How to choose freshwater pearls – Layman’s guide for men looking to buy a lovely gift for their loved one
'Parfum' pearl and gemstone necklace
So, it’s your first wedding anniversary and traditionally freshwater pearl jewellery is a great choice of gift to your beloved one. Choosing jewellery for the girlfriend or wife could be an intimidating and confusing process for a man. You don’t need to worry about it because it also happens to men in their 50s when they have to celebrate the 30th wedding anniversary called the ‘pearl anniversary’, as pearl jewellery is the most natural choice for this special occasion. However you do not need to worry: there are a lot of guidance information available on the internet as well as a wide range of choices both in retail shops and in online pearl jewellery stores. From natural seawater pearl to imitation shell pearls you can select anything according to your budget line. For most people the best choice is freshwater pearl, as it is much more affordable than saltwater (sea) pearls with little difference, while being much nicer than imitation (faux) pearls. Cultured freshwater pearl is found all over the world with different price range. This difference in price is there because of the monopoly in production of freshwater pearl. The production of cultured freshwater pearl started from Lake Biwa in Japan, as Japan was the first country to invent pearl culturing technique. But due to various environmental as well as practical issues the production of cultured freshwater pearls in Japan gradually decreased and finally Japan lost the number one position in cultured freshwater pearl production to China. China came into the picture later but has become the number one nation in production of cultured freshwater pearl. Japan has moved on to differentiating itself through producing larger size pearls, usually those more than 8mm. Currently 73% of the cultured freshwater pearl worldwide come from China alone. The US also produces a good number of cultured pearls. So, first step to finding best quality cultured freshwater pearl is to check its origin.
Authentic pearls (including sea water pearl and freshwater pearl) come in many different shapes as they are naturally grown inside oysters. The classic choices of shape are round or baroque, although other shapes like off-round, button, treadrop, pear, stick, coin and oval are also available. This allows a great variety in the pearl jewellery industry. Noticing the shape of pearls is the second step towards finding something great for your loved one: consider the normal dressing style of your girlfriend or wife – does she like elegant, classy and formal dressing, or something more daring and creative? While round and baroque pearls look great with classy outfits; the other more creative shapes such as coin, stick or teardrop would suit those with a differentiating taste nicely. Sometimes a fashion designer pearl jewellery that combines pearls and other gemstones would also be a great choice.
White is the most usual colour for all the naturally formed seawater pearls. Also the majority of the freshwater pearl naturally comes in white or beige. In rare occasions, black coloured pearl is also found naturally, however these often come with a multi-colour overtone (the reflex on the surface of the pearl). The latest pearl culturing techniques allow people to add artificial colouring to the oyster that are growing pearls, fully integrating the colours into the pearls. Colours like pink, blue, brown, purple and even a green are available on the market. The colours that are ‘fed’ to oysters usually come in more subtle shapes while pearls dyed after being formed could have much brighter colours. There is little difference in quality between these two colouring techniques so you do not need to worry too much. Just consider the colour that suits her the best. If you want to make double sure of the quailty, you can try and scrpe the surface of the pearl with a little force. A trace of powder will appear and after you wipe it away, the surface of an authentic pearl would stay completely untouched. This brings us through the third step of our guide.
'Claire' freshwater pearl bracelet
There is one more factor helping in choosing an appropriate cultured freshwater pearl, and this is the grade that is being given to pearls according to their quality. Pearls differ from one another with the grading system of A, AA and AAA. AAA represents the finest of quality and A represents a quality of lowest degree. Sometimes markings like A+ or AA+ are using to offer more subtle differentiation; however if a retailer marks his pearls as ‘AAAA’ or ‘AAA+’, it would be regarded as lack of taste and a sign of dishonesty by his competitors in the pearl industry as he would seem to be trying to trick his customers into believing that his products are the best. There should be no difference between pearls with a triple-A rating as their surfaces must be all intact.
Finally, before you buy from a high street or online retailer, have a search around the internet for customer reviews. Reference from other buyers are always of great help. In this aspect, online jewellery stores might have more review information on the internet than high street retailers. Always compare the prices before you buy. Hope you have a great special occasion!