Welcome to the Cultured Pearls section of the Honora Blog.  Cultured Pearls is a term for any pearl product where man provides the irritant to begin the pearl growth process.  This term includes the three main categories of pearls including Freshwater Pearls, South Sea Pearls and Akoya Pearls.

Honora has specialized in Cultured Pearls throughout our 60+ years in fine jewelry.   Since the introduction of Freshwater Pearls over 20 years ago, we have focused in offering the best 2% to 3% of the Freshwater Pearl harvest.  Although we focus on Freshwater, we plan to make this section of our site a full resource for all pearls including the three main categories of pearls as well as several lesser-known varieties.

Coming soon, we will have a full pearl presentation from our CEO and leading Cultured Pearl expert, Joel Schechter.  We will also create smaller articles to help fans of Cultured Pearls better understand the characteristics of all varieties of pearl.

Let us know if there is any information or questions that you might have regarding Cultured Pearls, we will be sure to answer them in the comments or in future posts in this section.

While we always do our best to help you to learn more about Freshwater Pearls, nothing beats hearing it directly from our CEO, Joel Schechter.  Joel was one of the first to see the potential in these astounding Cultured Pearls back when they were only available in the small low quality shapes we lovingly called “Rice Crispies”.  This video is a little longer than the Honora TV episodes that we usually post , but we wanted to offer you the same video that we created for our retail partners to help them to better understand what goes into creating our pearl jewelry.

If you have 8 minutes to spare,  Joel can teach you a lot about the qualities that draw everyone here at Honora to Freshwater Cultured Pearls.  He helps you to understand everything from how these pearls are grown, to learning about the pearl colors and even takes you behind-the-scenes at a Freshwater Pearl Farm in China.  Joel even goes out of his way to explain why these pearls are so affordable.  It is a true beginners course that focuses entirely on Freshwater and a must watch for anyone who truly loves these astounding gemstones!

If you prefer text, you can also check out our Freshwater Pearls Made Simple series (new posts coming soon!), it is a great way to get to know these pearls a little at a time.  We hope you enjoy the video and feel free to leave any questions you might have in the comments section.  We will be sure to answer them here or in future posts!  We would also appreciate it if you would let us know what you thought of this video.  Is this something you would like to see more of here on The Honora Blog?

A wide range of natural colors and shapes will grow in the same mollusk.

This is part of the Freshwater Pearls Made Simple series where we offer short posts to demystify this unique variety of Cultured Pearls.  Be sure to visit our post on Confusing Words You Need to Know if some of these terms are unfamiliar.

While we will be sure to explain many of these in their own posts, we wanted to take a second to highlight some of the features that set Freshwater Pearls apart from other varieties of Cultured Pearls.

More Pearls Per Mollusk – Traditional Akoya and South Sea mollusks offer one (occasionally two) pearls at a time using the bead nucleation process where Freshwater Pearl mollusks can offer nearly 40 pearls at a time using the newer tissue nucleation process for cultivating pearls.

More Pearl Colors – Freshwater Pearls offer the widest range of naturally occurring colors.  You will often find White, Peach, Pink, Plum and Purple pearls side by side in the same mollusk.

More Pearl Shapes – The combination of a smaller nucleus, more pearls and larger mollusks has created several new and popular shapes including buttons, baroque, ringed and near round pearls.  Position within the mollusk will often go a long way towards determining the shape.

More Pearl Sizes – Larger mollusk sizes along with the newer tissue nucleation process for cultivating pearls offers the widest range of sizes spanning 4MM to 18MM.

More Pearl Nacre – Using tissue from small mollusks instead of mother-of-pearl beads to start pearl growth creates a cultured pearl that is over 90% nacre, the closest to naturally occurring pearls.

More Affordable Prices – The combination of more pearls per mollusk, no mother-of-pearl bead and a wider range of shapes has helped make Freshwater Pearls the best value in Cultured Pearls.

We hope this helps you get a better feeling for what makes Freshwater Pearls a unique and exceptional value in the pearl world.  Let us know if you have any questions in the comments section.  We will be sure to answer them there or add them to future Freshwater Pearls Made Simple posts.

