No Saltwater Required
Pearls fit into two categories: freshwater and saltwater. As their name implies, freshwater pearls are formed in freshwater mussels
that live in lakes, rivers, ponds and other bodies of fresh water. By contrast, saltwater pearls grow in mollusks that live in the ocean,
usually in protected lagoons. Akoya, South Sea and
Tahitian are the three main types of saltwater pearls. As with the saltwater pearls, the vast
majority of freshwater pearls are cultured, but in very rare cases natural freshwater pearls do exist.
Different Methods to Culture Freshwater Pearls
In contrast to the Akoya and other more recognized saltwater pearls, freshwater pearls are not nucleated with round mother-of-pearl beads.
Rather a small piece of mantle tissue from one mollusk is inserted between the mantle tissue and mother-of-pearl shell lining of the host
mollusk. Since the mantle tissue is from another mollusk, it is rejected by the host as a foreign body. After nucleation process, the
pearl producing oysters are returned to their freshwater environments and monitored for many years before the pearls are harvested. The
growth process for freshwater pearls could last anywhere from 2 to 6 years. The resulting pearls consist of solid nacre; however, since
there is no bead nucleus to tailor the growth process, the pearls are rarely round.
Another significant difference in the nucleation process is the number of simultaneous pearls that can be created at one time. While
saltwater oysters are limited to nucleations that produce a maximum of two pearls, the freshwater oyster is routinely nucleated to produce
upwards of fifty pearls per oyster. It is true that the freshwater pearl rarely rivals the luster and roundness of the Akoya saltwater
pearl, they are abundant and thrive in a stunning variety of shapes and natural colors including white, pink, lavender and peach. In fact,
the Chinese freshwater mollusks are the main source for keshi pearls.
Chinese Dominate Freshwater Pearl Production
So where do the vast majority of freshwater pearls come from? Chinese freshwater pearls are acknowledged as the most varied and beautifully
cultured freshwater pearls in the world. With pristine freshwater lakes and the most plentiful mollusk
populations, Chinese pearl farmers continuously awe the pearl-loving community with gems in every size, shape and color and have been doing
so for more than four thousand years. In fact, China has the first known recorded citation that mentions pearls dating back to 2200 BC.
For a brief period, a rival to the Chinese freshwater pearls in more modern times was the United States. The U.S. was a major source of
freshwater pearls from the discovery of the New World up through the 19th century. Unfortunately, over-harvesting and increasing pollution
significantly reduced the number of available pearl-forming mussels in the lakes and rivers of the U.S.
As well, the Japanese have a notable history of culturing freshwater pearls. Before pollution destroyed
the pearl beds in Lake Biwa in the 1970’s, it was once world renowned for producing high-quality freshwater pearls. Today the Japanese are
experimenting by utilizing a bead-nucleated hybrid mussel in an attempt to reestablish farming freshwater pearls in Lake Kasumigaura. So
far the results have been varying; large exotic pearls have been produced, but the farm beds are relatively small so the high prices of such
pearls causes the market remains a niche for collectors.
Chinese Freshwater Pearls: Quality Rivals Saltwater
As the Chinese have continued to augment their skill in pearl culturing techniques over the last decade, the quality of freshwater pearls
has increased dramatically. While freshwater pearls are often considered to have a lower luster grade than that of their saltwater pearl
counterparts on a percentage basis, the freshwater harvests vastly outweigh the saltwater so much so that the top percentages of the freshwater
pearl farmer’s harvests have begun to rival the quality of many saltwater pearls, both in quality and numbers produced. In addition, due to
the larger size of the freshwater pearl oyster, it is not exceptional to see freshwater pearls many times larger than their saltwater
counterparts, sometimes as large as 16 mm similar to their South Sea pearl relatives, for only a fraction
of the cost. The days of poor quality rice-shaped Chinese pearls are long gone. Now a vastly more affordable, more durable, lustrous, and
exotic in color and shape alternative exists to the past dominant saltwater cultured pearls.
From the Land
From the Sea
Jeweled Fusion
Learn about the pearls, keshi pearl, gem, gemstones, and gold we use in our necklaces, bracelets, and earrings.
We cordially invite you to Experience Jeweled Fusion of Land and Sea where we combine shimmering precious and semi-precious
gemstones with lustrous pearls and keshi pearls to create exquisit handmade designer jewelry.
