Necklace Buying Guide
Buying the right length Pearl Necklace can be confusing.
We hope that this guide will help you decide which length best suits your needs.
If you are still overwhelmed, give us a call or an email and we will be glad to advise you.
Typically, pearl strands fall into the following categories:
Collar 12-13 inches
Choker 14-16 inches
Princess 17-19 inches
Matinee 20-24 inches
Opera 26-36 inches
Rope 40 inches and over
With a few simple pointers, choosing the right strand is easy…
When choosing a necklace, take into consideration the recipient’s age, body composition, lifestyle and personal tastes. In general, shorter strands and smaller pearls (6.5-7.0 mm) look best on younger women; the shorter strands, which nestle at the base of the throat or slightly below, draw attention to the skin and flatter youthful complexions. Pearls with a smaller diameter won’t overwhelm a younger woman’s features. Short strands, especially the princess and choker, are versatile and look great with virtually anything.
Mature women (40s and beyond) can carry off larger pearls (7.5-8.0 mm and up) and longer lengths with ease. The longer, more dramatic lengths and the larger pearls elongate the neck and call attention to the jewelry, framing the face and neck beautifully, creating an overall slender appearance for the woman.
In general, short pearl strands best complement long necks, and long pearl strands draw the eye downward and help create the illusion of length in a short neck. When choosing a strand, keep in mind that longer strands of bigger pearls (7.5 mm and up) are dramatic and sophisticated, while shorter strands are classic and elegant.
Pearl necklaces can be paired with any outfit, but in general, the shorter lengths are more versatile, and can be worn with casual such as a T-shirt and jeans as well as tailored outfits. Longer lengths are typically for dressier and special occasions. If a woman is sporty, she might prefer a shorter strand, while a sophisticated dresser might like a longer, more dramatic strand. When in doubt, keep in mind that the mid-length princess strand flatters everyone.
A note on layering: Today, the trend in jewelry is all about layering. Open any fashion magazine and you’ll find women wearing several necklaces of different lengths, colors and materials together to create a sassy, unique look. Having several different strands of variable sizes, lengths and colors gives the wearer many fashion options.
A pearl collar fits tightly around the neck, and is typically made up of three strands or more. The collar draws attention to the face and neck and looks great with lower necklines.
A timeless classic, the pearl choker is perfect for many styles of dress, and can be worn with high or low necklines, dressed up or down. If the woman you’re buying for doesn’t have a pearl necklace, this strand, or the slightly longer princess-length, is the right choice.
Due to its versatility, the 18-inch princess-length necklace is our most popular item. It looks great on all women, and can be paired with many different necklines. The princess length works especially well with business suits, high-necked sweaters and tees, and many wedding gowns.
The matinee-length pearl necklace rests on the cleavage, and looks perfect with a high neckline that won’t compete with it for attention, or a very low, plunging neckline that frames the pearls. This length is a bit more formal than the choker and princess, and is perfect for the sophisticated woman.
The long, opera-length pearl necklace is often spotted on women enjoying a wonderful evening out. This dramatic length looks stunning with high necklines that won’t compete with the pearls.
Wonderfully breathtaking, the pearl rope hangs very low and swings with movement. The rope will definitely get attention! To change the rope’s look, it can be tied, or looped several times around the neck for a shorter, multiple-strand effect.
A word about color: If you are unsure which color pearls to choose, keep in mind that creamy white pearls are classic—they always look stunning. As well, rose colored pearls are gorgeous and romantic, and softly flatter most skin tones. In general, lighter skin tones look best with white pearls, while darker complexions are best flattered by rose or black pearls.
Still can’t decide? E-mail us at customerservice@moonriverpearls.com or call Moon River Pearls at 800-405-2488 and we’ll help you choose the perfect strand.
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Cultured Pearls, Freshwater Pearls
What’s the difference between a cultured pearl and a natural pearl?
