freshwater pearls

Freshwater pearls are getting more and more popular these days, for their huge selections of different shapes and colors from traditional round pearls to coin shape or cornflake shape. Even teenage girls are wearing their cranberry or olive colored dangling pearl earrings, made of freshwater pearls for a girls night out these days, not to mention young women or accomplished executives with their profession outfit, as anybody can see from Rihanna  to Hillary Duff to Michelle Obama.

freshwater pearl jewelry

In fact, many years and centuries ago Native Americans along the coastal areas of the Atlantic and in the Mississippi River Basin were among the first people to collect and use freshwater mussel pearls and shells. Both men and women wore pendants made of pearls in their ears and around their necks. They also used these freshwater pearls to decorate pieces of clothing.

We know how regal pearl jewelry looks so it comes as no surprise that pearls were also used as a form of tribute. It is thought that Powhattan who was the father of the famous Indian maiden Pocohontas had large stores of pearls which he had received as tributes. Apparently the very first freshwater pearl in America was discovered in 1857 when a man had collected mussels for his dinner along the Notch Brook River in New Jersey. He not only had a delicious dinner but discovered a 26-gram pearl as well.

Natural freshwater pearls are almost never completely round but come in various shapes such as baroque, slugs or wings to name a few. However, due to technology advancement nowadays,freshwater pearls are noted for their variety of lovely colors and their luster. They can be found in white, silvery white, pink, salmon, red, copper, bronze, brown, lavender, purple, green, blue, cream and yellow. Of all of these colors the white is the most common however the most desirable are pastel pinks, roses, lavenders and purples, especially when it comes to show each individual’s uniqueness and tast in style, these might be the colors you are most likely go for.

The difference in colors comes from the function of the mussel species, genetics, water quality and the position of the pearl in the shell. Basically the pearl will assume the color of the shell in which it forms. Problems can arise when putting together matched strands because of the many varieties of pastel colors, therefore sometimes it is difficult to get the color exactly  the same from one batch to another.

When the shape of the freshwater pearl is a baroque one it can come in different forms such as nuggets, dogtooth, wings, rosebuds and others. They have become popular in making rings, earrings, and pendants for their very own individulistic and uniqueness. The freshwater shell and pearl mussels come from the family Unionidae from which around twenty different species are commercially harvested.

From April to September is the peak commercial fishing in rivers, streams and lakes in the Eastern, Southern and Central U.S. There are nearly 300 kinds of freshwater mussel varieties most of them making their homes in the vast watershed of the Mississippi River. Onwards to freshwater pearl manufacturers and thus in the making of wonderful pearl jewels. For young generations whose families own pearl farms, instead following their parents’ model and exhibiting in the trade shows only, the young generations just brought their parents’ freshwater pearl farms online and sell them directly to consumers from world wide web. Therefore it has brought about more choices and wider selections for freshwater pearls and pearl jewelry, as well as the lower wholesale prices for consumers, as it has been demonstrated by website like orientalpearls.net that wholesales freshwater pearls directly on line. Just like in a pearl farm or a manufacturing unit, customers can not only specify the color and unique design they want for pearls jewelry, but also customers can have pearls drilled in larger hole sizes when they buy loose pearls and strands to make their own jewelry, in fact get pearls drilled in anyway that customers want.

freshwater pearls