|
Cultured Pearls:
Pearls have been treasured for their lustrous, creamy textures and their subtle iridescent reflections since the dawn of mankind. Because they are so very rare and so very difficult to recover from the ocean's depths, man invented the technique of "culturing" salt and fresh-water Pearls from oysters carefully seeded with irritants similar to those produced by nature. This painstaking effort of "culturing" is one of the most dramatic examples of man's quest to coax beauty from nature.
One of the earliest known methods to enhance a pearl's color and luster required that a chicken swallow the Pearl. The belief at that time (400 AD) was that the chicken's digestive system would soften the Pearl's blemishes and even the color. Today's cultured, fresh and saltwater Pearls are often bleached to achieve a uniform color. They may also be polished in tumblers to make them round and lustrous.
Naturally colored pearls are in short supply. Some pearls are dyed and/or irradiated to achieve the rich blacks, grayish blues, pinks and golden hues that are now so much in demand. To care for your cultured Pearls, avoid using nail polish, abrasives, solvents and polish removers while wearing them. Ask your jeweler for further instructions regarding their care.
|
