thomas sabo charm rings The Myth and Mystique of a Black Pearl Necklace thomas sabo carriers online

Since recorded history, man has coveted the thomas sabo charm rings luminous white gems we call pearls. Revered the world over for their rare beauty, otherworldly sheen thomas sabo carriers online and thomas sabo chains sale understated elegance, pearls are as popular in modern society cheap thomas sabo necklaces as they were with European royals and Egyptian princesses centuries ago. Today, pearl jewelry connoisseurs have a new love: black pearls. thomas sabo rings uk Exotic, luxurious and cheap thomas sabo pendants sale rare, a rich thomas sabo rings cheap black pearl necklace presents a thomas sabo pendants cheap striking picture—the gems definitely lack the demure, chaste image of their classic white counterparts. For Thomas Sabo Australia online the woman who has everything, a black pearl necklace, whether thomas sabo charm necklaces showcased alone in a pendant or in a perfectly matched strand, makes a wonderful addition to her jewelry collection. Think of how lovely a black pearl necklace will look on thomas sabo watches uk any skin tone!

Where do jewelers get the pearls they use in a matched black pearl necklace?
“Black” pearls are also known as “Tahitian thomas sabo charms uk online cultured pearls,” but both names are misleading. Not only are Tahitian thomas sabo pendant cultured pearls not exclusively black, they’re also not discount thomas sabo charm carriers grown in Tahiti. Called “black” because of their exotic dark colors, Tahitian cheap thomas sabo rings sale uk cultured pearls can be gray, blue, green and Cheap Thomas Sabo sale brown. And they’re grown in the lagoons of small islands that are thomas sabo carriers sale part of a group known thomas sabo chains cheap as French Polynesia. Tahiti, the largest island, serves as the thomas sabo earrings group’s center of commerce, and cheap thomas sabo carriers not as thomas sabo rings a pearl growing mecca. Interestingly, thomas sabo charm carriers fine Tahitian cultured pearls have only been on the market since the cheap thomas sabo rings uk 1970s. Yet they have become quite popular in that short time.

Growing Tahitian pearls
Tahitian pearls are cultivated for around thomas sabo necklaces uk online two years in Pinctada margaritifera cumingi, a large saltwater mollusk that is native to French Polynesia. One of the ways this unique oyster differs from other species cheap thomas sabo charms sale uk is that its interior shell color is dark. This so-called cheap thomas sabo watches “black lipped” oyster also has black mantle edges—the “lips” that give the animal its descriptive name. Due to overfishing, adult wild oyster populations aren’t as plentiful as they used to be. In an effort cheap thomas sabo earrings sale uk to reverse this thomas sabo pendants uk store trend, the cheap thomas sabo watches uk government protects the animals; pearl farmers in French Polynesia who wish to culture the cheap thomas sabo watches sale black thomas sabo chain lipped oyster must raise the oysters from spat (baby oysters). If the thomas sabo bracelets uk store farmer thomas sabo earrings cheap is successful in nurturing the spat to adulthood, at around cheap thomas sabo charm carriers two and thomas sabo charm earrings a half to three years old, the oysters are implanted with mantle cheap thomas sabo charms sale tissue and a mother-of-pearl bead to start the thomas sabo pendants uk pearl growing process. This thomas sabo charm carriers uk online delicate operation cheap thomas sabo rings sale is performed by specially trained workers called discount thomas sabo watches nucleators; even so, according to the thomas sabo charm Gemological Institute of America, more than 50 percent of the oysters die or cheap thomas sabo pendants sale uk reject thomas sabo watches uk online the nucleus. Literature from GIA says, “Add those oysters to the ones that don’t meet the implantation criteria: The farmer’s potential pearl-producing stock is less than half the number that lived long enough to be considered for nucleation. When the pearl growth period begins, after cheap thomas sabo necklaces uk three cheap thomas sabo earrings sale years of work, the farmer has only 20 percent of the oysters he collected as spat.” No wonder a fine quality Tahitian cultured pearl is so rare!

Tahitian pearl growth generally takes place in a closed lagoon that is ringed by coral reefs. Such a setup offers protection and a stable environment for the implanted oysters to complete the pearl-growing process. After the oysters have been submerged for 22 to 26 months, they’re hauled to the surface, where any thomas sabo chains store pearls they managed thomas sabo watches store to grow thomas sabo necklaces uk store are harvested. The farmers then clean and lightly buff the gems prior to offering them for sale. Farmers also sort the pearls by color, shape, etc. and grouped with like pearls.

In the thomas sabo pendants online end, only one to two percent of the Tahitian cultured thomas sabo charm carriers store pearl crop consists of fine quality round cultured pearls.

Color
Today, the most sought-after Tahitian cultured pearls are dark green-gray to blue gray with rosé or thomas sabo bracelets uk online purple overtones. But how do pearls get their color? No one thomas sabo charms uk is completely sure, but we do know that pearl colors are determined by several factors, including variations cheap thomas sabo earrings in the host oyster, color variation of the implanted donor mussel tissue, the number and thickness of nacre layers, and variations in growing environment such as temperature and water quality. Tahitian pearls are most often variations of gray, black, green and blue, but other colors exist. Search on the Internet for Tahitian cultured pearl images, and you will see they are not all black!

