Pearl jewelry is an all occasion jewelry that goes with any type of wardrobe. Pearl is the birthstone for June and a symbol that shows deep love. Pearl is a very rare, very fine, very admirable and very valuable object of beauty. Pearl jewelry is elegant and classic as well as hip and trendy.

A pearl is a roundish, hard object found within a soft tissue of a living shelled mollusk. The epithelial cells of the mantle secrete it. It is a curtain of tissue in the middle of shell and body mass. It is made up of calcium carbonate, a common substance in rocks and shells of mollusks. The concentrated layers of calcium carbonate deposits found in pearls are in very tiny crystalline form.

A pearl is eventually formed through a process called encystations. This process begins when a parasite or an irritating microscopic object is trapped inside the mollusk's mantle folds. The mollusks, being irritated by the intruder, secrete the calcium carbonate and conchiolin to cover the irritant. As long as the animal lives, the pearl keeps growing because the secretion process continues.

Nacre, the mother of pearl, is an inner shell layer that is strong, iridescent and resilient. Nacre secretion around the irritant creates a pearl inside the body of the mollusk. Some mollusks have a porcellaneous inner shell layer, instead of nacre. This type of mollusk produces an even higher value pearls.

There are freshwater pearls and saltwater pearls. Freshwater pearls, as the name suggests, are a kind of pearl that comes from freshwater mussels. Saltwater pearls are produced by several species of marine pearl oysters. Pearls from the sea are valued highly than freshwater pearls.

Valuable pearls are those that occur in the wild, but these are scarce. An because of its scarcity, culturing or farming of pearls has become successful. Cultured pearls are pearls grown in pearl-producing mollusks. Though produced with the aid of human intervention, they are also considered genuine pearls as they do not differ from their natural pearl counterparts.

There are saltwater cultured pearls and freshwater cultured pearls. Saltwater cultured pearls are pearls cultured in a saline environment. They are produced by introducing a rounded bead of freshwater mussel shell into the gonad of a host mollusk. Freshwater cultured pearls are produced by creating small incisions to the mantle organ of a host mussel.

There are different shapes of pearls such as round, rice-shaped, pear-shaped, button-shaped or baroque (irregular). But the ideal pearl is perfectly round and smooth. Pearl as gemstones, are valued for their delicate play of surface color, luster and translucence.

Pearl grade or the quality of the pearl, is determined by luster, color, orient, size, shape and surface perfection. A pearl's luster is finer if it has thinner and numerous layers. If successive layers overlap, the pearl displays iridescence due to the breakup of the falling light on the surface. Luster depends upon the diffraction, refraction and reflection of light from the translucent layers.

The largest pearl known is the "Pearl of Allah", which weighs-- lb or 6.4 kilograms. It was discovered in Palawan, Philippines in'34 by an anonymous Filipino Muslim diver. It was found from a giant clam, which is a non-nacreous mollusk. The pearl is glossy like a china plate and not pearly as it did not grow in a pearl oyster.

A pearl, although delicate, has been successfully used in jewelry for many years already. It is the only gem created by humans who can be used without cutting or polishing. For centuries, pearl is considered to be the most valuable oldest known and organic gem.

About the Author: Fred Gagnon specializes in providing tips and information on jewelries. He owns a wide collection of stunning, glamorous and chic jewelries. To learn more about jewelries, accessories, precious metals and gemstones, visit Black Pearl Earrings and Hip Hop Jewelry.