Natural pearls are formed when an irritant, such as a parasite, makes its way into a pearl-producing animal such as an oyster or mollusk. To protect itself, the animal coats the irritant in nacre—a combination of organic substances that also makes up what we call mother-of pearl. Over time, the layers of nacre build up around the intruder and eventually form the organic gem we all know as the pearl.
Cultured pearls are formed in the same way as natural pearls, with one big difference: they get their start not by chance, but deliberately, when man intervenes with nature. To produce cultured pearls, a skilled technician, called a nucleator, induces the pearl-growing process by surgically placing an irritant—a mother-of-pearl bead and a piece of mantle tissue, usually—into a mollusk. The animal is then placed back into the water and monitored, cleaned, etc. until the pearl is ready to be harvested.
The Chinese have been culturing freshwater blister pearls (pearls that grow underneath the mantle on the inside of the animal’s shell) since the 13th century, but Kokichi Mikimoto, a Japanese man, is credited with developing modern pearl culturing techniques. By the early 1920s, Mikimoto was selling his cultured pearls worldwide.
Natural pearls can be very beautiful, but due to overfishing, pollution and other factors, they are a rare find indeed. Thus, nearly all pearls sold today are cultured pearls. There are two main types: freshwater and saltwater. South Sea cultured pearls, Tahitian cultured pearls and akoya cultured pearls are all types of saltwater pearls. Cultured pearls of all types can be found in jewelry stores worldwide.
Are saltwater pearls better than freshwater pearls?
It depends on who you ask, but many pearl experts today agree that freshwater cultured pearls can rival the beauty of their saltwater cousins. Due to improvements in culturing techniques, freshwater pearl farmers are producing beautiful, round, lustrous pearls that are a vast improvement over the wrinkled, rice-krispie-shaped gems that typified the freshwater pearl crop of the not-so-distant past.
Produced mainly in China, freshwater pearls are often nucleated, or implanted, with mantle tissue only (rather than a mother-of-pearl bead). Because they do not contain a starter bead, tissue-nucleated freshwater pearls are 100% nacre. This gives them a beautiful luster and a durable surface that won’t easily flake or peel to reveal the inner bead. By contrast, pearls that are bead-nucleated and harvested too soon often have only a thin coating of nacre that will flake or peel. This is a major problem: Unlike many other gemstones, pearls cannot be polished back to perfection.
Freshwater cultured pearls come in many beautiful natural pastel colors including cream, white, yellow, orange, pink and lavender. (Universally flattering lavender pearls are very popular right now.) White pearls are bleached to enhance their natural shine. Black freshwater cultured pearls are treated with dye or heat to produce their inky color.
Overall, freshwater pearls are more plentiful than other pearl types, thus they are generally more affordable.
Filed under About Pearls | Comment (1)Fun Pearl Facts
The pearl is the oldest gem—often referred to as the “queen of gems”—and believed by many cultures to possess magical powers.
Pearls are considered to offer the power of love, protection, and luck. Pearls are thought to give wisdom, enhance karma and deepen romantic relationships.
The ancient Egyptians prized pearls so much they were buried with the gems.
June’s birthstone is the pearl.
Pearls are the only gem created by a living creature.
Pearls will dissolve in vinegar.
The name Margarita means pearl.
Each year, millions of oysters are nucleated. But only a very small number bear fine quality cultured pearls.
Freshwater cultured pearls are given on the first wedding anniversary. Cultured pearls are also given on the 3rd, 12th and 30th anniversaries.
The process of growing a pearl can take many years. Pearls are soft and range between 2.5 and 4.5 on the Mohs scale of hardness. They must be treated with care.
Less than five percent of nucleated oysters yield pearls of such perfect shape, luster and color as to be considered fine gem quality.
Pearls are thought to keep children safe. (Children’s pearls.)
Ancient legend says that pearls were the tears of gods.
Cleopatra, Isabella Queen of Spain, Marie Antoinette of France, Mary Queen of Scots, Queen Elizabeth I, Barbara Bush, Elizabeth Taylor and the Queen Mother are just a few of the many women who admire pearls.
The first “pearl craze” occurred during the Roman Empire at the time of Julius Cesar.
