Pearls are among the worlds most coveted gemstones. They arrive in finished condition from their biological sources - saltwater pearls from oysters and freshwater pearls from mussels. They have long fascinated both scientists and queens. Unlike diamonds and most colored gemstones, a pearl’s beauty needs no enhancement; it needs no cutting or polishing. Once too precious for all but nobility, today, pearls are given to celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, weddings and other special occasions.

A pearl is an "organic" gem, which means it comes from a living thing as opposed to being found in stones. A pearl is produced by several species of saltwater and freshwater molluscs, soft-bodied animals protected by a hard exterior shell. Pearls are produced in particular varieties of bivalve molluscs (having two shells, such as mussels and oysters), but only in those with a "pearly" lining on the interior of the shell. There are two types of pearls; natural and cultured.

In the case of natural pearls, a tiny intruder such as a sea parasite finds its way into the mollusc's shell, and lodges itself inside. If the mollusc can't get rid of the irritant, it begins to produce a secretion to soothe the irritation the intruder causes. This soothing secretion is a brownish substance called conchiolin, over which another substance is secreted, usually a whitish substance, called nacre. The conchiolin binds the nacre together to form the pearl. What we know as a pearl is the result of the buildup of layer after layer or nacre, enveloping the intruder. Natural pearls are produced by "wild" molluscs in their natural habitat, but most wild molluscs don't contain pearls. Depending on a variety of conditions, it can take up to 10 years for a wild oyster to produce a 6mm pearl. Today, most of the world’s wild, natural pearl producing molluscs have vanished because of over-fishing and pollution, so beautiful natural pearls are rarer than ever before.

As natural pearls were becoming more difficult to find, the Japanese were developing techniques for producing "cultured" pearls, also called cultivated pearls. A cultured pearl is also a natural product, produced by a mollusc in essentially the same way it produces a natural pearl, but with a little help from science. For a cultured pearl, technicians start the process by implanting an irritant that stimulates the mollusc to produce the conchiolin and nacre that results in the creation of the pearl.

Freshwater cultured pearls are grown in mussels that live in lakes and rivers rather than saltwater. The leading producers of freshwater cultured pearls include the United States, Japan and China. Here at HannahBella & Jake, we use only Grade A genuine cultured freshwater pearls.