Freshwater Pearls

Freshwater pearls are defined as the pearls that grow in freshwater mussels in a non-saline environment. The traditional source of the pearls is the salt water mollusks and freshwater mussels that live in the rivers, lakes and ponds produce these pearls. China is the world’s leading producer of the freshwater pearls.

These freshwater water pearls have a great appealing value. Normally speaking, these freshwater pearls are not perfectly round like the saltwater pearls. They come in a wide variety of colors, shapes and forms. These freshwater pearls are less expensive as compared to the salt water pearls. This factor makes it very popular among the designers as well as the young generating wanting beautiful jewelries at reasonable rates. These pearls also are very durable with a solid nacre layer and they possess the characteristics of resisting to wear and tear, degeneration as well as chipping.

The freshwater pearls differ form the other pearls with the fact that most of them are non-nucleated. They are nucleated by making a small slit in the mantle tissue of an old mussel who is about a year old. Then a square piece of mantle is inserted into int. the graft tissue twists slightly upon insertion and the edges are rounded. A freshwater mollusk can bear up to 25 insertions per valve. But normally only 12-16 insertions are performed in common industries that gives you about 24-32 pearls.

The mollusks are then sent back to their freshwater environment where they are tended for about 4-6 years. The pearls outsourced in this way have solid nacre, but they lack the bead nucleus that is responsible to guide the growth process. The shape of these freshwater pearls will be seen perfectly round very rarely.

Lake Biwa is Japan is well known for producing high quality freshwater pearls in the world. It is one of the leading producers of the freshwater pearls.

Just click here to get this Bridal Pearl Matching Set, 925 Silver, 3 Colors for a price of less than $50.00. The lowest priced pearls on the entire worldwide market for pearls at that high quality.

The Big and Large South Sea Pearls

A south sea pearl is one that is produced by a mollusk named as Pinctada maxima. Recently, these pearls are cultured in areas around the Pacific Ocean, Indian Ocean, Myanmar, Philippines, Australia and Indonesia. The south sea pearls are among the largest pearls in the world. The average size is about 13mm and it is available in a range of different sizes, like 9mm to 20mm.

The south sea pearls grow to a much larger size. This fact is associated to different reasons like the larger size of the mollusk in which it grows, the period of time the pearl remains inside the oyster to grow, the size of the bead implanted in to it and the environment of the oyster. As the oyster is of a considerable large size, it can accept a bead of a larger size. This allows the deposition of the nacre layers at a very rapid rate around the nucleus, particularly in the warm water that helps in speeding up the oyster’s metabolism. Also the growth period of the south sea pearls takes a longer time as compared to the other pearls. These pearls are harvested after minimum tow years allowing for a larger size.

The south sea pearls are very unique gemstones having some distinct characteristics that differentiates it form the other pearls. The nacre of the south sea pearl is very thick about 2mm to 6mm in size. They have an unusual satiny luster. This comes from the rapidly deposited nacre and the warm water of the sea in which it is produced. Also these pearls are available in an array of colors including white, golden, silver that are found very rarely in other types of the pearls. You can make wonderful jewelry sets using the south sea pearls.

Just click here to get this 4mm White Pearl and 10mm Rose or Pale Pink Seashell Pearl Necklace for a price of less than $ 30.00. The lowest priced pearls on the entire worldwide market for pearls at that high quality.

Some Interesting facts about the Tahitian pearls

Jewelries made form the Tahitian pearls are no doubt, exotic and expensive as compared to the other pearls. The Tahitian pearl has been holding a highest position in the market since a very long time for numerous reasons. It includes its larger size and incredible color combinations in which it is available to us. The best quality, large and a single Tahitian pearl costs as much as about thousands of dollars. This large sized pearl is available in average sizes ranging form 8mm to 14mm. the largest recorded size of the Tahitian pearls is 26.95. It is available in a range of different colors. These colors include peacock, pistachio, aubergine, and numerous shades of green, black and gray. Even some of them have a metallic appearance.

