Tuk a Look!

There is a distinct Oriental theme cruising around Knightsbridge, London.
Tuk-tuks (motorised rickshaw) and Freshwater Pearls…they are everywhere!
Our Pearl Team happened to be walking down Basil Street the other day when The Capital Tuk-Tuk cruised by. Freshly decorated to raise money for the ‘Elephant Family’ Foundation, the tuk-tuk will be giving lifts to The Capital clients, before being raced by a celebrity across India.
The other ‘oriental’ theme this week was Freshwater Pearls, and as it is The Pearl Month, our Pearl Company thought we would share our knowledge on this ‘pearl family’.

The first point to know about cultured Freshwater Pearls is that they are created by mussels, which can make around 70-100 pearls in their lifetime!

Unlike cultured oyster pearls, freshwater pearls do not have a bead as a nucleus. The pearl production of nacre is triggered by the insertion of a piece of mantle tissue that contains epithelial cells from a donor mussel; the graft forms a pearl sac which in turn starts the nacre production, which slowly produces a beautiful freshwater pearl.

When it comes to the size of a freshwater pearl, this is purely determined by the amount of time that the pearl has spent in the water; the longer they stay in the water the bigger the pearl will become.

Freshwater pearls come in 2 natural colours, white and pink. To achieve dove grey and peacock black freshwater pearl colours, the technician treats the pearls, in a similar process to developing an old fashioned photograph. You can find freshwater pearls in copper, bright green and yellow, these pearls will have been dyed.

Fancy some freshwater pearls of your own? Call into our Pearl Showroom, located at 42 Beauchamp Place, London, SW3 1NX, to discover a treasure trove of freshwater pearl jewellery.

Need another incentive to visit?…thought not!