A Freshwater Cultured Pearl Farm

This is part of the Freshwater Pearls Made Simple series where we offer short posts to demystify this unique variety of Cultured Pearls.  Visit our post on Confusing Words You Need to Know if some of the terms used below are unfamiliar.

For the sake of keeping things simple, we are going to break Cultured Pearls down into the three main varieties you will see mentioned throughout this series.

Akoya Pearls – Known as the traditional pearl, Akoya Pearls are grown in salt water in Japan and China.  Each pearl is grown inside of a small mollusk, using a round mother-of-pearl bead as a nucleus to ensure a round pearl and are almost always white in color.  They are small to medium pearls, ranging from 4MM to 10MM in size and each mollusk will only grow one or two pearls in its lifetime.  While top Akoya Pearls are extremely expensive and have fine luster, we often find that the middle and lower quality of pearls can be dull or chalky due to an insufficient coating of nacre, which is usually less than 10% natural pearl growth.

South Sea and Tahitian Pearls – Using a similar mother-of-pearl bead nucleation, these larger Cultured Pearls are grown one pearl per mollusk in giant oysters in South Sea countries such as Australia, Indonesia and of course, Tahiti.  These larger mollusks allow for some of the largest pearl sizes spanning 9MM-20MM with a much higher nacre thickness than Akoya at about 15-20%.  This category of pearls are the hardest (and therefore most expensive) to grow in high quality as large pearls have a higher mortality rate and more surface area which can become blemished.  The South Sea Pearls are found in various shades of white as well as gold colors and the Tahitian pearls offer a range of natural blacks and gray.  Both categories offer a range of shapes from round, baroque and drop pearls.

Freshwater Pearls – While we will cover this in depth in our next post, this remarkable variety of pearls offers the widest ranges of natural colors, shapes and sizes, spanning 4MM to 18MM.  With over 90%, they have the highest nacre content of any nucleated Cultured Pearl and can grow up to 40 pearls at a time in one mollusk using a newer process for cultivating pearls called tissue nucleation.  The ability to grow multiple pearls per mollusk is a major factor in making Freshwater Pearls one of the best values in pearl jewelry.

Now that you know the three main varieties of Cultured Pearls, we plan to focus in on Freshwater from here on out.  If you have any questions on the other varieties of Cultured Pearls, let us know in the comments section and check back soon for an in depth look at Freshwater Pearls.

Freshwater Cultured Pearls In The Mollusk

This is part of the Freshwater Pearls Made Simple series where we offer short posts to demystify this unique variety of Cultured Pearls.

Mollusk – While most people traditionally say pearls come from oysters, this is actually incorrect.  Even though people will occasionally find pearls while eating oysters, almost all commercial quality pearls come from mollusks.

Nucleus or irritant – This refers to the foreign object that enters a mollusk to start pearl growth.  In natural pearls, this can be grain of sand or piece of shell, in South Sea and Akoya pearls this is traditionally a mother-of-pearl bead and in Freshwater pearls a tiny piece of tissue from small mollusks is used to start pearl growth.

Nacre – Simply put, these are the layers of pearl growth that form around the nucleus or irritant.  The Mollusk will continue to secrete nacre to protect itself from this foreign irritant.  Over time these layers of Nacre form the pearls we all know and love.

Bead Nucleation – The traditional process of using a mother-of-pearl bead to start pearl growth in the creation of South Sea and Akoya Cultured Pearls.

Tissue Nucleation – The process of using tiny pieces of tissue from small mollusks to start pearl growth in the creation of Freshwater Cultured Pearls.

Cultured Pearls – While one of the most commonly used terms in pearls, it is also one of the most often misused or misunderstood term in pearl jewelry.  All the term Cultured Pearl means is that man inserted an irritant or nucleus into a mollusk in order to start the growth of nacre.  The three major categories of pearls you find in jewelry stores, Akoya, South Sea and of course Freshwater Pearls are all varieties of Cultured Pearls.

