Ever wonder what made pearl jewelry so special? What the difference was between real and fake pearls? Why does it cost a lot for real pearl jewelry? I will try to give you a brief explanation in the following paragraphs.

First off pearls come from oysters commonly found in the ocean. The oyster lays layers of different chemical compounds to form the precious stone. The compound is calcium carbonate and conchiolin which combined together makes mother-of-pearl.

Most pearls are white but can be tinted with a vast array of colors to give them a unique and colorful look. Some of the more common colors are blue, yellow, brown, green and purple along with a few others. The rarest of colors is black. Black pearls are much harder to come by due to manufacturing processes. The process that black pearls are subject too has a small percentage rate that actually make it through the process, due to rejecting the nucleus.

Most people believe that pearls only come from saltwater but that is not true. There are two types of pearls; saltwater and freshwater pearls. The majority of pearls come from the ocean in protected lagoons across the world. There are pearls that come from freshwater mussels that live in rivers, lakes and ponds.

The bulk of freshwater pearls today mainly come from China and a few other remote regions.

If you are wondering how to tell a real pearl from a fake pearl apart it is quite simple. The simplest of methods is running your teeth along the pearl, if it is smooth it is more than likely fake. If it has a unique roughness to it that makes your teeth grit it is more than likely real. If you attempting to decipher natural pearls from cultured pearls you will more than likely require a specialist with advanced machinery.

When searching for pearl jewelry buying fake pearl is probably your best bet. It looks usually about the same and costs a lot less! There are many sites on the internet that specialize in pearl jewelry in a vast array of colors, just keep your eyes open. Find the right pearl for you!