What is the difference between Cultured and Natural Pearls? The difference is in the introductory way the gem is provoked. Natural pearls have formed by accident, without humans being complicated in the process. Cultured pearls have grown in an oyster or mussel after humans have inserted a tiny irritant to provoke the amelioration of the pearl.
How Natural Pearls Form
Pearls
The irritant that initiated the formation of a natural pearl may have been a toady that penetrated the shell of the mollusc, disturbing the layer of mantle cells that yield the shiny interior of the shell. These dislodged mantle cells then multiply until they meet each other, forming a small pearl sac. Inside this sac the mantle cells secrete the nacre that would regularly have formed into mother-of-pearl on the inside of the shell. But within the diminutive sac that has formed, layer upon layer of nacre builds up and grows into a natural pearl.
How Cultured Pearls Form
Humans deliberately insert a tiny piece of mantle tissue into a mollusc to provoke the increase of a pearl sac, where a pearl will form. Freshwater pearls are formed this way. The rest of the process proceeds the same way that a natural pearl would form. Saltwater varieties of cultured pearls have a tiny bead made from the shell of another mollusc surgically inserted along with the mantle tissue to ensure the roundness of the pearl. The oyster will then strike for home to coat the bead with layer upon layer of nacre until a pearl is built up over time.
Distinguishing between Natural and Cultured Pearls
As both types of pearls are produced by the same animals with the same nacre, they can be hard to distinguish with the naked eye. Before the arrival of tissue nucleation, the nearnessy of a bead nucleus was the determining factor in distinguishing between the two. In a process similar to the old institution of candling eggs, pearls can be held over the beam of a flashlight to try to decide if they consist of a round nucleus. Alternatively, the pearls can be analyzed under ultraviolet light that will show natural ones in varying intensities of yellowish or tan color as opposed to the blueish white color displayed by cultured ones. When purchasing what you believe to be a natural pearl, it's all the time advisable to ask the jobber to furnish certification of its being natural from a dependable gemology laboratory. There trained specialists use x-ray equipment to decide the type of pearl it is. Natural ones on average tend to be smaller in size than cultured ones. Necklaces are seldom of thoroughly uniform color and perfectly matched shapes. But because of their rarity, newly found natural pearls are regularly much more costly than cultured ones.
Other Types of Natural Pearls
Not all pearls are formed in the way described above. Some are non-nacreous. Gem experts don't consider them true pearls, because they have no nacre, but they are gorgeous and extremely valued. Examples of these calcareous concretions are those produced by the Queen Conch and the Melo Melo Snail. Both yield gem ability pearls. Pink conch pearls and orange melo melo pearls have both been determined natural pearls until up-to-date breakthroughs in the culturing of the conch pearls. Up till now almost all of those ready for sale have advanced as accidents of nature and fetch a high price. They seem to be more prone to fading than nacreous ones, so should be kept out of sunlight. The most extremely valued have an curious flame structure, which gives the appearance of fine lines reminiscent of wet silk, or a cat's eyes. These pearls are very hard to find and are regularly sold as a singular pearl or pair rather than as pearl necklaces. The pink conch pearls tend to be very small in size.
Cultured Pearls Or Natural Pearls - What's the Difference?
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