Pearls - Natural, Cultured, Freshwater, Saltwater - What's the Difference?

Jewelry has been a popular way of decorating oneself for thousands of years. Many population choose to use jewelry as a fashion statement or as some sort of status symbol. Other population attach more meaning to a unavoidable gemstone, piece of stone, or high-priced metal. There are many reasons jewelry is foremost to so many population in so many different cultures. One type of jewelry that has been popular for a very long time is pearl jewelry. There are many different kinds of pearls, but the most often discussed varieties are natural and cultured pearls. Here are some facts that will help you understand the difference.

A pearl is a hard round object formed and produced within the flesh of many different sorts of shelled mollusks. Many different types of mollusks can yield pearls. Among them are clams, oysters, mussels, etc. A pearl is formed simply when a very small particle or other intruder, like a grain of sand, finds its way into the mollusk and settles there. The mollusk becomes annoyed and secretes a calcium carbonate called nacre that surrounds and isolates the intruder and makes it into a pearl. This secretion process is repeated many times and forms several different layers around the particle to form the pearl. The longer the particle is inside the mollusk, the larger the pearl may become. One of the features that give a pearl so much value and beauty is the luster or iridescence that is shown off by the pearl. They are also popular for their approximately exquisite white color. Other colors are also popular, such as pink pearls and black or Tahitian pearls.

Pearls

One of the key distinctions that are foremost to make when you are referring to pearls is the divergence between natural and cultured pearls. Natural pearls are pearls that are formed without the intervention of any human to yield the pearl. Natural pearls can be formed as mentioned before by a small particle like a grain of sand or other organic organism that invades the mollusks flesh, or even by a piece of flesh that has been wounded or broken off for some reason or another. Natural pearls are approximately all the time more indispensable than cultured pearls because they are much more difficult to come by. Cultured pearls and natural pearls look approximately same on the exterior because they are formed in the same way. The one thing that makes a cultured pearl different from a natural one is the proximity of human intervention.

Pearls - Natural, Cultured, Freshwater, Saltwater - What's the Difference?

People learned that a pearl could be forced to be formed if a small piece of something were located inside of the pearl producing oyster or other mollusk. This object is regularly a small bead or piece of sand and is located inside the mollusk to promote the production of a pearl. Cultured pearls have become a kind of art form and many different shapes can be made depending on the form of the traditional implant because the pearl will regularly consequent the same shape as the object that intruded.

Another divergence to be found among pearls is freshwater or saltwater. Many pearls are produced by oysters that are found in the ocean. But there are other mollusks that dwell in rivers that can also yield pearls. Freshwater pearls are also easier for man to yield because there are less variables and potential problems in a controlled fresh water environment than in the open sea. Many population assume that freshwater pearls are all the time cultured pearls but this is not true. It is foremost to understand the divergence between cultured and natural pearls and between freshwater and saltwater pearls to for real understand why they are different.

Pearls - Natural, Cultured, Freshwater, Saltwater - What's the Difference?

Masonic Jewelry - A seal of Brotherhood

Masonic jewelry is worn as a sign of membership of the brotherhood or passed down as house heirlooms. Here is a guide to this unique and keen tradition.

The Brotherhood

Jewelry

The Freemasons have the longest history of any organization in the world. The first Grand Lodge was formed in 1717 in London, but there was loose organization and use of terms and symbols centuries before that. Stonemasons were the founding fathers.

Masonic Jewelry - A seal of Brotherhood

Today, it is not primary to be an actual mason to be a member as the theory of the brotherhood are self-improvement, social works and self-awareness. They were behind the creation of social schools in Europe and America.

In the late 19th century and early 20th century, they also took it upon themselves to make sure orphans, the elderly and widows were taken care of when the theory provided no protection for them. There are a lot of conspiracy theories, movies and books surrounding the difficulty of the Masons, but there is no real underground to this philanthropic and educated organization.

Types of jewelry

To designate membership in a Masonic lodge, there are a collection of Masonic jewelry pieces that a member can wear. The traditional piece is the signet ring, but there are other options as well. For the man who already owns a Lodge ring, other gift options are cuff links, tie pins, pocket watches and even pendants. These can all bear the same the emblems as the rings.

The Symbols

Symbols in freemasonry are prominent and they designate the degree of the member, the lodge and what the member wants to say about his membership. The most base symbols are the quadrilateral and compass which recite the cornerstone of freemasonry.

In the center of these tools is the letter "G", which stands for geometry, a principle of freemasonry, and for God, the traditional builder. Some other tools of the trade found in Masonic jewelry are the trowel, the plumb level and columns. There are many other symbols to select from when designing distinct pieces.

Proper wear

Only members should wear membership jewelry, but there are cases where ancient Masonic jewelry is passed down as house heirlooms. As far as how to wear the rings, there are no rules on the proper way. Some men like to wear the emblems facing them but others like to wear them facing out for others to see. Married men typically wear their rings on the right hand ring finger. Some men select to wear their ring on the pinkie finger. So, de facto it is all about personal preference and ease on how to wear the pieces.

How to clean it

In gold or silver, Masonic jewelry can be very uncomplicated or quite ornate. The more intricate the design, the dirtier it can get. Gold pieces can be soaked in warm soapy water and scrubbed with a soft brush. If there are enameled or artificial colored parts, don't soak the piece, but gently scrub with a soft soapy brush. Normally polish with a soft cloth. For sterling silver pieces, only use cleaners designed for silver cleaning. These products come in wipes, cloths and creams.

There are millions of freemasons over the world and a gift of men's Masonic jewelry is a great way to recognize his contribution to community and to honor his pride and dedication to his brotherhood.

Masonic Jewelry - A seal of Brotherhood

Cultured Pearls Or Natural Pearls - What's the Difference?

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.

Cultured Pearls Or Natural Pearls - What's the Difference?

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?