The black Tahitian pearls on a first glance may appear black with countless black highlight. These highlights picks the color and reflects it back, thus within the black pearl, you will be able to view a rainbow and a spectrum of different colors. Tahitian pearls are formed from the big, black lipped oyster that is known as the Tahitian black pearl oyster. This mollusk is found specifically in the Indo-Pacific Ocean. Tahitian pearls are the cultured pearls. With human assistance, an organic gem is created. The beginning of every pearl is a small piece from the oyster, but once the nacre layer is accomplished, layers after layers keep on forming and thus the pearl is produced in this way.

Tahitian pearls are perfectly round in shape and they feature an amazing luster. This makes the wearer of the Tahitian pearl jewelry stand out even in a crowd. This factor makes the Tahitian pearls rare and increases its value significantly. They are the simply exquisite pearls that make exquisite jewelry.

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Mabe Pearls

Pearls are the unique and unusual gemstones ever found on the Earth. They have such pleasing and special features that attract the attention and create a good impression of the wearer towards on others. There are a variety of pearls found on the earth. In this article, let’s talk about the mabe pearls.

A mabe pearl is a worked blister pearl attached to the shell of the oyster. The appearance of the mabe pearls occur occasionally in nature. The shape of the pearl is hemispherical and the growth of the pearl takes place against the interior of the oyster’s shell rather than growing inside the tissue. They develop on the shell. Then, there are cultures mabe pearls, whose growth is controlled by human interference. In this process a hemispherical nucleus is used instead of a rounder nucleus, and this nucleus is implanted against the oyster’s shell instead of implanting it within its tissues. Thus, the developed pearl takes the shape of the nucleus and hence it is hemisphere in shape.

The size of the mabe pearls depends on the size of the nucleus present in the interior of the mollusk’s shell. The larger the nucleus, larger is the pearl and vice versa.

On an average, the mabe pearls range up to 8mm in size. These are the perfect pearls to be used in the jewelry making. Cultured mabe pearls are frequently used to make different jewelry items like finger rings and ear rings. These beautiful pearls bear a very high luster that increases its demand. Also, on the other hand, the pearls are not as costly as the round pearls. They are much cheaper as compared to the other pearls and are so affordable by most of the people. Hence, we find mabe pearls used extensively to create wonderful and a number of jewelry designs.

Just click here for 12-13 mm Real Pinkish or White Mabe Pearl Free 16in Long Silver Chain to get this for a price of less than $ 30.00. The lowest priced pearls on the entire worldwide market for pearls at that high quality.

Be natural and unique with the Stick Pearls

The stick pearls are also referred to as the “Biwa pearls”. They are the natural, unique and good looking pearls that appear like a stick. The stick pearls are long, narrow and flat. These are natural free shaped pearls that have a rugged surface. You can drill these stick pearls from both the ends. If they are drilled from the flat middle portion of the pearl, then they are termed as center drilled and if they are drilled from the small dimension of the pearl only at one of the ends instead of the center, then they are referred as the top drilled ones. Here are some stick pearls that are drilled form the long dimensions and these are referred as end drilled.

Individual pearl strands of the stick pearls are available. There are about 18- 55 pearls on each strand. Purchase them loosely on the individual strands t a wholesale price and they you can create your own artistic jewelry designs. They are available in cream white, peacock black, mauve, pink, white, lavender and grey colors.

The stick or the Biwa pearls are produced in the Lake Biwa in Japan. The Biwa Pearl Mussel called Hyriopsis schlegelii is has now become very rare, but they were responsible for the formation of Biwa Pearls form an oyster. Its life cycle, included a specific larval stage known as glochidium, this must get attached to the gills or the fins of a fish before it metamorphoses the juvenile clam. And then this leads the formation of the most beautiful and wonderful, the stick pearls.

These pearls are untreated with the natural colors and they possess a superb luster. There surface irregularities are to its minimum and it is one of the good quality pearl. You can make a number of jewelry designs like bracelets, finger rings, necklaces, armlets, tiaras, etc by using these extinct, but extra ordinary stick or the Biwa pearls. You can surely please someone by presenting him with such a wonderful and a mind blowing gift on his very special day.

