South Sea Cultured Pearls are grown in the Pinctada Maxima, one of the largest known pearl mussels. This tropical mussel, found in the sea off the north shore of Australia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Myanmar, produces precious cultured pearls in sizes from 8 – 20 mm.
The most precious and rarest pearls come from Australia, produced in the White Lip Oysters (white to light silver colored pearls) and the Philippines, where the Golden Lip Oysters produce the golden colored pearls.
Tahiti Cultured Pearls are grown in the sea around the archipelago of Tahiti, cultivated in the
black lipped oyster called Pinctada Margaritifera, in sizes from 8 - 20 mm and known for their amazing colour range, from light silver grey to the precious greenish black peacock colors.
An amazing variety of qualities, shapes and colors.
Today, most of them are grown in China in oysters called Hyriopsis Cumingi.
Sizes are mostly from 6 to 13 mm in an almost unlimited variety of shapes and fine pastel colors including white, pink, purple, orange and salmon.
Almost all freshwater cultured pearls are without a nucleus. Up to 40 pearls per oyster can be cultivated which explains their rather inexpensive price levels.
The classical Japanese cultured pearl is the first kind of pearl to be cultivated and still very much in demand.
Today, high quality Akoya cultured pearls are rare and therefore comparatively expensive.
They grow in the bays of southern Japan; their oysters are called Pinctada Martensii. Today they are available in sizes from 6 to 10 mm in fine white colours with a pink or greenish overtone to various cream-white and champagne or even light grey shades.
All prices are in USD