WHY WOMEN LOVE PEARLS?

Natural pearls close up
Woman wearing pearl necklace

Pearls are organic, natural and have a special surface, which reflects light on a complexion in a very flattering way. In other words you always look better when wearing Pearls!  This is a result of the way Nacre is formed on the pearl. The nacre reflects light with sharpness and intensity that gives a Pearl it’s particular glow. That’s why women have  worn Pearls for centuries, and are now making a big comeback in the fashion world.

Well, let me share some of my “I love my Pearls” secrets:

The Pearls you see on this website have been grown on Pearl Farms in South East Asia. That is in the province of Zhuji in China, the regions of Palawan and Mindanao in the Philippines. They grow in Pearl farms in freshwater. Farmers use the Mollusc of the  hyriopsis cumingii oyster and grow them on rafts floating on the water. Each Pearl takes between 2 and 5 years to actually grow. Once they are fully-grown, the farmer harvests them and sends them to a pearl market.

Pearl Markets

At these markets, wholesalers buy and distribute large numbers of Pearls. We buy our Pearls from Pearl farms and wholesalers directly. Some of the jewellery pieces are assembled in Asia and some we design some in our own workshop. When you look at Pearl jewellery you will see that some Pearls grow in different shapes and sizes. Some grow perfectly round (only a very small percentage of each harvest is perfectly round) but each one is unique and different. Some customers prefer perfect round shaped pearls and indeed these are beautiful but other customers prefer the individuality of the different shapes. As a general rule the more perfectly round a pearl is the more expensive it is, but other factors are considered when looking for quality Pearls.

Quality factors for choosing Pearls

These are: the luster, colour, shape, surface quality and  the thickness of the nacre  If a Pearl has all of these quality factors-that is –perfectly round, high luster, deep colour, and is blemish free, then its likely to cost a lot. In fact, at a jewellery retail store you could pay thousands of euros for a necklace or bracelet which is made up of these perfect pearls. But for many of us who love to wear Pearls everyday and don’t want the responsibility of wearing very expensive jewellery, then “I love my Pearls” give you great quality Pearls and really good prices.

How to tell if it’s real

There’s a couple of easy ways to tell if you’re Pearls are real or imitation. Firstly, fake Pearls  look too uniform –all the same shape, colour etc. They  look too shiny and perfect. Cultured Pearls are never as uniform as that. Real Pearls may be a little heavier than fake ones. If they are glassy and shiny they could be glass or plastic. Our Pearls will be different shapes and sizes with slight indentations and markings on the surface. Finally, if you rub a pearl gently against a front tooth it will feel chalky while a fake one will feel smooth and glassy.

When to wear Pearls

Well it may be easier to say when not to wear Pearls.  I can’t think of a time when they would not be suitable. Maybe if you were running a crèche with 20 under 5’s then Pearls would not be a good idea as they may not last the grabbing by tiny fingers. The rest of the time you can be sure that wearing Pearls will add to the outfit you are wearing. Only one rule applies –Pearls go with anything and can be worn anytime.

Helen from I Love My Pearls
Pearls, pearls and more pearls
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