Pearl - Birthstone for June
Pearls
One of the few gemstones produced by a living creature, the Oyster or Mussel.
Pearl is the Birthstone for June as well as Moonstone and Alexandrite.
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Stunning beehive drop shaped white Burmese pearl, 12x14mm, $220. |
Silver white round Burmese Pearl, 9mm, $140. |
White Burmese Pearl Pair, 8mm round, $180 pair. |
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Grey purple round Burmese pearl, $280, 12mm. |
Silver blue round Myanmar Pearl, $125, 9mm. |
Round button silver blue 9mm freshwater pearl pair. |
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Oval drop Golden Myanmar Pearl $280, 12x10mm. |
Large 11mm Golden Round Myanmar Pearl Pair, $320 each |
Round Gold Myanmar Pearl, 8mm, $180 Pair. |
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Round light gold Myanmar pearls 6mm, $100 pair. |
Australian beehive south sea golden pearls, $100 each, 12mm. |
Baroque golden pearl strands in baroque shapes. |
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Round white button pearl 5mm pair. |
Round button white Pearl pair 9mm. |
Pink round button pearl pair, 7mm. |
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Assorted white round pearl strands, 2mm seed pearl to 11mm. |
Assorted baroque shaped white pearl strands, from 3mm keishi, oval, coin, oval, stick and 11mm oval. |
White stick baroque pearl strands. |
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Silver round pearl strands in assorted sizes, 7mm to 11mm. |
Assorted baroque silver, grey and black pearl strands, keishi and ovals. |
Large square Baroque white pearls. |
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Pale peach / apricot round pearl strands in assorted sizes from 2mm seed to 11mm. |
Pink and creamy pearl round and oval strands , 7mm to 11mm. |
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Cultured Pearls - Most Pearls on the market are cultured Pearls, this means grown with assistance from humans.
Natural Pearls - There are few Natural Pearl sources left due to overfishing and pollution.
Imitation Pearls are made with a coating on plastic or glass beads.
Colour can be an influence from the Oyster they are grown in and minerals in the area where they are grown but is most often they are dyed.
Most Pearls are grown in China. I bought many of my pearls while I lived in Bangladesh - which historically did have natural pearls.
Caring for Pearls - Avoid exposing Pearls to chemicals such as perfume and remove for swimming and bathing. Clean using a soft damp cloth. Strung Pearls tend to have knots between them to stop you losing the whole strand if they break.
Pearls are soft, they have a hardness of 2 1/2 to 4. This means they can be scratched by metal.
The lustre of the pearl is caused by the fine layers of nacre reflecting the light. The most valuable pearls show the best iridescence of colour and shine and have few surface blemishes.
Baroque Pearls are Pearls that are not smooth and are unusual shapes. These are some of my favourites as they are all beautiful and unique.
Seed pearls are tiny pearls - 2mm.
Keishi pearls are slightly bigger - 3-4mm and are generally rice / oval shaped.
You can find out more about the June birthstones on the GIA website (Gemological Association of America)
For specific info on Pearls click here.
You can see all the variations of Pearls I have in my shop by selecting the Pearl filter.
