At WJ Shaw we are passionate about pearls and as a Pearl Specialist we love to offer advice to our clients to help them make an informed purchase. One of the things we’re often asked is: ‘what’s the difference between Natural, Cultured and Simulated pearls?’ To understand this we first need to explore the more basic question: what is a pearl?
The most important pearl-producing molluscs are saltwater oysters and freshwater mussels; both of which belong to a subgroup of molluscs known as bivalves. A pearl is formed whenever an intruding object, such as a grain of sand, is trapped inside the shell of one of these creatures. The mollusc has no way to expel the invader, and so they secrete a protective substance called nacre to fully encase it. Layers upon layers of nacre build up and over time a pearl is formed. Who knew pearls were secretly as brutal as they are beautiful?
Natural Pearls are formed when this process occurs organically by bivalves in the wild. Not only is the formation of uniform colours and shapes of pearl extremely rare, but collecting them is also problematic as not every single oyster retrieved from the seabed will contain a pearl. For this reason, natural pearls are rarely seen in general circulation and natural pearls of larger sizes commonly belong in the collections of Royal Families and the rich and famous.
It is this association with Royalty, wealth and status which have cemented Pearl’s place in history, and this widespread desire for such a rarity led to the creation of Cultured Pearls. Cultured pearls are formed using the same method as natural pearls, but in a controlled environment. Pearl Farmers will place an insertion into the bivalve to encourage the creation of pearls, and in this way the colour, shape and size of the pearls produced can be controlled. The premium Cultured pearls are formed within saltwater oysters, while inexpensive Cultured pearls are formed within freshwater mussels.
Finally, Simulated Pearls are not pearls at all; this description covers all beads made from other substances which are designed to look like pearls. Many well-known brands choose to make all their pearl products from simulated because it is the best and most cost-effective way to ensure the shape, colour and surface lustre of the pearls are uniform.
To conclude, you’ll notice that we mention different key features when talking about all these types of pearls: Colour, Shape, Size, Rarity, Surface, Lustre. Pearls are a lot like diamonds in that they are graded for quality, so these factors in conjunction with the type of bivalve which cultured the pearl can all make a big impact on price. Here at WJ we cater for all budgets, so if you appreciate pearls as much as we do and would love to own a special pearl piece, we’d be more than happy to help.
