Pearls: Freshwater or Saltwater?

When most people think of pearls they picture perfectly round, smooth spheres, with an iridescent creamy white appearance. In fact pearls come in many different shapes, sizes and colours and to find a perfectly round one is rare, not to mention trying to make a whole necklace of pearls that are all more or less the same. Natural pearls are the rarest and most highly valued variety, but nowadays most pearl jewellery is made from cultured or farmed pearls, which are grown on pearl farms across the world by inserting a bead nucleus inside an oyster or mussel shell to encourage the formation of a pearl. Aside from whether a pearl has formed naturally or been farmed the other major varieties are the saltwater or freshwater pearl, each of which have their own qualities.

Saltwater pearls are found in pearl oysters which live in the ocean, and produce the classic round white or cream pearls that have remained so desirable and sought after throughout history. Cultured saltwater pearls are more likely to be round than those grown in freshwater farms as they are usually formed by artificially placing a rounded nucleus inside the oyster’s shell to enhance the shape. Cultured saltwater pearls like the Japanese Akoya pearl are usually more expensive than the freshwater ones as they are bigger and more regular in shape. It is still possible to find natural saltwater pearls in the ocean, but they are becoming more and more rare because of increased levels of pollution.

The most common type of pearl available today are freshwater pearls, which are mostly produced in China using freshwater mussels and come in a huge variety of shapes, sizes and colours. Freshwater pearls come in the natural colours of whites, pinks, creams and lilacs but they are available as jewellery dyed in every colour of the rainbow. Freshwater pearls are easier to farm succesfully than saltwater pearls, making them cheaper to buy as jewellery, although less likely to be perfectly round or to find enough to make a whole string of the exact same size and colour.