Long Jewelers

Unique Among Gems
The pearl is unique among all other gemstones in the world. It is the only gem that is grown inside a living organism.

Cultured pearls are real, genuine pearls that are formed inside a living oyster with human intervention. When a nucleus is surgically implanted in the oyster's flesh, the oyster recognizes it as an irritant and begins to coat it with smooth layers of nacre. Over time, the growing pearls gets completely covered with the beautiful iridescent substance we call nacre, or mother-of-pearl. All pearls sold today are cultured pearls, with the exception of vintage estate jewelry and heirloom pieces that are more than 80 years old.

Freshwater pearls, are not as roung as cultured pearls, and they do not have the same sharp luster and shine as akoya pearls. However, they appear in a wide varity and shapes and natural colors, and they tend to less expensive than cultured pearls, making them very popular with younger people and designers. Also, because freshwater pearls are solid nacre, they are also quite durable, resisting chipping, wear and degeneration.

Natural pearls, on the other hand, are formed naturally by free-range "wild" oysters living at sea - without any encouragement from humans. When a natural irritant, such as a fragment of shell, a scale, or a parasite, becomes lodged inside an oyster or mollusk, it gets coated with layer upon layer of nacre inside the oyster. Grains of sand do not form pearls, contrary to popular belief - if sand were enough of an irritant, our ocean floors would be littered with millions of natural pearls! Natural pearls are actually very rare, especially since most pearl-producing species of mollusks were nearly hunted to extinction in the 1800's. Nowadays, the only pearls on the market are cultured; natural pearls can only be found on display in a museum or in antique jewelry. (Bahrain is the only country in the world where pearl divers still search for natural pearls on the ocean floor, but these novelty pearls account for less than one percent of the pearl industry).