Just click here Long Stick Pearl Necklace, Length Drilled, 17in Long, 925 Sterling Silver to get this for a price of less than $ 30.00. The lowest priced pearls on the entire worldwide market for pearls at that high quality.

Freshwater Baroque Pearls

Baroque pearls are the pearls that possess an irregular shape. They do not have a defined or a specific shape. The freshwater pearls are many a time baroque as these pearls are generally mantle tissue nucleated rather than bead nucleated. Hence, you will rarely find these pearls having a perfect spherical shape, but instead they will be oval or ovoid.

The Akoya pearls that are commonly known as the cultured saltwater pearls also can be baroque pearls. But here, the baroque shaped of an Akoya pearl is different from the freshwater baroque pearl. This difference is visible due to the fact that Akoya pearls are the bead nucleated pearls having a perfect spherical bead inside it. So, during the process, the harvested Akoya pearl changes into baroque and it has a small tail coming from the sharp point at the back of the round front. In other words, you call it as a tear drop shaped pearl.

The most valuable of all the baroque pearls are the Tahitian pearls as well as the South Sea pearls. No doubt, even these pearls are a variety of the cultured saltwater pearls; the time needed for the pearls to culture dramatically increases the nacre’s depth eventually, and thus increases the chances of producing the baroque pearls. Majority of the Tahitian pearl farm harvests produce for about more than 40% baroque as well as semi baroque pearls.

The South sea cultured baroque pearls are very rare to find than the other pearls. These are the unique gems preferred a lot by the designers and jewelry lovers. They a premium command over the world market for its exotic beauty as well as unparalleled luster. They are generally sold in small pearl lots or individually, but it is very difficult to make full strands out of these pearls.

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The Precious Round Pearls

Round pearls are those categories of pearls that are perfectly round in shape rather than off round or semi round as in potato pearls. These round pearls are available on temporary strands that range n size from 1mm to 9mm. they are available in a range of different hues, including mauve, pink, black, white and cream, you can also process them into all different colors such as golden, chocolate, peacock,and many more.


The shape of the pearls is often found round or spherical. The perfectly round pearls are a very small part of the pearls that are being cultivated. The other shapes of the pearl include round to nearly round, pill shape, coin shape, drops, or completely free forms of shapes. Basically, the pearls are classified into three major categories: spherical, symmetrical and baroque. This shape of the pearls is determined by the oyster growing inside it. It may develop ridges, rings or grooves around the circumference of the pearl and this modifies the shape of the pearl.

The round and the symmetrical pearls are of great value as compared to the other pearls. The reason behind this fact is that the round pearls are found very rarely and are most difficult to grow as compared to the other shapes of the pearls, and thus they procure the highest value in the pearl industry. The production of round pearls is as low as 2% of the entire harvest.

If you want to surprise your loved ones or special ones, you can do this by presenting a pearl necklace made of only the precious round pearls. This will surely please the person to a great extent and you will be able to win his/ her heart easily. The beauty of round pearls is not easy to define. It has a charming beauty, exotic luster and a clear surface with no surface irregularities seen on it.
It is so simple to own one of these beautiful pieces.

Just click here to get this 8-8.5mm AAA Gem Quality Pearl Necklace with white, pink, mauve and black pearls, and finished with a 14k gold clasp for a price of less than $200.00. The lowest priced pearls on the entire wold wide market for pearls at that high quality.

Coin pearls

Pearls are the most valued gemstone and a classic favorite of all the women. It is a status symbol and plays an important role in making you feel different and unique in a crowd. There are a variety of pearls available today in the market. Let us focus on the coin pearl here.

When you hear the name "coin pearl", a visual image appears and allows you to have a brief idea of the appearance of this type of pearls. You probably thought of a coin shaped pearl, you are right!! That is exactly what theis type of pearl looks like. Modern coin pearls, however, also can be in various shapes such as, square, heart, flower, diamond and of course round. The color of the coin pearls ranges from peacock, pink, mauve, gray and black colors. Coin pearls can be drilled both from top to bottom and width wise.

