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1. A cultured pearl will have an irritant added to the mollusk by a human. This process mimics the natural pearl creation process. Rather than a natural irritant such as a grain of sand or a parasite entering, we will use a piece of tissue and/or a nucleus.
2. Mollusks can be reused a few times depending on the type, but each time they are reused, the chances of a successful culturing decrease. To get an above average sized pearl such as a 11mm Tahitian, 9mm Akoya, or a 14mm golden South Sea pearl, you must have a strong mollusk that the farmer has used previously to culture a pearl. Each time you reuse a mollusk, the chances of a successful culturing decreases as the mollusk becomes weaker. The result of many of these 2nd or 3rd generation culturings are pearls with low levels of nacre translating to low color and luster.
3. You need time and patience to culture a beautiful pearl, and even with time and patience, you will most likely not get a “perfect” pearl!!! The size of a saltwater and freshwater nucleated pearl is aided by a nucleus but more importantly, size should come from the coatings of nacre. To get nacre, you need to give the mollusk time to produce it, and the longer the mollusk is in the water, the higher the likelihood that the pearl will be off- round and have blemishes.
In- addition, the nacre will give the pearl it’s species specific characteristics such as color, orient, and weight, which make the pearl more valuable. When we look at pearls, we place a higher value on these characteristics, and in our opinion, color, luster, and weight are many times better than shape. As we have moved out of the time where pearls were all considered white and round and moved in to different types of pearls with different sets of characteristics, a bigger emphasis is being placed on luster vs. shape. This brings back in to focus what makes the pearl special. It is definitely not the shape, but more so the colors and the luster. However, with a greater emphasis on luster and color, greater emphasis must be placed on nacre and time- which brings us to blemishes.
The longer the mollusk is in the water, the higher the likelihood of blemishes being present in your harvested pearls. Do blemishes mean bad pearls? I do not think so. In fact, I feel minor blemishes actually help add to the “realness” of your pearls and show that their “imperfections” help define their naturalness. Of course, the most valuable pearls in the world are blemish free perfect round pearls, but is it realistic to expect millions of pearls to come blemish free and perfectly round? If we are looking at shell or glass pearls, it is realistic, but since we are talking about real pearls, it is not even close! We do not cut pearls down from a piece of rough to make them as clean as possible, we are subject to what Nature brings us in the harvest. Minor blemishes happen at every farm no matter how strong your farm practice is. To put it another way, if you are looking at a strand of 15mm semi- baroque natural golden South Sea pearls with minor blemishes and high luster and deep golden color with red undertones at an amazing price, would you say no because it has some blemishes? I would not! The overall factor in determining your pearls value not only depends on color, weight, and luster, but also how much you as the wearer likes the pearl and a few blemishes, so long as it does not cause the pearl to be chalky or dull, should not deter you from buying a pearl.
4. Weight is extremely important in determining not only the value, but also in determining the authenticity of your gem. When purchased from the farms, pearls are usually purchased by the gram or “momme,” which is a Japanese weight measurement. You see us pick up pearls and roll them and feel the texture, but one of the other reasons we go through this practice is to feel the weight. A lot of the behind the scenes work with pearls is based on touch and feel, and the weight of a pearl makes up a big part of that. In- fact, the weight of a pearl can tell you a lot about what you are purchasing. For me, this is a telltale sign for me to determine if a pearl is natural or treated. When the weight is light compared to the size of a pearl, this will tell me that the levels of nacre are not appropriate for the pearl to have a high luster or a deep color, meaning it has been enhanced or treated.
Kwan Collections 
Thanks, Nick. What a relief to stumble upon your blog here. I have purchased many pearls from you via ShopNBC and was concerned when I noticed Far East Market does not appear in the drop down menu under the Jewelry section on the home page. There were also so many close out prices, I feared you might be leaving the network. That would be tragic for me. I just purchased two golden and one tahitian charm and they are all spectacular. I also just received the tiny white pearl strand with the single tahitian and wear that every day. The pearl on mine is so beautiful that every time I pass a mirror, I’m not checking me out, I’m looking at that amazing pearl. With much gratitude and appreciation. Jewelmuse
Thanks for this information. I too was worried as I couldn’t find you listed on NBC jewelry list. Are you renaming the baroque and white pearls company? Are you having carved pearls?
Shop NBC runs our shows under different names many times. So, lately if it is not under Far East Market, Prestige Pearl, or Exotic Pearls, they will run concept shows like Destination Australia or Free-Form Pearl Jewelry. I try my best to keep it all updated our Facebook page! http://WWW.facebook.com/kwancollectionsgems
color, weight, and luster I understand I feel but what is ORIENT?
Hi Marlene: Orient refers to the colors, other than the body color, that reflect off the pearl. Many compare good orient to an oil slick, which will throw off greens, blues, purples, pinks, silvers, golds, when seen in certain lights. One of the reasons I love to collect tahitians is that even though most all have a similar body color, each one has a different orient which makes each pearl uniquely lovely and intriguing. Different types of pearls have different ratings/expectations for orient. Nick could speak about that very expertly. I personally prize strong luster and orient above size, shape and smoothness of skin.
THANKS FOR INFORMING ME ABOUT “ORIENT.” I DO FAVOR THE “OIL SLICK” COLORS ON OR IN THE BLACK TAHITIAN PEARL. YES, THEY ARE INTRIGUING AND “SPECIAL” IN MY LIFE AS WELL. I HAVE BEEN INTERESTED IN DIFFERENT SHAPES AS I HAVE THE ROUND OR NEAR ROUND ONES WITH (INDICATIONS THAT THEY ARE REAL AND NOT GLASS) I FEEL THAT IS THE “PERSOANLITY” OF THE PEARL. (EACH ONE DIFFERENT) NOT JUST CUT GLASS. I’LL HAVE TO ADMIT I LIKE SIZE AND COLOR AND I DON’T MIND UNSUAL SHAPES. THE FREE FORM IS SUCH AN “ART FORM” AND A TOPIC OF CONVERSATON TO TEACH ABOUT PEARLS TO OTHERS. “PEARLS IN MY LIFE” HAS BEEN MY LIFE’S THEME. LOOKING FORWARD TO MY NEXT ORDER WITH ROZ AND NICK.THANK YOU FOR THIS ARTICLE TO TEACH US. MHW