The pearl is the pre-eminent virgin gem, the only one produced by the sea and the
only one to develop perfectly with no need to be either cut or cleaned. A natural
product which generates spontaneously inside some molluscs which react to the presence
of a foreign object, as for example a grain of sand which becomes isolated by layers
of an iridescent substance until the development of a pearl. You try to activate
the same biological process as the development of a natural pearl by implanting
a foreign object to initiate the cultivation of a pearl.
Yielding molluscs are extremely delicate creatures and just a very small percentage of them produce pearls, just one or two out of a hundred are considered perfect.
Therefore a pearl, whether it is cultivated or is natural, is considered as a miracle
of nature. The market value of a cultivated or natural pearl is based on various
factors besides its size: Shape: a perfect sphere makes an exceptional and rare
pearl, but also pearls with magnificent unique shapes are to be admired; e.g. drops,
pears, bottoms and baroques or even twins. Colour: differs according to the kind
of mollusc, their home waters and their nutrition. The colour can be observed under
two different bases; the underlying colour and the tone colour.
Pearls have infinite combinations and variations of colour which makes it difficult to categorise them, but it is important to consider the colour's homogeneity and the harmony of the colour spectrums.
Surface Appearance: to estimate a pearls surface you consider outside signs such
as scratches, cracks, convex or concave points in the pearl. Orient: this is the
natural lighting of the pearl with reference to optical phenomena such as dispersion
of light, reflections and refraction. It is a function of the size of the crystals
of which it is composed and the thickness of the nacre. Nacre: is observable by
x-ray analysis or if you have great experience, with a microscope looking towards
the hole.