Pearls are organic gems grown within oysters and a few other mollusks.
Pearls are formed when a foreign object (like a tiny stone) has made its way into the mollusk's shell. The mollusk secretes nacre, a lustrous substance that coats the intruding object.
As thousands of layers of nacre coat the intruder, a pearl is formed; this process takes up to seven or eight years (an oyster's useful life span).
The most valuable pearls are perfectly symmetrical, large, naturally produced, and have a shimmering iridescence (called orient luster). There are many types of pearls, including
- natural pearls (made with no human interference),
- cultured pearls (pearls made by inserting a bit of a mother-of-pearl) into [nucleating] a living oyster or by inserting a bit of foreign tissue),
- baroque pearls (irregularly-shaped pearls),
- freshwater pearls,
- seed pearls (tiny pearls),
- Biwa pearls (a type of freshwater pearl from Lake Biwa, Japan from the freshwater mussel, Hyriopsis schlegeli),
- blister pearls (grown attached to the shell),
- black pearls (gray to black pearls),
- Mabe pearls (cultivated blister pearls), etc.
Pearls can be gently cleaned with mild soap and water. The biggest natural pearl, known as the "Pearl of Allah" or "Pearl of Lao-tse," weighs 14 pounds (6.4 kg).
Swarovski Pearls are from the Swarovski company, the same company that produces Swarovski Austrian crystals. Swarovski pearls are flawless crystal-based pearls with a satiny luster and sizes that are uniform.
KC Gems
Your KC Gems are Philippine-made fashion accessories and jewelry creations using only
the finest Swarovski crystals, Swarovski pearls, Murano glass, Japanese beads, and semi-precious stones.
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