Are Real Pearls Expensive

Real pearls are a precious gemstone made by oysters mussels and various other bivalve mollusk species.

Are real pearls expensive.

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. Round freshwater pearls look almost identical to akoya pearls but are less expensive with a strand ranging from 50 to 2 000. In india the roman empire and egypt to name just a few places pearls were markers of extreme wealth writes pbs. 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.

Natural wild pearls are typically found by shellfish harvesters purely by accident. It is estimated that for every 10 000 oysters harvested only one will contain a high quality pearl. A real pearl is produced by pearl bearing oysters either in fresh or salt water. The iridescent nacre is the hallmark of a real pearl.

Cultured pearls are real pearls grown inside real oysters at pearl farms in japan australia indonesia china and many more locations. They are versatile gemstones that are cultivated in freshwater as opposed to sea or saltwater. And since it comes with a tempting price tag you re ready to seal the deal. Depending on whether human assistance is involved or not this organic gem can either be cultured or natural.

The scarcity of natural pearls in turn makes them incredibly valuable and incredibly well sought after. Selling your pearls jackie kennedy s much loved triple strand of glass pearls went for over us 200 000 at auction in 1996. Real extra large pearls are very expensive. You ve come across a real pearl bracelet that features impressively large gems and you are considering buying it.

The world s most expensive pearls. 2 la peregrina pearl 11 8 million although la peregrina pearl is the second most expensive and famous pearl in the world interesting stories and historical event lies behind it. Pearls have been valued since ancient times. You might have to open 10 000 oysters to find a single decent quality natural pearl.

It s worth noting that almost all pearls on the market today are cultured. While rarely round the finest freshwater pearls are nearly indistinguishable from more expensive akoya pearls. 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.