How much does a pearl cost?

Natural pearls, which were extracted from shells of mollusks in India, China, Iran (Persia) and Rome more than forty centuries ago, were used as bargaining chips. Large-sized pearls of the correct form and mother-of-pearl balls of rare and exotic colors were especially appreciated: black, pink, emerald, blue, purple, apricot, purple, aqua. Later, when gold bullions and nuggets became the monetary equivalent, smart jewelers very quickly “adapted” to the changed situation and began to make expensive necklaces, beads, rhinestones, pendants, pendants from pearly seafood.

In some cases, experienced jewelers and suppliers cannot conclusively explain the reason for the difference in price of the same type of natural pearl in different countries. According to experts and marketers, the market price of pearl pearls is formed depending on:

• labor costs for growing shellfish;
• the cost of the metal (gold, silver or platinum) of which jewelry with pearls is made, with the exception of beads, rhinestones and necklaces;
• the distance from the place of growing pearl balls to the point of sale;
• customs fees;
• the cost of maintaining the store and the greed of the seller.

In Russia, jewelry made of sea round pearls without other precious stones costs more than 28 thousand rubles. If the beads are irregular in shape, then you will need to pay about 12-15 thousand rubles for the necklace. A bracelet made of sea pearls with a flat surface costs about 6,000 rubles, a similar jewelry made of uneven pearls is estimated at 3,000 rubles. Freshwater pearl beads and necklaces are half the price.

In the Philippines, natural pearls that have been raised from the bottom of the sea cost between 40,000 pesos ($ 900) per thread. Pearls grown on pearl farms cost from 150 pesos ($ 11).

The price of one natural pearl, which has grown in the waters of the Red Sea, in the Persian Gulf or off the coast of Japan and Sri Lanka, ranges from 1,000 to 10,000 dollars.

The main part of the price of pearl jewelry, if we are not talking about beads, necklaces or bracelets, is the cost of metal - gold, silver or platinum. Often, manufacturers, trying to make a profit at all costs, insert rough or low quality pearls into jewelry made of expensive metal along with emeralds, zircons, diamonds and other natural precious stones.

Dishonest jewelry sellers use fake pearl beads made of plastic coated with metal when advertising and selling a number of professional tricks to manipulate the substitution of concepts:

• lack of a clear classification system for pearls;
• a slight difference in cost compared to natural pearls;
• the use of consonant companies and brands;
• similar in appearance to a well-known brand packaging;
• imperceptible during an external examination, the difference in the quality of the surface treatment of the stone;
• in appearance it is impossible to determine the origin of pearls: sea, river, or grown on special farms;
• price volatility for pearl jewelry: holiday discounts, promotions and sales;
• there is no assay mark on pearls.

The question of whether it is possible to consider a gem that has grown inside a clam of quartz sand in a seawater pool to be a real one is rhetorical.

According to scientific canons, the authenticity of a precious mother-of-pearl stone is determined by the conditions in which it grew:

• if the pearl has grown inside a mollusk at the bottom of the ocean or in an artificial reservoir with sea water - a natural stone;
• if the ball is beautifully colored and mirror-polished plastic, which is coated with pearl varnish on the outside - fake pearls.

Some countries with a long coastline use the trade in pearls (natural and grown in shallow water) as one of the main sources of replenishment of the budget.

In Vietnam, special cultivated pearl farms operate. In special cages in warm shallow water in the ocean, mollusks are bred - pearls.

After 9 months, a ripe pearl about a centimeter in size is removed from the mollusk.

To obtain a color other than natural milky white, the mollusks are settled in special aquariums with sea water, to which copper sulfate, salts of chromium, cobalt, phosphorus, nickel, zinc are added.

In Thailand, in the shallow water heated by the sun, three types of gem “grit” are grown:

• akoya;
• maby;
• South Sea.

Pearls differ in shape, size and color. A pearl ball that has grown from a quartz pellet in Thailand is white, black, pink and golden yellow.

The most popular gift that tourists usually bring home as a souvenir from Nha Trang (Vietnam) is a pearl ball that has grown inside the mollusk. Near the Tyam towers there is a store with inexpensive products made of natural shiny pearl balls.

If the varnish does not fall off the surface of the balls and the hands remain clean, the jewel is natural.