The formation of coin pearls takes place by placing a pearl bead nucleus that is like the shape of a disc in to the mollusk. After a few days later after layers are formed and a thick nacre layer gets formed. Coin pearls are the pearls that never go out of style. They are the most versatile pearls that can either be knotted alone or strung onto the temporary strands or even combined with the Swarovski crystal beads. This will offer a look ranging from casual to formal.

Coin pearls are freshwater pearls and are the best quality pearls that you can buy. The pearl farmers harvest these coin pearls for their fine quality and uniform shape so that they can be placed on to the market for you to buy. The pearls possess an exceptional luster as well as polished quality. Coin pearls, combined with other pearls, give exquisite jewelry pieces more luster brilliance. The flat shaped coin pearls can also be used as spacers in many jewelry sets. Their unusual shapes give rise to a number of unusual jewelries.

It is so simple to own one of these beautiful pieces. Just click here to get this Multi-strands 4 Rows of Coin Pearl Necklace price of less than $190.00. Or click here to buy coin pearls in all kinds of shapes.

Auction: Sleepless Day

**Auction CLOSED, Thank You!**

Hi guys!! How are we all???

As you can probably tell, I'm on a roll with my jewellery making- I absoloutely love this newfound freedom that holidays bring. And with great leisure comes great creations, so here is another lovely piece of eye-candy.

Feast your eyes on this painstakingly cruel to make yet altogether worthwhile necklace of magic- Sleepless Day (which is sort of a paradox in itself), which incorporates semi-precious blue quartz chips with swarovski crystals, glass pearls and acrylic beads, finally ending off in a silvery waterfall of elegant tassles.



It's another TRJ auction, so you know the rules!

  1. Starting bid at $20
  2. Minimum increment of $1 per bid
  3. All prices are in AUD
  4. Closing date: Tuesday the 23rd of September


To bid, leave a comment at the end of this post in the following format:
Bid: $___
Email address:


Note: Bids without email addresses will not be taken into consideration.

And off we go! Haaaaave fun :)

Nugget Pearls

Nugget pearls are also referred to as Baroque Pearls. They are available to you in a number of organic shapes that are not regular or even. The most peculiar feature of the nugget pearls is that they have an inconsistant shape. This makes the pearl look amazing and they give an artistic look when you wear them. They are irregular because they are not made artificially round, this is the way the pearl is made naturally. But the fact is that, the nacre pools out in some areas, whereas it loosens out in other, all naturally made by the oyster that created this modern shape of pearl.

Nugget pearls range in size from 3mm to 13mm. They are AA+ grade quality and are available to you in more than twenty colors!! These pearls have a number of interesting features that make it a favorite of most women who buy from us. They have lots of interesting surfaces that makes it unique and different form the other pearls that may be considered more traditional.


Their asymmetric nature makes the nugget pearls unique and of good quality having one side relatively flat. The jewelry designers usually prefer this type of pearls as they are non uniform that allows them to try a number of design combinations with them.

Nugget pearls are not the classic type of pearls. These are not your mother's pearls!! Make them your own!! They are fashion forward giving you the most current look and thus, you can receive great reviews or compliments from others while wearing them. You will feel confident wearing the nugget pearls as it possesses thrilling luster, workmanship as well as the exotic beauty of a natural freshwater gem. It will be a fabulous addition to your jewelry collection. Use them to make a bracelet, necklace or a set of earrings, no matter what they will look stunning.

It is so simple to own one of these beautiful pieces. Just click here to get this Large 11-12mm Length Drilled Baroque Pearl Strand price of less than $30.00. It's a limited time offer.

The moment everyone's been waiting for... and the winner of the TRJ competition 'My Favourite Things' goes to...

"My favourite piece of jewellery is 'The Nutcracker Ballet' because it remids me of my younger days as a ballerina, and now I've been incredulously labelled the 'tomboy' of the class. What a far jump!"

Congratulations, Zoe! You have won for yourself the Midnight Magic bracelet. Thank you to all participants, do look out for the next TRJ competition coming out soon!

