Biwa Freshwater Pearls
Everything You Should Know about the Freshwater Pearls
Unlike cultured freshwater pearls, natural freshwater pearls of excellent quality are extremely difficult to find or create. That’s because everything is left to nature. As such, maybe it’s not too hard to understand why freshwater pearls, in spite of its imperfections, are still incredibly more expensive than the best cultured pearls.
How Natural Freshwater Pearls Are Made
The process of making natural freshwater pearls is exactly the same with the process of making natural seawater pearls. Firstly, a foreign object finds its way inside the mussel or oyster. It can be anything from a parasite to a tiny pebble. If the oyster isn’t able to take it out of its system, it will begin to feel irritated. To reduce its discomfort, it will start secreting nacre which is the stuff that pearls are made of.
How Cultured Freshwater Pearls Are Made
Pearl divers or makers will create a small opening in the oyster’s shells in order to insert mantle tissue from other oysters. The insertion will cause the freshwater oyster to start producing nacre. Pearl manufacturers can guarantee the outcome or quality of their products by taking control of factors like water temperature, the oyster’s health, and so forth.
History of Freshwater Pearls
Japan used to be the dominant figure in the cultured pearl industry. Having met success in their attempts in culturing pearls from saltwater mussels, they decided to conduct the same experiments with freshwater mussels from Lake Biwa. Their attempt was successful as well, and people were delighted to see new colors, colors that were never produced in saltwater pearls. As such, cultured freshwater pearls of Japan became so popular that all cultured freshwater pearls were referred to as Biwas in those days regardless of their origin.
Unfortunately, pollution caused great damage to Biwa cultured pearl production, and it was during this time that a new dominant figure emerged in the market: China. The country was blessed with numerous natural resources that the space-challenged Japan didn’t have: acres and acres of open land, innumerable lakes and other water bodies, and thousands and thousands of available human resources willing to work for less than minimum wages.
Although the first few experiments of China in cultured freshwater pearl production were pretty much unsuccessful and understandably unappealing to the public, China was soon able to master the necessary techniques to create pearls that could not only surpass the quality of the best pearls produced by Japan but were also sold cheaper compared to other pearls. Chinese cultured freshwater pearls also came in a variety of colors, some of which Japanese cultured freshwater pearl makers were unable to reproduce.
How to Take Care of Freshwater Pearls
Freshwater pearls, whether they’re natural or cultured, possess a soft surface which can easily be scratched or damaged. As such, it’s imperative that you keep your pearl jewelry separate from other jewelries. It’s also better to place them inside a pouch rather than a jewelry box because the latter’s surface can also cause nicks to appear in pearl jewelry.
The acidity level of a woman’s skin may affect the wearing life of pearl jewelry. If a pearl necklace is constantly being worn by a woman with a particularly high level of acidity in her skin, the acidity will gradually seep into the pearl, affecting its luster and shape. To prevent this from happening too soon, you should always polish your pearls with a non-abrasive cloth after taking them off.
Be careful about exposing pearl jewelry to chemicals. Spraying perfume while you’re wearing your pearl necklace can cause considerable damage to them over time. You must also avoid spilling any liquid on them, especially when it has rather strong properties such as lemon and vinegar.
Heat can also cause damage to pearl jewelry. If you persist in wearing your pearl jewelry in hot and humid weather, the climate can change the color of your pearls or worse, cause cracks to appear on the surface. Dry unmoving air is also bad for your pearls.
Make sure that you are using only jewelry cleaners specifically intended for pearl cleaning and nothing else. You can not steam-clean pearls as well. If you wish to preserve the luster of your pearls, you can use a drop of olive oil on them.
Pearl jewelry is amazing to possess not only because of its natural beauty but also because of the amount of hard work put into them. Hard work by humans and nature combined.
About the Author
Qifu Pearl Processing Co.,Ltd. combines the design with processing, domestic wholesale pearls and export of Akoya pearl cultivation, Akoya , South Sea Pearl freshwater pearl and pearl jewelry series of products. It is one of the earliest established and most competitive enterprises in domestic pearl process industry with over 20 years.