We promise that things will get easier from here on out, but we felt that you needed to understand these few confusing terms before we could help make freshwater pearls simple.  Let us know if you have any questions in the comments section.  We will be sure to answer them there or add them to future Freshwater Pearls Made Simple posts.

We plan to keep these posts short and tackle one aspect of this variety of Cultured Pearls at a time in order to help keep things simple.  We hope that these brief posts will help you learn everything you would ever want to know about our pearls.  If you have not signed up for our blog, be sure to subscribe to The Honora Blog for free via RSS or Email to receive these posts as they become available.

Let us know if you have any questions in the comments section.  We will be sure to answer them there or add them to future Freshwater Pearls Made Simple posts.

As we start working on new posts for 2010 we would really appreciate it if you could take the time to answer a few brief questions for us.  Your feedback will ensure that we are sending you the most interesting and relevant content, so answering these questions will go a long way toward making sure we are on the right track.  If you would like to take the survey, please click here!

We look forward to telling you a lot more about Honora, our pearl jewelry and the Freshwater Pearls that we are so passionate about in the upcoming year!

[Click here if you cannot see this video]

Let Honora CEO Joel Schechter tell you more the widest array of natural colors that Freshwater Pearls provide as well as the infused pearl colors that Honora has come to be known for.

Tune into our next episode of Honora TV to find that perfect pearl color for your personal style and complexion.  If you have any questions about our natural or infused pearl colors, feel free to leave a question in the comments section.

Pearls should be the last thing you put on and the first thing you take off.

Here are a few essential tips to ensure proper care for your pearl jewelry.  Pearls are a porous, organic substance and while the natural oils of your skin only enhance the luster of pearls, cosmetics should never be applied directly onto them.  This includes such items as skin creams, hair spray, perfume and similar products.  Contact with these items may damage the nacre or cause discoloration. You should only put your pearls on after such cosmetics have been applied.  When wearing perfume, be sure to avoid applying it directly on areas where your pearls will touch.  Chlorine and other similar chemicals can also harm the porous nacre on your pearls, so avoid wearing them while swimming.  Similarly, pearl rings should not be worn while doing the dishes or cleaning with chemicals.

Restringing of necklaces should be done periodically depending on usage, especially when knots are discolored or if the necklace seems stretched.  Avoid salt water as this will degrade the silk on which pearls are strung and can potentially cause your pearl jewelry to break.  If your pearls can “jiggle” on the string, you will want to be sure to get your jewelry restrung immediately.

To avoid damage to the pearl nacre or unnecessary breakage, pearls should not be worn while showering, swimming or exercising.  After each wearing, wipe your pearls down with a dry or slightly dampened cloth to remove any potentially harmful substances.

All of these pearl care tips apply to all varieties of Natural and Cultured Pearls including Akoya, South Sea, Tahitian and Freshwater Pearls.  These Cultured Pearl care suggestions will go a long way to maintaining the beautiful luster and color of your favorite pearl pieces.

If you have any questions regarding pearl care, please leave them in the comments section.

We have become well known for having a high-quality, diverse inventory of Freshwater Cultured Pearls as well as colorful and affordable Freshwater Pearl jewelry.  Our early belief in the future of Freshwater has solidified Honora’s position as the largest importer of these pearls in America.  We currently offer exciting lines of pearl jewelry to independent jewelers, major jewelry stores chains, fine department stores and electronic retailers throughout the United States.  Honora produces a wide variety of basic and fashion pearl jewelry in gold or sterling silver using the entire range of Freshwater Cultured Pearls and a limited selection of top-quality South Sea pearls.

[If you cannot see this video, please click here]

The affordable and revolutionary nature of Freshwater Pearls has helped to propel pearls to the “IT” item of our time.  With pearls skyrocketing in both sales and adoration, we can only commend the creativity of those who have helped turn a world market upside down in just a short few years. With no end in sight, we expect to be continually amazed by Freshwater Cultured Pearls and look forward to bringing the best these revolutionary pearls have to offer through our line of Honora pearl jewelry.

[If you cannot see this video, please click here]

Let us know if you would like to learn more about the Honora and Freshwater Pearls in the comments section below.  We will be sure to answer your questions in the comments or in future blog posts.