Culturing pearls has made them more affordable.
Rene Russo made the tin cup necklace famous when she wore it throughout the popular movie of the same name. Seems to have done the trick for Kevin Costner!
Filed under About Pearls | Comment (1)Our Inauguaral Entry Into Blogging
To begin, we would like to make this blog all about pearls. When researching pearls you may come across many terms that you would like to know what they mean. Hopefully this list of pearl definitions will be helpful.
A Glossary Of Pearl Jewelry Terms
AKOYA PEARLS
Pearls from the Akoya saltwater oyster which is the mainstay of the Japanese pearl industry. Now also farmed by China and other countries.
BAROQUE PEARLS
Irregular shaped pearls of all shapes and sizes, neither round nor symmetrical. The surface is usually uneven. Most are inexpensive, but some have come to be the centrepiece for very expensive pieces of jewelry.
BIB
A pearl necklace of more than three concentric strands.
BIWA PEARL
Cultured freshwater pearls grown in Lake Biwa in Japan.
BLACK-LIPPED OYSTER
The oyster famous for the Tahitian pearl which is found in the South Pacific in and around Tahiti and French Polynesia.
BLACK PEARLS
A natural colored dark pearl grown in the black-lipped oyster. The color is black, light black/silvery or a dark grey, although other very dark colors such as the rarer peacock green are also referred to as black pearls. Natural color black pearls are rare and most of the cheaper black pearls, especially freshwater, are dyed.
BLEMISHES
Little marks, bumps, scars or irregularities on a pearl’s surface that give a pearl strand its personality, although heavy marking will lower its value.
BLISTER PEARLS
In reality, a natural pearl which occurs when a parasite intrudes through the outer shell of a mollusc. The mollusc secretes nacre over the irritant, cementing it to the shell itself. Blister pearls are usually irregular in shape.
BLUE PEARL
A dark-colored pearl whose color derives from foreign contaminants in the nacre, or between the nacre and the shell bead nucleus. Typically, blue pearls are naturally colored dark Akoya pearls, which may be blue or other dark colors.
CHOKER LENGTH
A pearl necklace 14 – 16 inches (35 – 40 cm) in length.
COLOR
The type of oyster or mussel is a key determinant in color. Different geographical areas have different molluscs which produce different colors.
CULTIVATION
The process whereby a mussel or oyster is seeded, cared for and harvested to produce a cultured pearl.
CULTURED PEARLS
Pearls formed by the insertion of a piece of mantle tissue, with or without a nucleus, into the host oyster or mussel.
DOG COLLAR
A choker length formed from multi-strands.
FRESHWATER PEARLS
Pearls predominantly flesh-nucleated typically in mussels in several countries around the world, notably China, Japan and the USA.
GOLD-LIPPED OYSTER
These oysters produce beautiful light yellowish or golden pearls. They are found mostly around South East Asian countries such as Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia.
GRADUATED STRAND
A strand of pearls starting with small pearls at one end and gradually getting bigger until the centre where the largest pearl will lie. The pearls then graduate back to the other end.
HALF PEARLS
Whole pearls that have had one side removed to remove blemishes. If about three quarters of the pearl remains, it is known as a three-quarter pearl.
IMITATION PEARLS
Pearls manufactured to look like natural or cultured pearls. Various types exist. Solid or hollow glass beads coated with pearl essence derived from fish scales are one type, whilst lacquer covered beads are another. Cheaper varieties are created from plastic.
IRIDESCENCE
This refers to the optical effect whereby prismatic colors, similar to the ones seen on oil films, can be seen. Iridescence is the play of lustrous colors, which may be like those of the rainbow or a subtle combination of colors such as pink, blue, green, and silver.
KESHI PEARLS
These are small roundish natural pearls formed naturally in the soft tissue of the mollusc during the cultivation process from small pieces of the mollusc’s own shell. The mollusc treats these pieces as irritants and coats them with nacre.
KNOTTING
Small knots tied between each pearl in a strand to prevent them rubbing together and to avoid the loss of pearls if the necklace breaks.