Jay King Cranberry-Color Biwa Cultured Freshwater Pearl …
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Beautiful 17″ Freshwater White Biwa Pearl Necklace | RELIABLE SELLER $9.99 |
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jfn0020 Red Coral Mauve Biwa Freshwater Pearl Necklace $26.59 |
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30mm White Biwa Cultured Freshwater Pearl Necklace $25.00 |
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8PE02183 8x23mm Natural Pink Biwa Pearl Beads 15.5” $7.70 |
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8PE02222 6x12mm-6x17mm Black Biwa Reborn Keshi Pearls Beads 15.5” $11.50 |
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Beautiful 17″ Freshwater White Biwa Pearl Necklace | CHRISTMAS GIFT $9.99 |
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9/16″ WHITE BIWA FRESHWATER PEARL 925 SILVER earrings $11.95 |
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9/16″ WHITE BIWA FRESHWATER PEARL 925 SILVER earrings $11.95 |
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17″ AAA WHITE Biwa stick freshwater Pearl Necklace $19.99 |
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A+ WHITE BIWA STICK FRESHWATER PEARL BEADS 18-24MM 16″ $18.99 |
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GREEN BIWA STICK FRESHWATER PEARL BEADS 20-25MM 16″ $4.99 |
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A+ MAUVE BIWA STICK FRESHWATER PEARL BEADS 20-25MM 16″ $7.99 |
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Bronze Skinny Biwa Stick Freshwater Pearl Bead 22mm 15″ $6.99 |
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WHITE BIWA STICK FRESHWATER PEARL BEADS 14-20MM 16″ $4.99 |
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26″ black baroque biwa freshwater PEARL NECKLACE $20.00 |
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Biwa Pearls – White Freshwater Biwa Stick Pearl Necklace 18 " $516 Biwa Pearls – White Freshwater Biwa Stick Pearl Necklace 18 ” is available from jewelbasket.com for only $359.00. Buy now and save. Jewelbasket offers the best value on Necklaces, jewelry and gifts. |
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Geranium Heather Berman Biwa Pearl Necklace AAHBN001 (Women’s) – Gold/White Freshwater Pearls $49.95 This hand crafted necklace with white fresh water pearls and Biwa pearl drop is the perfect final touch to any outfit you wear whether it be formal or casual. Gold plated. Toggle closure. 17″ end to end. |
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7-8mm Green Freshwater Pearls Stud Earrings $26 7-8mm Green freshwater pearls stud earrings. |
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20” 6-6.5mm Chocolate Freshwater Pearls Necklace $60 20 Inch 6-6.5mm chocolate freshwater pearls necklace. |
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60 Inch 6-6.5mm Multi Freshwater Pearls Necklace $100 60 Inch 6-6.5mm multi freshwater pearls necklace. |
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36” Chocolate 6-6.5mm Freshwater Pearls Necklace $80 36 Inch chocolate 6-6.5mm freshwater pearls necklace. |
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20 Inch 6-6.5mm Black Freshwater Pearls Necklace $60 20 Inch 6-6.5mm black freshwater pearls necklace. |
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36 Inch 6-6.5mm Black Freshwater Pearls Necklace $80 36 Inch 6-6.5mm black freshwater pearls necklace. |
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7.5 Inch 6-6.5mm Black Freshwater Pearls Bracelet $30 7.5 Inch 6-6.5mm black freshwater pearls bracelet. |
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60 Inch 6-6.5mm Black Freshwater Pearls Necklace $100 60 Inch 6-6.5mm black freshwater pearls necklace. |
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36 Inch Multi Freshwater Pearls Necklace $80 36 Inch multi freshwater pearls necklace. |
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18 Inch 7-8mm Green Freshwater Pearls Necklace $60 18 Inch 7-8mm green freshwater pearls necklace. |
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20 Inch 6-6.5mm White Freshwater Pearls Necklace $60 20 Inch, 6-6.5mm white freshwater pearls necklace. |
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8 Inch 6-6.5mm Multi Freshwater Pearls Bracelet $32 8 inch, 6-6.5mm multi freshwater pearls bracelet. |
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7.5 Inch 6-6.5mm White Freshwater Pearls Bracelet $30 7.5 Inch 6-6.5mm white freshwater pearls bracelet. |
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8 Inch 6-6.5mm White Freshwater Pearls Bracelet $32 8 Inch 6-6.5mm white freshwater pearls bracelet. |
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8 Inch Green 6-6.5mm Freshwater Pearls Bracelet $32 8 Inch green 6-6.5mm freshwater pearls bracelet. |