Fresh Water Pearls

Where Do Freshwater Pearls Come From?

Although the traditional source of pearls are saltwater mollusks, freshwater mussels that live in ponds, lakes and rivers can also produce pearls. China has harvested freshwater pearls in the form of, may be since the 13th century, and now has the world's undisputed leader in freshwater pearl production. The first record mentioning pearls in China was from 2206 BC. The United States was also an important source of natural freshwater pearls from the discovery of a new world through the 19th century until the time of harvesting and increasing pollution significantly reduced the number of available pearl mussels in the United States.

Appeal of Freshwater Pearls

Generally, freshwater pearls are not as round as saltwater pearls, and they do not have the same sharp luster and shine as Akoya pearls. But they occur in a variety of shapes and natural colors, and they tend to be less expensive than saltwater pearls, making them very popular among younger people and designers. Also, because the freshwater pearls are solid Nacre, they are also quite durable, resisting chipping, wear, and degeneration.

China is the world leader with Freshwater Pearl Production, with a total production of 1,500 tons in 2006, China has a monopoly on the pearl industry today. Although the birth of the Chinese freshwater pearl industry is traced back to the area around Shanghai, freshwater pearls are now produced in all the surrounding provinces, including: Zhejiang, Anhui, Jiangsu, Hubei, Hunan and Jiangxi. Local gem trade is conducted primarily in urban Zhuji (Shanxiahu), Suzhou, Wuxi, Wenling, and Weitang. The largest marketplace for these freshwater pearls is the world's pearl trading hub, Hong Kong.

What Makes Freshwater pearls different?

Freshwater pearls differ from other cultured pearls, in that the vast majority of them are not bead-nucleated spleen. Freshwater mollusks are nucleated spleen by creating a small incision in the fleshy mantle tissue of a 6th to 12 months old idea, then inserting a 3mm square piece of mantle tissue from a donor mussel. By inserting, the donor (graft) tissue twisted slightly rounded edges. What happens after this point is really just speculation. Some believe that this tissue acts as a catalyst to produce a pearl sac, making "nucleation" real "activation". Others believe that the tissue dies with the host to create a pearl road, while others still maintain tissue is the central core. Although it is said that a freshwater mollusks can withstand up to 25 insertions per valve, it is common practice in the industry only perform 12-16 insertions in either valve, for a total production of 24-32 beads. The mollusks then returned to their freshwater environment in which they are inclined to 2-6 years. The resulting pearls are of solid Nacre, but without a bead core to control the growth process pearls are rarely perfectly round.

What makes today's Freshwater pearls so much better?

The greatest increase in quality can be attributed to several factors. The major leap in quality was completed as the industry moved from the cockscomb pearl mussel (Cristaria plicata) for Triangle Shell (Hyriopsis cumingii) in the mid 1990s. The cockscomb was responsible for the low quality rice crispy pearls in the 1970s and 1980s. Another shift in quality can be attributed to the lower number of grafts inserted in either valve. This figure has fallen by an average 5 per page in the past decade. The turn of the century brought a new wave of quality and exotic pearl colors in the form of scallops's hybridization.

Japanese Freshwater Pearl Industry, a Rough Story

The Japanese have a distinguished history of cultivation and freshwater pearls. Lake Biwa was once world famous for the production of high quality freshwater pearls produced by Hyriopsis schlegelii (Biwa pearly mussel) mussel. But in the mid-1970s pearl farming all but ground to a halt because of pollution in this lake that was once synonymous with freshwater pearls. The Japanese tried again to cultivate freshwater pearls in Lake Kasumigaura in the last decade used a bead-core-containing hybrid mussel (Hyriopsis schlegelii / Hyriopsis cumingii). The resulting beads have been so great and unique. The Kasumiga pearl industry had a very short lifespan, the production ceases in 2006. The industry is again a pollution fatality of Japanese industry. The remaining Kasumiga beads are sold exclusively through Belpearl pearl company.