In Fukuoka, there is a pearl processing factory and one of the largest branded jewelry stores in Vietnam that grew inside a mollusk. Factory and shop are located near the local airport, this creates additional amenities for tourists.

The pearl farm and the Hainan Jingrun Pearl Museum of the same name appeared in Hainan (Sanya) in 1997. Employees and scientists at the farm investigated the process of growing pearls from the moment quartz sand gets inside the mollusk until the finished product leaves the conveyor. The company from the first days had an impeccable reputation. People from Southeast Asia and China still come to the store of this company for pearl jewelry. When visiting the museum, the guide talks about how to grow pearls on plantations and the nuances of this process. In the course of the story, a demonstration of the processing of pearl jewels is made.

When buying several items from shiny mother-of-pearl balls, the customer gets a big discount.

In Phuket (Thailand) is one of the largest factories for growing pearls in cages. Thanks to the know-how of producers (high water temperature in shallow water and mineral top dressing), a pearl with a diameter of about a centimeter grows from quartz sand in the body of a mollusk in two years. On this island, two factories are engaged in breeding pearls and making jewelry from them: Phuket Pearl Art Factory and Amorn Pearl Phuket.

Kazakhstan began to cultivate pearls for the first time in 2012 on plantations in the Yesil River Valley (near Astana). For three years, a pearl with a diameter of about 7 millimeters ripens from a shell fragment inside a mollusk. In the Kazakh "pearl harvest" from the plantation there are a lot of balls of dark gray and black color with a dark lilac shine. Specialists explain the rapid maturation of pearl balls and the rare color gamut by the presence of salts, a large amount of molybdenum and radioactive isotopes in the river water.

A natural jewel can very easily be distinguished from a fake one in a few seconds without leaving the seller’s counter. To conduct an "instant examination" you need to bring along a piece of dark suede (black is best). Take the pearl in your hands and several times with effort, hold the ball on a dry piece of suede. If the fabric remains shiny streaks of pearl varnish - fake pearls.

A careful visual inspection in reflected light will also help to identify the fake.

Another sure sign of pearls of man-made origin are chipped and uneven edges of the hole for the thread in a pearl ball.

Natural pearls are much heavier than their plastic imitation; when dropped from a small height, it does not bounce off the surface like a plastic ball.

Imitation mother of pearl from lacquered plastic is dissolved in concentrated acetic acid. If you dampen a cloth or cotton wool in vinegar essence and wipe suspicious items, the pearl varnish will dissolve on the artificial balls and you will see a “bare” plastic ball. A significant drawback of this barbaric verification method is that it will be impossible to wear fake beads or necklaces in case of failure, they will need to be thrown away.

In Russia, a large necklace made of natural sea pearls weighing 250 grams, which a person’s hand did not touch in the process of nucleation and maturation, is estimated at $ 55,000, out of those grown on plantations in the sea - $ 5,500,1100 dollars from grown on plantations in rivers. One raw pearl ball of jewelry quality 10 mm in diameter before processing by a jeweler costs about $ 400.

The cost of one natural pearl, to which the human hand did not touch, in the world market depends on the type and place of extraction. According to data from open sources, the market price for natural mother of pearl was within:

• natural pearls of plantations in the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf - from 1,000 to 10,000 dollars;
• cultured artificial pearls from the same plantations - from 100 to 600 dollars, black pearls - up to 1000 dollars;
• cultured river pearls - from 20 to 100 dollars

Prices in specialized salons and stores with guaranteed authenticity and quality of products for beads, necklaces, necklaces, rhinestones and other mother-of-pearl products (on the eve of the New Year holidays, March Eighth Day, Valentine's Day) and during promotions are significantly lower than market prices. For this reason, it is better to buy pearl jewelry at this time.

Jewelry with pearls is very much appreciated by their owners. There are several reasons for this:

• reasonable price for one bead or string of pearl jewelry;
• stone appearance: gloss, resistance to mechanical damage in case of accidental fall;
• the need to comply with certain conditions during the use of the necklace and the need for periodic special care: washing with soapy water, greasing the surface with grease, polishing with a woolen cloth, which are not particularly difficult.

Read more about pearls, its properties and history, see below.