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"Revealed: Tips To Buy
Pearls ..."
The
Key To Buying Pearls Online Starts With Knowing The Tips!
In this
article I am going to give you the tips to buy pearls which include
general knowledge on pearls, how to grade the pearls and how to care
for your pearls, I also provide a worksheet for you to grade your
pearls.
Tips
to buy pearls (General
knowledge on pearls)
- Only
two types of pearls are
found in the market. Cultured or imitation. Natural pearls are
hard to come by. Cultured pearls may come from freshwater
(mostly from China) or saltwater. Imitation pearls are just costume
jewelry.
- Round
and near round pearls are
highly valued.
- Above
average size of its type
(that is freshwater, Akoya, South Sea, or Tahitian) will be more
expensive.
- Always
inspect the pearls under
a daylight equivalent fluorescent light source.Use a neutral gray pearl
board, remove brightly colored objects from the area.
- Roll
the strand of pearls
backward towards youself, if it blinks, the nacre of the pearl is too
thin, and may crack anytime.
- Flawless
and identical pearls
are probably fake.
- Dyeing,
irradiating and coating
are considered treatments.
- Dyeing
alters the basic pearl color.
Examining under magnification and with a strong light source,
color concentrations from the dye might appear in surface depressions,
or around the drill-hole.
- Irradiation
permanently alters the pearl's
color - colors become very intense, and metallic-like.
- Coating
enhance the luster of pearls -
under magnification might reveal coating material unevenly deposited in
surface depressions; and the surface might feel too smooth to the touch.
Tips to buy pearls
(How to grade the pearls)
The
seven factors (under GIA pearl grading system) that affect the
value of pearls are:
Size is
measured in millimeters.
Shape-
Spherical, symmetrical and baroque.
Color - Pearl
color has three main components:
bodycolor, overtone, and orient.Bodycolor
is the overall color of the
pearl.Overtone
refers to one or more
noticeable translucent colors that ovelie the bodycolor.
Orient is a form form of iridescence that appears to
be on or just below the surface.
Luster - is
the light reflected from
the surface of the pearl.
Surface quality
- is judged by the size, number, location,
visibility and types of blemishes. Few pearls are completely
blemish free.
Nacre quality
- if the nucleus is visible, the nacre is
too thin. A chalky appearance might result from thin nacre or
poor nacre layering.
Matching describles
the uniformity of pearls in jewelry.
It is not a true pearl quality factor, but it does impact value and
depends on the consistency of the other six factors.
You
can use the
following worksheet to grade the pearls you like.... just
check against the yellow boxes below.
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PEARL TYPE |
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FRESHWATER |
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AKOYA |
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SOUTH
SEA |
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TAHITIAN |
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SIZE |
(TO
THE NEAREST 0.5MM) |
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SHAPE |
ROUND |
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NEAR
ROUND |
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OVAL |
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BUTTON |
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DROP |
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SEMI-BAROQUE |
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BAROQUE |
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COLOR |
BODY
COLOR |
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OVERTONE |
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ORIENT |
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YES |
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NO |
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EVIDENCE
OF TREATMENT |
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YES |
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NO |
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NOT
SURE |
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LUSTER |
EXCELLENT |
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GOOD |
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FAIR |
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POOR |
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SURFACE QUALITY |
CLEAN |
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LIGHTLY
BLEMISHED |
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MODERATELY
BLEMISHED |
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HEAVILY
BLEMISHED |
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TYPE OF BLEMISH |
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ABRASION |
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BUMP |
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CHIP |
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CRACK |
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FLAT |
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GAP |
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PIT |
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SCRATCH |
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SPOT |
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WRINKLE |
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NACRE QUALITY |
ACCEPTABLE |
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UNACCEPTABLE |
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MATCHING |
EXCELLENT |
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NOT APPLICABLE
TO |
GOOD |
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SINGLE PEARL |
FAIR |
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Tips to buy pearls (How to care for your
pearls)
- Last item to put on; but the
first item to take out when wearing your pearls.
- Not to keep your pearls with other
jewelry; as the hardness of pearls are very low (3.5 to 4 on Moh
scale), the surface of pearl may be scratched by other jewelry if you
keep them together.
- Not to wear them when you are in the
kitchen. The smoke and oil may enter from the surface of the pearls and
turn them yellow in no time.
- Not
to wash them in
hotwater or tap water. The internal structure of
pearls
(mainly CaCo3) may be affected in hot water. Tap water has a
lot
of chlorine which is harmful to pearls.
- Dont keep them in safe and seal them
with airtight bag or box. (pearls contain 2% of water, you must air
them so that the water content will always be refresh.)
- Not
to touch its surface too frequently, you may scratch them
unintentionally.
- Tie a knot
between each pearl and change the string once in every three years. So
that if the string gave way, you will only lose one and not
all your pearls.
- Never ultrasonic or steam-clean pearls
or use toothpaste to wash them.
- keep them in a small jewelry bag when
not in use.
- Clean pearls regularly with a soft,
damp cloth.
- Use non-detergent soap, lay pearls on
a clean towel and dry completely before wearing.
- Remove pearl jewelry before you apply
cosmetics, perfume or hair spray.
- Not to wear them when you are playing
games, do strenuous work or swim in chlorinated pools.
Copyright
© Tips
to
buy pearls
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