Cultured pearls are formed by the joint efforts of Man and Mollusk, as opposed to a natural pearl. A cultured pearl is made of the same substance and formed in a manner similar to a natural pearl, but a cultured pearl is induced to be produced by Man. Saltwater cultured pearls have a small shell bead inside, natural pearls usually start with the remains of a little drill worm.

A cultured pearl must not be confused with a fake or artificial pearl (like Spain's "Mallorca" or "Majorica" pearls). Artificial, fake or faux pearls are usually produced in factories (not inside oysters) and made of different man-made materials such as plastic, glass, resins and paints.

Cultured pearls are grown within many different species of pearly oysters and mussels, so it can -sometimes- get a little confusing for many people to distinguish among the many varieties of pearls available nowadays. On this guide we will not spend time on discussing all the possible varieties , instead we will focus solely on cultured pearls of Marine or Saltwater origin:

1. Cultured or Nucleated Pearls
2. Mabe (half-) Pearls
3. Keshi Pearls
4. 3/4 Pearls

<<Previous

Next>>