The Pearl is 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 Romans it evoked love, happiness and pleasure. To give pearl jewelry as a gift to a newborn child, young girl, or teen is to give absolute love and adoring affection. Pearls are the perfect gift for Weddings, bridesmaids or Flower Girls, 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.....

How pearls are formed and their various types:
There are essentially three types of pearls: natural, cultured and imitation. A natural pearl (often called an Oriental pearl) forms when an irritant, such as a piece of sand, works its way into a particular species of oyster, mussel, or clam. As a defense mechanism, the mollusk secretes a fluid to coat the irritant. Layer upon layer of this coating is deposited on the irritant until a lustrous pearl is formed.

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 (fresh water)sources. Typically, saltwater south 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. A round freshwater pearl, even if slightly off round is valued the highest of all. Our Children's and baby Pearls Sets of bracelets, necklace, and earings and other jewelry feature only this round type and quality of 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.

Black pearls are all the rage right now, especially for celebrities like Angelina Jolie, Kiara Knightly, Debra Messinger and many more.

So now you know...a little more than you did, maybe. All of our baby, infant, childrens jewelry is lead free. Our Jewelry is made in the USA.

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