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Pearls, Cultured
Pearls
Large Scale Pearl Farming In
China, Makes Pearls Affordable
Pearls as most of us know are really not
gemstones, but have secured a firm following in the gems and jewelry
industry. A few decades ago, pearls were expensive and only few rich
buyers could afford good looking pearls that were around 7mm or
more. However that has changed now, thanks to large scale pearl
farming being implemented in China. Even the Japanese who were well
known for Akoya pearl farming have turned to Chinese pearl farms for
their requirements. South Sea pearls that were earlier meant only
for the rich, powerful and famous today cost much less. So what is
the Chinese secret, how have they managed to reduce the costs of
pearls in international markets.
The process which is really no longer a
secret, yields what are rightly known as cultured
pearls. Man has studied how pearls are naturally formed in
mollusks and oysters. Studies and research revealed that the process
used by nature to produce natural pearls can be replicated in
a controlled environment. Before we talk about cultured pearls
let us briefly explain how natural pearls are formed. This will help
you better understand the process used to produce cultured pearls.
You will also realize why cultured pearls are cheaper than natural
pearls.
Oysters or mollusks live in water, and
are the source for producing natural and cultured pearls. In the
natural process, a small particle of dust, sand or
similar substance could enter the shell of an oyster. The insides of
the creature are soft, the substance that entered the creature
irritates the oyster. To reduce or get rid of the irritation, the
oyster generates a sticky fluid called 'nacre'. The secretion tries
to envelope the foreign substance to reduce the irritation felt by
the creature. Layers of nacre are produced and these settle and dry
on the foreign substance. The nacre gradually hardens and covers the
particle that entered the oyster. This is then referred to as a
pearl, the shape, size and overall appearance would differ based on
many environmental factors.
It was later analyzed that the initial
process of a foreign particle entering the shell of the mollusk or
oyster, need not happen by accident. It is possible for a human
being to actually insert a piece of oyster shell or
similar material into the shell of the oyster. This is the only
stage where human intervention is required in the formation of a
pearl. The rest of what happens is quite natural, the creature tries
to cover the inserted material with nacre. The pearl is formed when
the nacre hardens, the pearls are then manually harvested from the
mollusks.
Pearls produced with this manual
intervention where, the particle is inserted into the oyster are
referred to as cultured pearls. Oysters are
cultivated by the thousands in pearl farms, the conditions are
controlled and the the production quantity is quite huge. Keep in
mind that in the case of a naturally pearl (not cultured) one had to
wait for something to 'accidentally' enter the mollusk. You then had
to catch hundreds of mollusks and hope that few of them had a pearl
formed inside. Compare this to a situation where every oyster that
is grown in the farm has a particle inserted into it - the yield
will obviously be much more as compared to naturally formed pearls.
One thing that you need to understand is
that, not all the cultured pearls harvested are of fine shape, color
and condition. You will come across a small volume that is quite
perfect, others might be quite small, deformed or show flaws on the
surface. So if you had to group these cultured pearls as A
(best), B (medium) and C (low) grade, most of the pearls
harvested would fall in the B and C categories. However it would not
be right to say that A quality cultured pearls are very rare as the
total volume of pearls produced is very large, so the cummulative
quantities of A quality that is available is not tiny.
While it is a true that the color, shape,
smooth surface and lustre together determine the value of a pearl,
size is an important component of this equation. When it comes to
cultured pearls, sizes beyond 7mm to 7.5mm could be classified as
'large'. If you want to be more conservative in the size grouping of
cultured pearls, you can be sure that the 9mm and above sizes are
big.
There is one other term that is often
used to fully describe cultured pearls. You might have come across
the term salt water cultured pearls or fresh water cultured
pearls. This refers to the type of water in which the
oysters are cultivated. When you go for cultured pearls, pay
attention to the size and overall beauty of the pearls. Do not worry
too much about other technical jargon.
A couple of decades ago, colored
pearls were terrible expensive. Black, green, brown, pink
and even yellow pearls can now be had at fairly modest prices.
Cultured pearls are treated to get some gorgeous colors, irradiation
is normally used to change the color of pearls. Similarly, bleaching
is done to pearls to give them a uniform white color. Interesting
pearl necklaces can be made by combining cultured
pearls of different sizes and colors. The procedure to make
a pearl necklace is not very simple, it is not a simple stringing
process. A professional artisans will string each pearl, make a knot
on the string and then pass the second pearl on the string. This is
done to ensure that the pearls do not keep knocking or rubbing
against each other.
Directstones, can provide you with all types,
colors and sizes of fresh water pearls. You can even request for
special pearl varieties like button pearls and pearls with or
without holes drilled in them. Depending on what application you
want your pearls to be put to, the hole in the pearl can be partial
or go right through the pearl. We can also assemble fine quality
pearl necklaces with sterling silver or gold clasps if you wish.
Custom jewelry can also be made with all types of pearls using your
designs or ours.
Who Is
Kaisilver?
