The most common source of confusion among pearl fans is understanding Cultured Pearls and how they differ from Natural Pearls.  Cultured or Natural, all pearls are a rare and beautiful gift of nature.  Most gems are fashioned by cutting and polishing, while pearls need only to be helped at the start when natural or man-made irritants are used to begin the growth process.

Natural Pearls form in nature when an accidental irritant such as sand, a parasite or any foreign object enters an oyster. In a defensive response, the mollusk begins secreting nacre, thin layers of calcium carbonate in an attempt to cover the offending object.  Due to the varying shapes of natural irritants entering the mollusk, the pearls created by the continual layering of nacre will almost always be misshapen. Only in rare cases will a natural pearl occur in a spherical shape, making it impossible to supply commercial quantities of round necklaces.

A Cultured Pearl is formed in much the same way, but with man supplying the initial irritant to begin the pearl growth process.  Pearl farmers use a round mother-of-pearl shell or a piece of mantle tissue, which they insert into the soft tissue of the mollusk or oyster.  Pearls are grown over several years (2 to 6 years on average), under the constant care of farmers keeping a watchful eye on their crop.  It is important to note that the Cultured Pearls does not refer to one type of pearl, but any pearl that begins by man starting the growth process.  While there are several varieties of Cultured Pearls, the most popular types are Akoya, South Sea and Freshwater Pearls.

We will continue to update the site with more detailed information on each variety of Cultured Pearl.  If you have any questions, be sure to leave them in the comments section so we can include the answers in future posts.

Tags: Cultured Pearls, Freshwater Pearls, Natural Pearls, Pearl Education, Pearl Facts