Buying a black pearl necklace
At an average size of thomas sabo watches sale 8mm-14mm, Tahitian cultured pearls—especially those specimens that are gem-quality and round—are very expensive. (GIA cheap thomas sabo pendants estimates that one first-quality, unusually large Tahitian cultured pearl will set you back thousands of dollars!) If only one to two percent of the harvest produces a fine quality round Tahitian cultured pearl, imagine how long discount thomas sabo bracelets it takes to make a matched thomas sabo earring strand! No wonder a black pearl necklace is so costly. Choose carefully, keeping in mind that pearls with a desirable overtone (secondary color) and pearls that are larger than typical will be more expensive. Look for pearls that are well-matched, not thomas sabo necklaces uk pitted or marked in any obvious way (minor thomas sabo rings online surface characteristics are acceptable). Be sure to check thomas sabo rings uk store return policies up front, too, thomas sabo bracelets sale in case you have a problem. Ask your retail jeweler for his or her cheap thomas sabo charms store policy or, if buying online, check thomas sabo watches online the site’s guarantee prior to making a purchase. Once you receive your pearls, be sure to examine them closely. After wearing, store your pearl necklace away from other gems; while fairly durable, pearls are prone Thomas Sabo Australia sale to scratching and their nacre will erode over time, especially if exposed to harsh chemicals like bleach, thomas sabo watches uk store perfume and thomas sabo pendants uk online chlorine.

Black pearl necklaces in modern fashion
Although slow to catch on at first, thanks in part to publicity thomas sabo chains uk online from stars such as actress Elizabeth Taylor, a renowned jewelry collector who wore a striking thomas sabo rings sale black pearl necklace in publicity photos for her Black Pearls perfume launch, Tahitian cultured pearls are cheap thomas sabo charm carriers uk wildly popular today. It’s not hard to find examples of fine black pearl jewelry in modern society. Look around and you’ll see black pearl necklaces on everyone from businesswomen to thomas sabo carriers moms to Hollywood A-list actresses, models and celebrities. Take Kiera Knightly, for example, who wore a stunning black baroque Tahitian cultured pearl choker at thomas sabo charm bracelet the premier of her movie, The thomas sabo charms cheap Black thomas sabo ring Pearl. thomas sabo charms store Stars like Christy Turlington, Naomi Watts, Heidi Klum, Michael Michelle, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Shalom Harlow discount thomas sabo charms are also pearl fans. cheap thomas sabo bracelets
Perhaps black pearls’ popularity is why designers like David Yurman, Elsa Peretti and Paloma cheap thomas sabo watches sale uk Picasso (for Tiffany thomas sabo chains uk store & Co.) are incorporating thomas sabo charm chains stunning black pearls, and even black baroque and black keshi pearls, into modern designs like long chain necklaces, brooches, chokers and charm bracelets. Black pearl drop earrings and pendants thomas sabo earrings uk store are also favorites, as they require little matching—or none at all. Whimsical designs on cufflinks thomas sabo charm carriers online and in popular frog, dragonfly and other animal pins incorporate black thomas sabo earrings online pearls as well.

Black pearl necklace alternatives
When most people think cheap thomas sabo chains sale uk of black pearl jewelry, they thomas sabo necklaces online naturally think of Tahitian cultured pearls. But prices are high for these rare gems, cheap thomas sabo chains sale in part due to their large size, discount thomas sabo rings unusual colors, and the high cost of producing them. If you want to wear real Tahitian cultured pearls, thomas sabo pendants store one way to do so without breaking the thomas sabo bracelets online bank is to choose a pendant-style necklace with a single pearl; black pearl stud earrings; a single black pearl cheap thomas sabo charm carriers sale ring, or black baroque (non-symmetrical) pearls. These designs are every thomas sabo rings uk online bit as exotic yet cheap thomas sabo chains uk much more affordable thomas sabo earrings uk than a matched black pearl strand.

For customers for whom Tahitian pearl jewelry is beyond reach, there are some inexpensive yet beautiful thomas sabo charm pendants alternatives to the thomas sabo bracelet classic black pearl necklace. Today, freshwater pearls—round, drop, button and baroque—are color-treated to produce a look that closely resembles the hue of Tahitian cultured cheap thomas sabo necklaces sale uk pearls. The natural-looking result is beautiful and looks great in such pieces as a baroque black pearl bracelet, black pearl drop earrings or black thomas sabo charms uk store pearl necklace. Every bit as real as their Tahitian cousins, black freshwater cultured pearls’ color is man-made, but keep in mind that nearly all pearls are treated somehow (bleaching thomas sabo watches is the most common enhancement).

If you’re after not only the color but the size of fine discount thomas sabo earrings Tahitian pearls, consider a black “pearl” necklace made from black mother-of-pearl beads. Their generous size, lustrous sheen and thomas sabo chains uk affordable price make them a popular alternative to a fine Tahitian pearl necklace.