Pearl Earrings

Browse the range of pearl earrings below, also read the guide at the bottom of the page:

Guide

Pearl Earrings

Pearls make up the most popular and well-loved earrings of all time. These are classic, wearable and very special. Pearls generally have a white-to-pink colour with fantastic lustre, making them versatile and pleasing.

Shapes
Pearls come in a range of shapes, such as round, button, drop, pear, oval and baroque. There are Black Tahitian pearls, saltwater pearls, freshwater pearls and coloured pearls. Each type and shape can be used alone or can be combined with precious stones, such as diamonds, to make up beautiful earrings in a range of styles for pierced or non-pierced ears. The value of pearl earrings can vary enormously, depending on the size, rarity, clarity and shape of the pearl.

Process Of Formation
Natural pearls are formed from nacre and are created when an irritant, such as a grain of sand or a parasite enters the shell of an oyster. The oyster secretes calcium carbonate and conchiolin, or “nacre”, to cover the irritant and when this process is repeated several times, a pearl is formed. Pearls considered to be of gemstone quality need to be nacreous and iridescent. They can be of any shape, though perfectly round ones are rare and valuable. Natural pearls are becoming very rare in modern times, due to their expense and limited source. Although natural pearls can be found all over the world, finding perfectly formed, gemstone-quality pearls is extremely difficult. Therefore, most pearls used in jewellery are cultured. Not only does this practice provide pearls at an affordable price, it also helps to prevent the extinction of the natural pearl oyster.

Value
Generally speaking, cultured pearls are less valuable than natural pearls. The difference between a natural pearl and a cultured pearl is that in a cultured pearl, the irritant inside the oyster shell is not obtained by any natural means, but is placed in the oyster by man. Other than that, everything is the same. The pearl still grows inside the oyster in exactly the same way. Culturing pearls has made it possible for the pearl farmer to have some control over the finished product, so the shape and quality of the pearls is more likely to be of a high standard. This has made pearls more affordable, due to their increased numbers.

Black Pearls
Despite the culturing process, black pearls, frequently referred to as Black Tahitian Pearls, are still more highly valued than white pearls because of their rarity; they cannot be mass-produced. The black pearl oyster found in Tahiti and other Pacific Islands is used to produce cultured black pearls and these are less abundant than the different types of oyster that can produce white pearls, such as the Chinese akoya oyster.

Imitation Pearls
As well as cultured pearls, it is also possible to purchase earrings made from imitation pearls. These are often made of mother-of-pearl, coral, conch shell or coated glass and are not pearls at all. Although imitation pearls can look the part, they do not have the same weight, lustre or smoothness as real pearls.

Colours
Pearl earrings comprised of cultured pearls come in a huge variety of shapes and colours (usually dyed for uniformity of colour and affordability). Drop and pear-shaped pearls are sometimes referred to as teardrop pearls and look beautiful in a simple stud earring or a dangle style. Baroque pearls are irregular and therefore make unique and interesting earrings, although these pearls are most commonly used in necklaces so that the range of different shapes can be seen.

The prices of pearl earrings can vary enormously. Purchase a simple, yet effective pair of white or dyed freshwater pearl studs affordably, or splash out on a pair of diamond and pearl, set in high-carat gold, to make the ultimate special earring.