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The magic of pearls

THE MAGIC OF PEARLS

Thomas Edison once exclaimed: “There are two things which could never be manufactured at my laboratory – diamonds and pearls.” Fascinating gem and gift of nature, a pearl creates its own splendour; the creation of a pearl is still a mysterious process that requires a great deal of time, care and a specific know how, fruit of years of experience.

Gemmologists classify pearls in general as coloured gems of organic origin that are formed by some types of oysters in sea water, and by some fresh water shells.

WHITE AND GOLDEN
SOUTH SEA PEARLS

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TAHITI PEARLS

Utopia pearl strands
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AKOYA PEARLS

Aqua collection with Freshwater pearls and diamonds
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FRESHWATER PEARLS

Aqua collection Freshwater pearls diamonds
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WHITE AND GOLDEN SOUTH SEA PEARLS

WHITE AND GOLDEN SOUTH SEA PEARLS
WHITE AND GOLDEN SOUTH SEA PEARLS
The areas of origin are the South Seas: the North of Australia, the Philipphines and Indonesia.
South Sea pearls are entirely formed out of natural pearl material called nacre, which surrounds a small nucleus that is inserted in the vital parts of an oyster.
South Sea pearls are the largest pearls with the thickest nacre. They are the most precious as they are the most difficult to produce.

The oyster that hosts these pearls is the Pinctada Maxima that lives in the warm, calm, pure blue waters of the South Seas. There are two prerequisites for the production of nacre: an uncontaminated environment that is rich in plankton, and an oyster of considerable size. When conditions are favourable, oysters tend to accept larger nuclei and can be inseminated up to three times.
In addition to a notable size, the Pinctada Maxima oyster endows these pearls with a very thick nacre, a velvety opalescence and an indefinable range of colours. It takes about 24 months for pearls to reach a diameter of 10 to 18 mm. pearls with a diameter of 19-20mm are rarely found. The silver-lipped Pinctada Maxima oyster will almost always produce silver white pearls with pink, grey or green hues, while the gold-lipped type gives rise to yellow or gold gems.

TAHITI PEARLS

Night Fever collection Tahiti pearls diamonds
Bolero collection Tahiti pearl and diamonds
They are cultivated all over French Polynesia or Tahiti.

The original colour of these pearls is very dark. They come in an immense variety of shades that range from dark grey to jet black, including purple and green tones. They are formed in black-lipped oysters known by the name Pinctada Margaritifera and they have a diameter that varies between 9 and 18 mm. Very rarely these pearls can reach a diameter of up to 19mm or even 20mm.
Utopia’s classification criteria for Tahitian pearls are the same as those for South Sea pearls.

AKOYA PEARLS

Aqua collection Freshwater pearls and diamonds
Aqua collection Freshwater pearls and diamonds
Akoya pearls were the first pearls variety to be cultivated commercially in the beginning of the 1900’s In Japan.

Commonly known as Japanese Cultured pearls, Akoya pearls are seawater pearls produced inside the Pinctada Fucata Martensii oyster.
They have a diameter between 2 and 10 mm with a white or cream colour and pinkish tones.
Many of them have, depending on the sides, different colors in shades of grey, black and dark green.

FRESHWATER PEARLS

My song collection with Freshwater pearls and diamonds
My song collection with Freshwater pearls and diamonds
Freshwater pearls are grown In rivers in vast regions of the Far East, mainly in China and Vietnam.

The oyster is called Hyriopsis cumingi, or ” triangle shells”.
Freshwater pearls have a diameter between 3 and 12 mm and have a whitish water colour.
Pearls with salmon pink, violet or aubergine colors are also produced.
In recent decades, the development of freshwater pearl cultivation techniques In China had led to a significant improvement in the quality of this type of pearls, both in terms of shape and luster.