Pearls and Pearl Jewelry

Pearls for every occasion

I love pearls and pearl jewelry. Pearls can have unusual shapes (baroque pearls) and neat colors – I think they are all wonderful. A pearl is a hard object produced within the soft tissue of a mollusk as the result of an irritant. The pearls we treasure are composed of calcium carbonate deposited over that irritant…

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One of my Favorites Gemstones – Opal

Pink opal and moonstone necklace

One of my favorite gemstones is opal. People recognize opals by their characteristic play of rainbow like colors.  You need to be careful with opals because opal is a relatively soft (5.5-6.5) stone and they are sensitive to pressure, hard knocks, and heat.  Opals are 3-30% water and they can dehydrate if stored under improper…

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June has Three Birthstones!

white stick pearl pendant

June has Three Birthstones – Pearls are One of Them The month of June has three birthstones – pearls, moonstone, and Alexandrite, each of which is beautiful in its own way. I love pearls of all kinds! Pearls are found in China, Japan, Australia, the Philippines, and Polynesia. Freshwater pearls are very popular today and are also affordable. …

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Pearls are the Birthstone for June

Summer’s Almost Here!   I am looking forward to summer and some warm weather! June is generally a typical summer month here.  The traditional June birthstone is the pearl and there’s a wide range of pearl types to choose from.  There are also alternative stones.  Moonstone is the most popular alternative stone, but Chalcedony and…

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Pearls – Types of Pearls and What makes Pearls Valuable

Pearls start when an irritating microscopic object becomes trapped within the soft tissue of a live mollusk. The mollusk creates a pearl sac to seal off the irritation and then secretes multiple layers of nacre (calcium carbonate), eventually creating a pearl Ideally, pearls are round and smooth, but many other shapes can occur due to…

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Gemstones I Love – Part 5 – Freshwater Pearls

Pearls are unique!   These beautiful creations can be termed organic gems:  pearls are formed inside oysters and mussels when a bit of sand or other irritant gets inside the mollusk’s shell. The mollusk secretes layers of a lustrous material called nacre around the foreign object to protect its soft internal surface.    As layer after…

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