150 cages. Divers in half suit helmet dive down to the seabed at every neap tide and check the oyster cages. They put the cages in proper position. After three or four months the cages are brought back to the surface and divers clean the oysters and if necessary change new cages.
7.A. The 20 to 24 mm diametre long-lines are buoyed by numerous plastic floats and held in place with large iron or cement anchors. Then the oysters, held in 6 or 8 pocket netting panels, are suspended with dropper-lines attached to massive long-lines so that oysters hang a few metres beneath the surface where maximum food is available.
8.A. Pearls are organic gems that form inside the body of a mollusk. Pearls are made up of layers of nacre, a natural substance produced by mollusks that also coats the inside of the animal's shell. Nacre is made up mostly of calcium carbonate. A cross-section of the pearl reveals numerous concentric circles of fine, translucent nacreous material, each approximately 0.5 microns (0.0005mm) wide. A mollusk secrets 2 to7 layers of pearly film each day.
9.A. For loose pearls weight is measured by traditional Japanese unit momme and kan. One momme is equal to 3.75 grams and also equal to 20.63 rati. The size of loose pearl is expressed by millimetre. But the length of necklace is measured in inches. This mix-up, interestingly, is accepted worldwide, so that one can say pearls are truly international product.
10.A. Within your budget, buy quality. Rather than a large, dull pearl, choose a smaller one with attractive luster. The lustre is more important than size, color, shape or surface spots. Fine pearls don't have to be round. An elegant drop, and attractive button or a unique baroque-shaped pearl can be lovely too. A fine quality pearl need not be silver-pink or peacock-black. Buy the color that you find appealing. More over a pearl with a surface that is only slightly spotted should not distract you, especially when you are charmed by the luster, color, shape, size and price.
Today fine pearls compete with the finest diamonds and jewelry and it is important to know how to determine the difference between fine quality pearls and average pearls. Choosing pearls that are of the best quality are determined by luster, nacre thickness and quality (the outer layer), color, surface perfection, shape, and size. Become an expert at distinguishing quality with these tips.
