Recent content by pearl guide

Recently, Instagram and Facebook have been flooded with ads from fraudulent pearl vendors. We discussed this here on PG, and there's a list of a few fakes in a thread here - mostly obvious, eBay-level fakes, like this one. There is a new level of fake that we've seen advertising on Instagram...

Fraud / Scam Alert! Razzmatazz Another scam website is making the rounds - Razzmatazz.jewelry The features all low grade Chinese freshwater pearls but all the advertisements say South Sea. Buyer Beware. Razzmatazz is a scam.

According to Value Market Research, the global pearl market size is projected to experience significant growth, with expectations to reach a market size of approximately USD 16.24 billion by 2032. This represents a substantial increase from the USD 4.92 billion recorded in 2023. The market is...

Wow! That is a stunning ring! I love the blue topaz with the pearl!

Tahitian Pearls Defined Tahitian pearls are bead-nucleated pearls grown in the gonad of the Pinctada margaritifera mollusk in French Polynesia. Tahitian Pearls - Among the Most Beautiful in the World Tahitian pearls are produced in the black-lipped oyster Pinctada margaritifera, in and...

Cultured Pearls Defined A cultured pearl is any pearl grown with the influence of human intervention. Cultured Pearl Formation A pearl is formed when a something penetrates or lodges in the mantle tissue of a mollusk. In response, a substance called nacre is secreted, and the creation of a...

Those are different flaws and wouldn't preclude the pearls from export. Now I have to find one to post a photo. It might not be until the next trip though.

Saltwater Pearls Defined A saltwater pearl is a calcium concretion (can be nacreous or non-nacreous) produced by a saltwater mollusk that lives in a saline/marine environment. These pearls can be either natural (no human intervention in its production and a product of a fishing operation) or...

Pearl-Producing Mollusks (Pearl-Producing Bivalves) Mollusks represent one of the world's earliest forms of animal life, and date back over 550 million years. Actual pearl-producing mollusks first appeared 530 million years ago, when mollusks developed shells. The scientific discoveries of pearl...

Cortez Pearls Defined Cortez pearls are pearls grown in the "Rainbow Lipped Pearl Oyster" or Pteria sterna from the waters of the Gulf of California -or Sea of Cortez- in Mexico. The History and Comeback of Cortez Pearls Emerging once more from the clear waters of the Gulf of California, after...

Scallop Pearls Defined A scallop pearl is a non-nacreous calcareous concretion produced by any member of the Pectinidae (scallop) family. Pectinids are known for their uniquely blue colored "eyes" (actually, known as simple-eyes) found in their mantle and for their ability to "swim" using their...

Natural Pearls Defined Natural pearls are calcium carbonate secretions which form within mollusks without human intervention. Natural Pearls Accidents of Nature Natural pearls are formed randomly and really are simple accidents of nature. When a certain type of irritant, such as a parasite...

Melo Melo Pearls Defined A melo melo pearl is a non-nacreous, natural calcareous concretion produced by the marine volute gastropod melo melo. Melo melo shell (from Wikipedia) Melo Melo Pearls are Non-nacreous or "Porcelaneous Pearls" The melo melo "pearl" does not come from an oyster or...

Conch Pearls Defined A Conch Pearl is a non-nacreous, porcelaneous pearl produced by the "Queen Conch" (Lobatus=Strombus gigas). "Conch pearls" -also known as "jellybeans" in the trade- often exhibit a unique flame-like pattern due to their concentrically arranged calcium carbonate platelets...

Abalone Pearls Defined Abalone Pearls are natural pearls found in the gastropod mollusk Haliotis. The shells and pearls are most often an iridescent blue color, and the most common shape for pearls are baroque and "horn". Abalone Shells from Mexico and the United States Abalone Pearls: Some of...