Freshwater Pearl Jewelry

What Are Freshwater Pearls?

Freshwater pearls come from mussels that are farmed in ponds, lakes and rivers.

A freshwater pearl starts as a small 'seed' placed in the shell of a triangle shell mollusk. (Hyriopsis cumingii)

The mollusk reacts to the small piece of shell or 'seed pearl' by building layers of a protective coating. This coating consists of aragonite, calcite and a horn-like substance called conchiolin.

Pearls come naturally in a variety of pastel colors, depending on the exact type of mollusk and composition of water.

Although produced in other areas, the largest producer of freshwater pearls is China.

Pearls are hand selected from several cultured pearl farms which offer smooth, high-luster pearls. The pink and white colors are natural, the peacock and bronze colors are heat-treated to create the color-fast (not dyed) dark rainbow effect.

White pearls are golden-white to nearly white in color. We avoid chaulky, stark-white pearls, as these have usually been bleached, which can harm the luster.

The pinks are a pale peach-pink to pale lavender-pink. Peacock colors have a silver-grey base and display a subtle iridescent color change. Colors range from bronze to lavender to green-blue. Bronze pearls are a warm brown and look somewhat metallic.

What's the deal with pearl prices?

Shopping for pearls can be very confusing. Terms like 'freshwater' and 'cultured', are confusing enough. The huge difference in prices make purchasing even more confusing.

There was a time when all pearls were expensive, and pearl jewelry the luxury of the rich. In the past, the only option was for ocean divers to search for naturally produced pearls. In more recent times, pearl 'farmers' make the conditions within the oyster that create a pearl. By increasing the chances of oysters producing pearls, the numbers of available pearls increase, which lowers the cost of pearl jewelry. Pearls which are 'encouraged' by farmers are referred to as cultured.

Freshwater pearls are basically made of the same minerals as their saltwater cousins, but the host mollusk is found in freshwater areas, rather than the ocean. When the pearls were first introduced onto the market, the quality was terrible; they looked like tiny pieces of shriveled rice. In the last few years, however, advances in farming techniques have made pearls of good quality available for almost everyone. Now freshwater pearls are smooth and beautiful, with very good luster. By changing the diet and water conditions of the host animal, they can even be different colors. The white and pink pearls sold on our site are examples of the differing colors. The peacock pearls are treated to look similar to South Sea pearls, at a fraction of the cost.

The shape, luster and color of freshwater pearls varies greatly, even in 'sorted' batches.
Pearls are hand-selected for smooth finish, very little to no marks, and good natural-looking color.