When you think of pearl jewelry, think beyond the simple, single strand. Today’s jewelry trends focus on colored pearls (especially large South Sea pearls), freshwater pearls, and baroque pearls in many intriguing designs.
They’re formed when a mollusk produces layers of nacre around an irritant inside its shell. In natural pearls, the irritant may be another organism from the water. In cultured pearls, a mother-of-pearl bead or a piece of tissue is inserted into the mollusk to start the process. For both, the quality of the nacre dictates the quality of the luster, or shine of the pearl, which is very important to its beauty and its value.
