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We would be proud to have you as a customer! Would you give us the opportunity to exceed your expectations? We are a merchant that you can trust and rely on. Call 828-681-8041 -or- Email us with any questions you may have. We ship via the UPS Postal or UPS. USPS First Class Shipping cost is $5.25 FREE Shipping for orders over $75 Packages are sent from Asheville, NC YES! We ship International Delivery Time: 1-3 days - South East, NY, Ohio 3 days - North East, Central 3-5 days - West, South West, North West 5-12 days International Some Pearl history...Pearls are par excellence the absolute feminine gem, a symbol of love, happiness, affection, generosity; for the western ancient peoples it represented the pureness and for the Greek and Romans it evoked love, happiness and pleasure. To give pearl jewelry as a gift to a child or young girl, is to give absolute love and adoring. Pearls are the perfect gift for Birthdays, Christening, Baptism, Baby Showers, Confirmation, Communion, Bat Mitzvah. Pearls are said to be the tears of Angels...tears of joy, that is. There are many legends inspired by pearls: for the Eastern peoples they represent wisdom and the ancients explained their origins by means of a delicate and magic interpretation: when the moon, queen of the night sky, spreads its sweet silver light over the earth, pearl-oysters leave the seabed to rise up to the billowing waves and they let themselves gently swing, thus becoming a bond of love of night dew and pure moon rays, and from this union pearls are born! Although it would be nice to believe in this legend, let's try to understand where they really come from, where they are formed and the reasons for the thousands of differences of these real miracles of nature.....
A cultured pearl undergoes the same process. The only difference is that the irritant is a surgically implanted bead or piece of shell called Mother of Pearl. Often, these shells are ground oyster shells that are worth significant amounts of money in their own right as irritant-catalysts for quality pearls. The resulting core is, therefore, much larger than in a natural pearl. Yet, as long as there are enough layers of nacre (the secreted fluid covering the irritant) to result in a beautiful, gem-quality pearl, the size of the nucleus is of no consequence to beauty or durability. Pearls can come from either salt or freshwater sources. Typically, saltwater pearls tend to be higher quality, although there are several types of freshwater pearls that are considered high in quality as well. Freshwater pearls tend to be very irregular in shape, with a puffed rice appearance the most prevalent. Nevertheless, it is each individual pearls merits that determines value more than the source of the pearl. Regardless of the method used to acquire a pearl, the process usually takes several years. Mussels must reach a mature age, which can take up to 3 years, and then be implanted or naturally receive an irritant. Once the irritant is in place, it can take up to another 3 years for the pearl to reach its full size. Often, the irritant may be rejected, the pearl will be terrifically misshapen, or the oyster may simply die from disease or countless other complications. By the end of a 5 to 10 year cycle, only 50% of the oysters will have survived. And of the pearls produced, only approximately 5% are of substantial quality for top jewelry makers. From the outset, a pearl farmer can figure on spending over $100 for every oyster that is farmed, of which many will produce nothing or die. Imitation pearls are a different story altogether. In most cases, a glass bead is dipped into a solution made from fish scales. This coating is thin and may eventually wear off. One can usually tell an imitation by biting on it. Fake pearls glide across your teeth, real pearls feel gritty across your teeth. We do not deal in imitation anything! Quick Shop View of all our Sterling and Pearl Jewelry
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