Freshwater and Akoya pearls, while both genuine pearls, differ greatly in value and composition. The three main differences are the culturing process, the nucleus, and the shape.Category: Arts & Crafts
Article added by: yanlu wu
Freshwater and Akoya pearls, while both genuine pearls, differ greatly in value and composition. The three main differences are the culturing process, the nucleus, and the shape.
Freshwater pearls are mantle-tissue nucleated, whereas akoya pearls are bead-nucleated. Instead of inserting a mother-of-pearl bead and a piece of mantle tissue into the gonad of a freshwater mussel, as is the process with an akoya mollusk, only a piece of mantle-tissue is used, and this is inserted directly into the mantle tissue of the freshwater mollusk. The result is a pearl composed of solid nacre.
Although harvested freshwater pearls are solid nacre, and Akoya pearls may only have .1 to 2mm of nacre over a bead-core, akoya pearls are generally considered more valuable.
Freshwater pearls are nucleated in the mantle tissue on either valve of the shell. This tissue is much larger than the gonad of an akoya mollusk. A tissue graft will typically be inserted 12 to 16 times per valve, producing up to 32 pearls. An a akoya mollusk is nucleated by inserting a shell bead and tissue piece into its gonad. When a large bead is used only one insertion is performed. Most shells, however, receive two insertions, one bead slightly smaller than the other. An akoya may receive up to five beads, but only when the shell is large and small beads are used. When producing 5 small pearls, what the farmer lacks in size he will recoup in volume.
Freshwater pearls are also much easier to farm than akoya. The mortality rate is much lower than that of the nucleated akoya mollusks, and freshwater farms rarely deal with natural disasters such as typhoons and red tides that plague akoya pearl farms. Freshwater pearl farms dot the landscape of China with small farms run by families and large farms run by huge corporations. The grafting operation is also much easier with a freshwater mussel, and hands on training may only last a week before a nucleating technician is considered adept. Akoya nucleating technicians, on the other hand, study for months and take years to master the trade.
Akoya pearls will average higher quality attributes than freshwater. Freshwater pearls are rarely round, whereas akoya pearls are generally round. Freshwater pearls do not typically have the sharp luster and high shine found in high grade akoya pearls, but can exhibit orient in their highest grades - something akoya pearls cannot.
In the last decade, Chinese freshwater pearl farms have increased the quality of their harvests tremendously due to increases in technology and the recent use of Triangle shell mussels instead of the Cockscomb. Today it is possible to find strands that are of comparable quality to a nice akoya strand. Although the price is still substantially lower, they are quite valuable. And these strands, being solid nacre, will be much more durable over the course of wear
Posted By: yanlu wu
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| Freshwater and Akoya pearls, while both genuine pearls, differ greatly in value and composition. The three main differences are the culturing process, the nucleus, and the shape.WSPearl Jewelry Inc., China's online wholesale jewelry store, is professional wholesaler and supplier of Chinese cultured pearls. All pearls are directly from Chinese culutred pearl farms. |
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