Pearl is one of the most valuable gemstones available on earth. In ancient cultures, matter emanating from rivers, lakes and the sea were invested with a particular brilliance and sacredness. Pearls were thought of as luminous droplets mysteriously emerging from sea and river animals. Their mysterious origins were further mystified by the belief of the ancients that water was the boundary between physical and spiritual worlds. Fine pearls used to be the exclusive right of nobility. As with many things, this changed with the arrival of a new idea.
Freshwater cultured pearl is native to China. However, this pearl does not derive from an oyster and is smaller and less spherical in shape.The color of these pearls can be unique because their color is based upon natural attributes of the mussel as well as the fact that it can be treated or irradiated to achieve a more desired color. freshwater pearls come in white and pastel colors from pink to purple all other colors should be considered dyed.
In 1997, artificially dyed black Chinese freshwater cultured pearls in round shapes and sizes of up to 11 mm were offered on the market in Hong Kong. Since then, large quantities have reached the international market, where they can be purchased at reasonable to low prices. They have an astonishing resemblance to Tahitian cultured pearls, as they almost perfectly replicate the green to purple overtones and are already called “peacock pearls” in the Asian pearl trade. The mollusks that produce these pearls are called mussels. The main producer of the freshwater pearl is the Hyriopsis Cumingi.Small crops of these pearls are produced in Japan, but the majority of the worlds supply of the Freshwater quality comes from China.China can generate up to fifteen times the amount of these pearls when compared to all of the saltwater and freshwater producers combined mainly because a mussel can be harvested more than once, which results in several pearl jewelry at one time.
Several companies in Hong Kong offer the treatment and are often speaking of “laser treatment”. However, this is not true and neither is irradiation used. Although the exact method has not yet been made known, it is probably correct to assume that silver salts and other coloring agents are used. Each of those pearls range between four to eleven millimeters in diameter in size. Seeing that there is such a high quantity of this quality it makes the Freshwater a much more affordable option when compared to the other cultured pearls.