Cultured pearls are not just a cheap option for costume jewelry designers, in fact there are investment quality pieces that are worthy of a bank vault. These are mostly the top grade South Sea golden and silver pearls as well as the Tahitian black pearls. Some of the most expensive pieces of jewelry that are created today are in effect silver pearl rings set in platinum with diamond accents by Mikimoto, Japan. However it’s not essential for you to spend $10,000 for a single ring to have an investment quality item. There are items that cost between $800 and $3,000 that are good enough quality to merit investing in.
What’s so special about the silver and golden South Sea pearls that makes them worthy of investing in even if they’re cultured?
Pearls from the south sea simply grow larger that n akoya or freshwater varieties, up to about 20mm around, because they come from larger mollusks / pearl oysters. Although they’re grown on farms, grafted initially by technicians who implant a seed, then cared for in their beds, and later harvested, it all takes place in the region that is their natural habitat – the South Seas that stretch from southern China to northern Australia. The quality of the harvested pearls are varied, but the best ones have the thickest nacre, or pearl coating, which by the way is the natural reaction that oysters have to protect themselves from an irritant.
We’re not talking about pearls coated with enamel or polished items made in a factory but a natural phenomenon that occurs in the wild, just that man helps by starting the process more frequently, then keeping the beds of oysters healthy and happy until harvesting them. It’s not a simple process and high quality peals still fetch a hefty price. Even in pearl farms, there’s no sure way to guarantee that each and every pearl be top grade, for every perfect pearl there are a lot of ones that have a slight flaw, or aren’t quite smooth or have a less than adequate nacre thickness. Only the best of the best make it to high-end jewelers to be set gold or platinum and become silver pearl rings.