Pearls by Angela Carol

Freshwater pearls of today

Freshwater pearls are a very popular type of pearl.  These freshwater pearls are created by freshwater mollusks and are found in lakes, rivers, lagoons, and bays.  Freshwater pearls are also largely found in the United States and also Japan but they are mostly grown in China now.

Freshwater pearls used to be found largely in Japan but now that market has all but stopped to exist these days.  But many still honor Japan as the first country to cultivate the freshwater pearl.  Japan tried once again a few years ago to become one of the leaders in the cultivation of freshwater pearls but in the year 2006 they once again failed in their attempt.

In the United States in the state of Tennessee there was an early freshwater farm that was founded by John Latendresse.  It no longer functions as a freshwater pearl producer but does however continue to be a tourist attraction for many.  China is the only country that is currently producing freshwater pearls today. 

Freshwater pearls used to be thought of as an inferior type of pearl, a pearl much less than say an Akoya pearl but today freshwater pearls have grown in their standing.  There is a new grade of freshwater pearls and they rival the Akoya in shape and luster.  Freshwater pearls give you the widest range in the selection of shape and color so they are now a much desired type of pearl.

Over the years the Chinese have made the freshwater pearl into what it is today.  In the first round of freshwater pearls that came from china many people thought these pearls inferior to others and even dubbed these freshwater pearls as “rice krispies” because that is how they looked.  They mostly came out of the mussels as rice shaped.  These were mostly in the 1970’ and the 1980’s.  Today’s freshwater pearls that are coming out of china are superior to those.  The Chinese have discovered a way to use other freshwater pearls to cultivate other freshwater pearls of a more rounded nature.  This is what is making the market desire more of these amazing freshwater pearls.  Never before have there been freshwater pearls that rival the prized Akoya pearl, but these new brands of freshwater pearls are doing just that.

One of the great things about freshwater pearls is that when they are growing some mollusks can actually produce up to a few dozen pearls at a time. One of the saddest facts about the freshwater pearl is that in eastern North America about 35 species of freshwater pearl mussels have been lost to extinction over the last fifty years or so.  This has happened because of loss of habitat and because of pollution.  There are many conservation efforts that are being made today to save the species that remain.

Freshwater pearls make some very fine jewelry. Again the freshwater pearl can be judged on the shape and the luster.  Also the size of the freshwater pearl is used to grade it.  Shape, luster, size and color are all used to judge the grade of pearl a freshwater pearl is.  This is what determines how valuable a freshwater or any pearl is.  Freshwater pearls very greatly in size and shape so there really is no standard for them.  But they are very beautiful pearls and should be appreciated for being such.

Freshwater pearls are making a very strong comeback and they are being used in some amazing jewelry.  Freshwater pearls are fantastic jewels and should truly be appreciated for their beauty, especially today with their near perfect shapes.  These are not the freshwater pearls that your grand parents or even your parents remember these freshwater pearls are the round and luxurious pearls of today.