Are Real Pearls Expensive

It s worth noting that almost all pearls on the market today are cultured.

Are real pearls expensive.

Natural wild pearls are typically found by shellfish harvesters purely by accident. The world s most expensive pearls. In the mid 16th century the pearl was unveiled on the coast of santa margarita a spanish colony in the gulf of panama. Selling your pearls jackie kennedy s much loved triple strand of glass pearls went for over us 200 000 at auction in 1996.

And since it comes with a tempting price tag you re ready to seal the deal. It s this rarity that gives them their high price tag not necessarily their beauty. You ve come across a real pearl bracelet that features impressively large gems and you are considering buying it. Pearls have been valued since ancient times.

Traditionally freshwater pearls range in size from 6 to 10 mm but recent innovations in freshwater pearl farming have given birth to a new generation of pearls that grow as large as 15 mm. Depending on whether human assistance is involved or not this organic gem can either be cultured or natural. A real pearl is produced by pearl bearing oysters either in fresh or salt water. It is estimated that for every 10 000 oysters harvested only one will contain a high quality pearl.

Most real pearls today are cultured or farmed by inserting material into a mollusk after which the mollusk lays down concentric layers of nacre until a pearl is formed. Here s a quick advice to keep in mind. Round freshwater pearls look almost identical to akoya pearls but are less expensive with a strand ranging from 50 to 2 000. While rarely round the finest freshwater pearls are nearly indistinguishable from more expensive akoya pearls.

Cultured pearls are real pearls grown inside real oysters at pearl farms in japan australia indonesia china and many more locations. Real extra large pearls are very expensive. In india the roman empire and egypt to name just a few places pearls were markers of extreme wealth writes pbs. The iridescent nacre is the hallmark of a real pearl.

The gem and pearl laboratory in london can x ray your pearls confirm they are real and whether they are bead nucleated seawater or freshwater. The scarcity of natural pearls in turn makes them incredibly valuable and incredibly well sought after. They are versatile gemstones that are cultivated in freshwater as opposed to sea or saltwater.