How is the cost of pearl jewelry determined?

The price of a piece of pearl jewelry is determined in accordance with the value of the pearls that make up the piece. The priciest pearls are natural pearls. Pearl jewelry with natural pearls can sell for millions of dollars. Due to the extreme rarity of these pearls, they are usually reserved for collectors of precious pearl jewelry. Currently, cultured pearls are the type of pearls we see most often in jewelry shops worldwide. Cultured pearls are made artificially, when a bead is placed inside an oyster that produces a coating of protein and minerals. Cultured pearls can be divided into 4 groups according to value, with the first being the most expensive and the last being the least expensive: South Sea pearls, Tahitian pearls, Akoya pearls, and Freshwater pearls. There are additional varieties of pearls, but these four groups are the main kinds of pearls on the jewelry market at the moment. South Sea pearls are currently the most expensive variety of cultured pearls. These pearls are grown in the gold and silver lipped oysters known as Pinctada maxima found mainly in Australia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. South Sea pearls are available in the colors cream, gold, silver, and white. These pearls can come to be as big as over twenty mm. Tahitian pearls are not quite as expensive as South Sea pearls but they are still considered pretty pricey. Tahitian pearls are cultivated in the black lipped oysters known as margaritifera, which can be found in French Polynesia. These oysters are also grown on other islands. However, Tahitian pearls that are not cultivated in French Polynesia are called black South Sea pearls. Akoya pearls are still less expensive than Tahitian pearls. They are produced in akoya pearl oysters, found mainly in Australia, China, Japan, South Korea, and Vietnam. Freshwater pearls are the most affordable cultured pearls out there. These pearls have been produced in Japan from the 1920s. Nowadays, freshwater pearls are produced mainly in China. Freshwater pearls are grown in freshwater mussels (hence the name), known as the triangle shell, Biwa pearly mussel, and the cockscomb.

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