The Collection of Pearls

This is one of those beautiful, natural elements that has stood the test of time.  Royalty has worn pearls for centuries and many beautiful strands of pearls have been passed down through family generations.  The collection that you will experience here is a slight departure from the traditional pearl necklace, bracelet, or earring.  Both exotic and classic pieces have been created using a variety of different types of pearls and techniques. 

Essentially, pearls are a tight, round, hard ball like structure created in the soft tissue of a shelled living mollusk such as a clam, oyster, or mussel.  When a tiny particle gets trapped and irritates the soft tissue of this creature,  it starts to protect itself by covering the that tiny particle with layers of nacre, which is the material the mollusk's shell-generating organ produces.  Eventually, a round, smooth, hard ball is formed and is able to be harvested.  A cultured pearl is formed basically the same way, except for the fact that a small particle is insterted into the soft tissue of the mollusk manually.  Both processes yield beautiful pearls.  Ast their names suggest, saltwater pearls are grown in saltwater (and in oysters) and freshwater pearls are grown in freshwater (and by mollusks other than oysters).  Both types of pearls are equally desireable.  These days, many freshwater pearls are dyed to produce fantastic colors and they also come in a variety of shapes.

 Each product description goes into a little more detail about the types of pearls used.  All pearls have been individually selected for the piece and skillfully intregreated by hand by a very talented artisan.