LUSTRE
The appearance/shininess of a pearl’s surface judged by its ability to reflect light. One of the most important factors in judging and pricing pearls.
MABE PEARLS
Formed when a half-bead is cemented to the mollusc’s inner shell. The mollusc covers the half bead with nacre and when the shell is cut off, the bead is exposed at the back. The bead is removed, the pearl cleaned (to prevent deterioration) and the remaining hole filled with paste, wax or sometimes with another bead and then covered with a mother-of-pearl backing. Mabe pearls must only be used in closed-back settings. Also referred to as a half-pearl or cultured blister pearl.
MANTLE
The part of a mollusc’s soft tissue that secretes nacre. This tissue is also used to nucleate and stimulate pearl formation in freshwater pearls.
MALLORCA
A well-known type of imitation pearls from the Spanish island of the same name. Also known as Majorcan pearls, they are quite popular in the USA. Many people believe them to be real pearls when, in fact, they are high quality imitations.
MATINEE LENGTH
A pearl necklace 20 – 26 inches (50 – 66 cm) long.
MIKIMOTO PEARLS
A leading brand of pearls founded by Kokichi Mikimoto, the Japanese man credited as the creator of cultured pearls.
MOLLUSC
An invertebrate with a soft body often protected by a shell such as clam, oyster and mussel.
MOTHER-OF-PEARL
The smooth, hard pearly lining on the interior of oyster and mollusc shells, famous for buttons and small decorative objects. It is the same substance as nacre which forms pearls.
NACRE (‘NAY-KER’)
The pearly substance secreted by the mantle of certain molluscs to form a pearl.
NATURAL PEARLS
Formed entirely by an act of nature and without any assistance from man. An irritant such as a parasite or other foreign object enters the body and is covered in concentric layers of nacre inside the mollusc.
Close to round shape and slightly rounder than off-round shape.
NON-NUCLEATED PEARLS
Typically refers to freshwater pearls whereby mantle tissue from another mollusc is inserted to stimulate pearl growth. Refers to tissue-nucleated pearls.
NUCLEATED PEARLS
A nucleus is inserted into a mollusc to speed up the pearl growth. Acting as the irritant, the nuclei is covered by nacre.
OFF-ROUND PEARLS
Slightly flattened or slightly oval in shape.
OPERA LENGTH
A pearl necklace 28 – 36 inches (70 – 90 cm) in length.
ORIENT
The pearly lustre seen on pearls or mother-of-pearl shells. Also known as iridescence.
ORIENTAL PEARLS
Natural pearls found in the waters of the Persian Gulf. Due to pollution, production is almost non-existent nowadays.
PEARL
A natural pearl by definition, whereas cultured pearls should be referred to as ‘cultured pearl’ However, as cultured pearls now make up over 95% of world pearl production, it has become common to use the term ‘pearl’ to refer to cultured pearls.
PRINCESS LENGTH
A pearl necklace 16 – 20 inches (40 – 50 cm) in length.
ROPE LENGTH
A pearl necklace 40inches (100cm)
ROUND PEARLS
Are perfectly round in shape.
SEMI-BAROQUE PEARLS
Typically are not round and not irregular but are somewherein between, such as potato, pear, drop, button and egg shapes.
SHAPE
A key criterion in pearl pricing and quality. Most pearls are divided into four major categories: round, off-round, semi-baroque and baroque.
SILVER-LIPPED OYSTER
A South Sea type found usually around Australia which produces large and beautiful white and silvery white South Sea pearls.
SOUTH SEA CULTURED PEARLS
The area usually defined as South Sea extends from South East Asia, Thailand, Burma, Indonesia and Philippines through the coastal waters of Northern Australia to the South Pacific, French Polynesia and Tahiti. They are known for their large and expensive pearls which can be grown relatively quickly.
TORSADE
Otherwise known as twisters whereby you twist multi-strand pearls around each other – a popular way to wear freshwater pearl strands.
UNIFORM STRAND
A pearl strand whose pearls are almost the same size as each other.
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