First, let's begin our discussion of pearls with a very brief look at why pearls are often considered very fine, very rare, and very valuable. In the olden days, the only pearls available were completely natural pearls. This meant that pearls were developed without any human intervention. The natural beautiful radiance of pearls make into highly desirable objects. And pearls are sought after usually by the wealthy. That's because natural pearls are exceedingly hard to find. Before human intervened the pearl development and extraction process with technology, the only way to find a pearl is to open up pearl oysters one by one until a pearl is found. For sure, this is an extremely time consuming process. With such high demand and rarity, it's no surprise that only the wealthy can afford to own pearls. Also, it's not uncommon to find pearls on clothing worn by royalties. Due to its history, pearl has earned itself a reputation for being extremely fine, rare, and valuable.



However, modern pearls are often cultured. Meaning, they are developed and extracted by pearl farmers. Having the technology to grow and extract pearls also mean that the supply of pearls in the marketplace has also been greatly increased, thus making the pearl a very affordable piece of jewelry for the modern woman. Recognizing the supreme reputation of pearls, some merchants try to reproduce imitation pearls and sell them cheaply. But in general, imitation pearls can be easily recognized. This is because it is very hard to imitate the natural translucent and radiant appearance of a genuine pearl. This natural beauty can only be achieved by building layers upon layers, and the appearance is the direct result of the light reflecting and refracting among the layers. Thus, most can easily see the difference between an imitation pearl and a genuine pearl.

Broadly speaking, pearls are commonly known as saltwater pearls and fresh water pearls, although they may come from many different species of oysters. The physical appearance of both the saltwater and the fresh water pearl looks rather similar. The ideal pearl looks perfectly round, and in ancient times, most believed that the larger a pearl is, the more rarer it is and therefore, the more valuable.

However, in the modern society, size does not necessarily mean it's the best. Pearls these days are mostly cultured pearls - meaning, they are grown with human intervention. And they come in different sizes, different colors, and are matched widely with other forms of jewelry such as plates, pendants, chains, etc. Most, if not all, fresh water pearls these days come from China. So if you want to own a strand of fresh water pearls, you may have to look towards buying from a retailer who has connections with fresh water pearl suppliers in China. You may even consider expanding on your pearl jewelry collection by buying directly from a fresh pearl wholesaler in China.

It is definitely possible for pearls to look simple and elegant, or complex and sophisticated. It all depends on how the beads of pearls are put together, and how they are matched with other accessories. The possibilities are endless. But regardless of how pearls are worn, they never fail to make a lady look so fine.