Perhaps you haven't thought about this, but pearl jewelry makes one of the best gifts for family and friends. Many people didn't buy pearls to give away as gifts because they know very little about pearls. To make things worse, there are a lot of imitation pearls available in the market. So to avoid being cheated, many just avoid buying pearls altogether. Unfortunately, they are really missing out when they do so.

So how can anyone tell whether a pearl that is one sale is genuine or not? When assessing a pearl, the first thing to do is to examine the physical appearance of the pearl.

Pearls are produced by oysters with irritants in them. These irritants annoy the oysters so much that the oysters secrete a fluid that surrounds the irritant. This fluid in turn hardens to form a layer. This process keeps repeating itself until a pearl is formed.

So when examining a pearl, you will notice that for real pearls, the different layers will give out a special radiance. This is caused by the many layers in the pearl, which refracts and bends light that passes through the pearl. It is very hard to duplicate this glow.

However, to ensure that you only get genuine pearls, always let pearl experts to determine for you whether a pearl is genuine or not. If you don't have access to a pearl expert, your only alternative is to buy pearls from reputable pearl jewelry retailers. These retailers have a reputation to protect, so they will only sell genuine pearls to you. The type of pearls you eventually decide to buy, is completely up to you.

If you are lost for ideas on what type of pearls to buy to give away as gifts, you can always consider buying wish pearls. Wish pearls are given that name because it is commonly believed that whoever received these pearls will have their wishes come true. Of course we want the wishes of our family and friends to come true. That's why so many people are buying wish pearls, sometimes in bulk, to give away as gifts. The recipient of the gifts will understand at once that you want nothing but the best to happen to them.

Remember, what goes around comes around. When it comes to giving, don't just buy the cheapest pearls you can find. Give generously. If you really want to save some money, buy pearl jewelry in bulk at wholesale prices.

Wish pearls may come in different types of packages. Most of them come in pretty gift boxes, as they are meant to look presentable. However, when you buy in bulk, you may be surprised to find wish pearl jewelry that comes with the oysters. The oysters are not alive. They are packed in vacuum plastic bags or cans. And they come in a wide variety of colors - white, pink, purple, black or mixed colors.

This provides a very interesting and exciting experience for the recipients of the gifts. They can now open the oysters themselves and find genuine pearls in the oysters! This experience is, in itself, priceless.