More pretty jewellery has been added to the website after a long period of dormancy in The Red Jewel... and this new collection is titled 'The Old Treasure Box', which reminds us of the joy of unearthing long-forgotten items of significant value from the past and relishing in these discoveries. I hope you'll like them!



In addition, check out the cool new membership scheme that has recently replaced the old mailing list benefits. I keep track of all TRJ customer expenditure, and in a nutshell, there are 3 levels of membership that TRJ customers can attain: basic, gold and platinum (in increasing order of merit). Gold members (who have accumulated a minimum of AUD$100 credit) and Platinum members (who have accumulated a minimum of AUD$200 credit) have been contacted by email already. To check your accumulated credit so far, just drop me an email!

Otherwise... happy browsing! Have a good week everyone.

Freshwater Potato Pearls

These freshwater potato pearls are timeless and will never go out of style. As you can tell by their name, the potato pearl has the same shape of a potato. compared to rice pearls, teh potato pearl is considerable more round with a higher luster.They are uniform and even in size. These pearls can be drilled from top to bottom or width wise.

Potato pearls are similarly sized between the length and the width, so usually sizes are given as a single range i.e. from 5-6mm )as are round pearls). These potato shaped pearls are just like its name like a potato having relatively a regular shape. Sometimes, they are also referred to as “semi-round pearls”. They are normally side drilled and do not have any hard edges or a flat side, which is quite different from a baroque pearl.

They range in shape from round to elliptical with a lumpy appearance resembling to that of a potato. Potato pearls are available in a range of different colors ranging form white, gray, pinking, golden brown, peacock and metallic colors, etc. the pearls are strung on loose temporary strands. You can buy these stands at wholesale prices and convert them into unique and creative pieces of art to wear! It's up to you what you want to create out of them!

Potato pearls have a smooth texture with a very small amount of banding. There are line stripings across the pearl. These pearls are highly lustrous. If the pearls are undrilled, they measure up to 6-6.5 mm in length; whereas if they are drilled, the length measures up to 6mm. You will occasionally find a pearl with a small dimple in the surface or with a dye mark, but otherwise most of the potato pearls have a uniform color and shape.

It is so simple to own one of these beautiful pieces. Just click here to get this Limited Time - White, Pink, Lavender and Black Round 6-7mm Real Pearl Necklace and Earrings Set of 2, All in 925 Sterling Silver price of less than $30.00. It's a limited time offer.

Freshwater Coin Pearls

The coin pearls have gained a lot of popularity during the last years. When they first came in to existence, they were the most expensive of all the pearls, but now the picture has changed. These pearls are available at a reasonable price for all the consumers. The formation of coin pearls takes place by plying a disc shaped pearl bead nucleus into a mollusk rather than the round bead nucleus. This nucleus is generally made from the natural shell material like the mother of pearls.

The coin pearls derived their name after the coin because its appearance resembled exactly to that of a dime or a nickel. Today, these coin pearls are available in various forms, colors and shapes. They are available in square, rectangular and round shapes and range in colors form white, cream, pink, black to peacock colors. They may be either drilled centrally or on the either sides.

The real coin pearls are generally flat, shaped like a coin that features the best, perfect quality. The pearls farmers harvest the highest quality, uniform and even shaped pearls in the farm and collect them in sets. These sets are used for a number of different jewelry pieces like bracelets, necklaces, ear rings, etc. the coin pearls are sized by diameter. You will get the average diameter for the coin pearl by a single number. Its diameter ranges from 10 mm to 11mm.

They possess an exceptional luster as well as polishing qualities that make it a favorite choice of most of the youngsters today. These pearls have a look that never goes out of fashion, nor do they become outdated. The versatile pearls beads can be strung and knotted either individually or with a combination of Swarovski crystals which will offer a look to you from casual to formal.

It is so simple to own one of these beautiful pieces. Just click here to get this Teardrop Shaped White or Black 12X14mm Coin Pearl Strand price of less than $30.00. It's a limited time offer.

 
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