Having established itself as the world's
leading online custom jewelry provider, Kaisilver now extends it's
merchandise line to include gems. While there is no shortage of gem
stones in the global market, reliable sources for the retail buyer
requirements are not many. Most retail gem dealers work with limited
inventories, this reduces buyer options. Another problem with these
small dealers is the lack of information and reliability when it
comes to gem authenticity and value for money. Kaisilver with it's
wide network of gemstone mining and manufacturing resources, is the
best source for gems of all types, shapes, sizes and cuts. With a
support team that is compromised of jewelry and gemstone experts,
the advice and suggestions made by the team relate to your
requirements and not to fixed sales targets. The website shows a
small sampling of the gems that we offer. You can infact request for
just about any gem on the globe. All gems are sourced directly from
the source, closely inspected and then custom cut by our expert
cutters. With a buyer base that includes fashion models, government
officials, casino and resort owners, lawyers, financial experts,
students and professors, doctors and surgeons, sportsmen and
newsreaders we have become the preferred choice for quality gems and
jewelry. By cutting out middlemen commissions and multiple agents,
we provide great value for your money. Our large online operation
does not stop us from welcoming even the smallest order. Gold and
silver jewelry is custom made with equal attention to quality,
material and craftsmanship. You can choose from our designs or send
us detailed for the style and design that you need.
How To
Order?
The process to order gems and custom
jewelry at Kaisilver is similar. We do not expect you to make a rush
purchase. We do wish that you take the time to discuss your
requirements with our experts. They will be in a position to
provide constructive suggestions that will guide you to make well
informed buying decisions. Email all your requirements to sales@kaisilver.com provide as
much inputs as possible to help us make relevant suggestions. For
example if you are keen on getting a green gemstone but, are not
particular about it being an emerald mention this in your email. Our
gem experts might suggest a green tourmaline or even a peridot
instead of an emerald. This suggestion would reduce our profit
margins but will give you a gem that, is much cheaper and even more
durable as compared to an emerald. When it comes to
payments we offer some very suitable
options. Paypal is the preferred form of payment,
it is fair to the buyer and seller. The buyer when using paypal
never needs to reveal credit card of bank information to the seller.
We also accept direct bank transfers but prefer to
do this on a case by case basis. When it comes to online
transactions these days, both buyer and seller are afraid of
frauds. It is quite possible that you do not feel comfortable
working with us at Kaisilver. We sometimes feel a little
uncomfortable with certain transactions too and prefer to keep away
from them. There have always been fears of processing payments
through Western Union money transfers. With the latest fraud
reports, fake sellers and even fake buyers have been pulling off
many online frauds using this mode of payment. At the same time we
do understand that armed forces from the U.S who are stationed in
various global positions sometimes have no other mode of payment
besides Western Union. We therefore accept this mode of payment but
at the same time, request you to avoid this mode if you do not feel
comfortable using it. Shipping is done through
FEDEX and you can expect a production lead time of around 4 to 5
weeks from the date of order confirmation and receipt of payment.
Every jewel is fully custom made and requires the complete attention
and concentration of highly skilled craftsmen. When it comes to
gems, we could provide faster lead times and this can be discussed
for each specific order.
Buyer
Testimonials.
Below are a few comments from some of our
buyers. As mentioned above we have a very serious interest in buyer
satisfaction since our very existence depends solely depends on
satisfied buyers. A high degree of repeat orders and a large
number of orders being received through buyer recommendations has
been at the heart of our success. Kaisilver buyers include people
from all professions and walks of life. Fashion models, sportsmen,
politicians, lawyers, financial experts, doctors and surgeons,
members of the armed forces, newsreaders and journalists, students,
casino and resort owners make up most of our buyer
list.
| .......received ring yesterday as you promised. it is
stunning, more beautiful than i expected. the design and
craftsmanship are outstanding. thank you again, it has been a
pleasure doing business with you. i will highly recommend you
to everyone i know, and look forward to doing business with
you in the future. your entire staff has been professional and
you displayed a high degree of honesty and integrity
throughout the transaction. thank your staff and your
craftsman for their incredible work. please feel free to use
me as a reference as a EXTREMELY satisfied customer. take
care, i wish you all well. Lt. Colonel James William Brady
USA, Ret. Beverly Hills, Florida |
| Thank you very much for all your information and help
with the production and safe delivery of the ring. It is
indeed more than I had hoped forand I'm sure will be a winner
with my wife. It is a shame that other firms can not be as
helpful, you are all to be congratulated - Thank you again.
Mr.Peter Keeble, U.K. |
|
The ring arrived and it is beautiful. Thank you for
such a wonderful job. I will be looking at your website over
the next couple of weeks to place an additional order. Your
workmanship and pricing is excellent.
Thanks
again,
Dr. David Williams,
U.S |
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Gemstones |
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Agate
Alexandrite (Lab)
Amethyst
Ametrine
Aquamarine
Bloodstone
Carnelian
Chrome Diopside
Chrysoprase
Citrine
Cubic Zirconia
Danburite
Diamond
Emerald
Garnet
Iolite
Jade
Kunzite
Labradorite
Lapis Blue
Lemon Quartz
Malachite
Moldavite
Opal
Onyx Black
Peridot
Prasiolite
Ruby
Rubelite
Sapphire
Sardonyx
Sodalite
Tanzanite
Topaz Blue
Topaz White
Tourmaline
Turquoise
Zircon
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