Pearl Information

New Blog

2006-02-21T16:10:00.000-08:00

We've decided to start a new pearl blog. You'll want to check it out here: Pearl Blog. It is edited by Greg Pressler and will be updated on a weekly basis.

THE PEARL OUTLET SHINES WITH HOLIDAY TREASURES & RESOURCES

2005-10-31T07:24:00.000-08:00

Online Retailer Offers Solutions for Gift-Giving Season
with Wide Selection of Pearls and Jewelry Styles at Wholesale Prices

Woodland, Wash. — Nov. 1, 2005
—
The Pearl Outlet, a leading Web-based pearl jewelry retailer and resource,
announces the arrival of exceptional new selections for holiday shoppers
seeking the right gift for that special someone. With an incomparable collection
of pearls of all types, styles, qualities and price as well as the opportunity
to customize every piece of jewelry, The Pearl Outlet’s online store has
something for even the most hard-to-please people on holiday lists. In
addition, The Pearl Outlet is a comprehensive pearl resource center,
providing educational materials and information about pearl sizes and
varieties as well as how to care for pearls. Visit www.thepearloutlet.com
to browse its unique selection of necklaces, earrings, bracelets, pendants,
rings and jewelry sets, which range in price from $15 to $15,000 for holiday
gift giving.

“The Pearl Outlet offers some of the finest pearls in the world and, because we work
directly with pearl farmers throughout Asia and focus exclusively on pearls, we
can offer our customers prices they simply won’t find at other retailers —
on average saving them more than 80 percent on an identical item elsewhere,”
said Terry Shepherd, president and founder of The Pearl Outlet. “Pearls are a
wonderful complement to the luxe looks we’re seeing for Fall and Holiday 2005,
and The Pearl Outlet’s combination of quality and value makes it the place for
discerning consumers to find just the right gift.”

Gift Ideas

The Pearl Outlet features a wide array of products, from inexpensive to
luxurious, including:

Starfish
Tahitian Pearl Pendant (11.5mm):
This beautiful starfish pendant features a true Tahitian saltwater pearl,
enhanced with .18 carats of diamonds. The pearl itself
has an excellent luster and a deep peacock overtone. The setting is solid
14k white gold highlighted with 20 diamonds.
$395. (Retail Price $1,400)

Akoya
Saltwater Pearl Earrings with Diamonds (7mm):
This pair of Akoya saltwater pearl earrings includes two one-point diamonds.
$48.

Freshwater
Pearl Bracelet:
This four-strand bracelet features freshwater button-shaped pearls.
$39.

Lavender
Freshwater Pearl Earrings (9mm):
These elegantly designed earrings feature two AA+ freshwater pearls with
lustrous lavender tones.
$21.

Pearl-Buying Tips

The Pearl Outlet president Terry Shepherd offers the following
tips for purchasing and caring for pearls.
Learn more at www.thepearloutlet.com.

1. Before purchasing pearls, it’s important to look at the quality. Pearl quality is typically denoted by the standard letter grading scale of C, B, A, AA and AAA, with AAA representing the highest quality. The Pearl Outlet does not offer any pearl of a quality less than A.

2. Carefully cleaning your pearls ensures they will remain bright and beautiful for generations. Wipe pearls with a soft damp cloth after you wear them to remove residue. Periodically wash them in mild soap and lay them on a soft cloth to dry.
Do not wear pearls when the strand is wet.

3. Pearls are soft compared to other gems and precious metals. Pearls are best kept alone in a soft cloth pouch or soft lined jewelry box.

About The Pearl Outlet

Founded in 1998, The Pearl Outlet is a leading Web-based retailer of pearl jewelry that features an extensive selection of pearls in countless varieties and qualities. Company founder and president, Terry Shepherd makes regular trips abroad to work directly with pearl farmers throughout Asia, securing the highest quality pearls at the most affordable prices.
The Pearl Outlet is dedicated to educating customers, helping them to understand more about pearls and their proper care. For more information, visit www.thepearloutlet.com.

Akoya Pearls?

2005-08-16T07:37:00.000-07:00

How do you tell if a pearl is an Akoya saltwater pearl or a freshwater pearl?

There are three ways to determine if a pearl is an Akoya pearl vs a freshwater pearl. The trick is to determine if there is a bead nucleus, since only Akoya pearls have a bead nucleus.*

The first is to look down the drill hole. If you can see the mother-of-pearl bead under the nacre when looking down the drill hole, then it is an Akoya pearl. But this only works with lower quality pearls that have thin nacre.

Another way is to use a technique called candling. In a dark room, hold the pearls in front of a lit candle, and see if you can see the bead nucleus.

The third is to have a lab x-ray the pearls. This is the most definitive test, but it can't be done at home.

*Note that recently China has started to produce nucleated freshwater pearls in small quantities. As this becomes more commonplace, new techniques will have to be developed to determine whether a pearl is an Akoya saltwater pearl or a freshwater pearl.

Natural Color Pearls

2005-04-06T11:28:00.000-07:00

Every type of pearl comes in a range of natural colors. Then many pearl colors are an enhanced or artificial color. How can you tell the difference? A good way to start is to know what natural colors each type of pearl comes in. Following are the natural colors available for each pearl type:

Freshwater Pearls – White, Peach, Lavender

Akoya Pearls – White and Cream with overtones of Rose, Silver, Green, and Blue

South Sea Pearls – White, Silver, Gold

Tahitian Pearls – Black, Gray, Silver with overtones of Pistachio, Eggplant, Peacock, Red, and many more.

One note of interest: Freshwater and Akoya (saltwater) pearls often come in black, but do not naturally occur as black pearls. Black only naturally occurs in Tahitian pearls.

To create black saltwater pearls, two methods are used. One is radiation. This burns the mother-of-pearl bead nucleus. The other is dyeing which permeates the nacre of the pearl. Both methods are widely accepted and widely used.

To create black freshwater pearls, again both radiation and dyeing are. The nacre of a freshwater pearl is affected by radiation (gamma rays) as well as dyeing.

In general, artificially enhanced pearls have a lower value than non-enhanced pearls. These artificial enhancements can be impossible to detect without close observation.

To detect dyeing (which can including “pinking”, as well as a variety of other colors), a trained expert can often look down the drill hole with a loupe and detect the enhancement.

There are more technical means of detecting these treatments including ultraviolet, X-ray fluorescence, and X-radiography. A lab typically does these.

Freshwater Pearls

2005-03-16T09:45:00.000-08:00

Freshwater Pearls are becoming a market staple. The Chinese have continued to improve their production techniques and are now producing sizes and qualities never seen before in freshwater pearls. This year, 11 to 12mm near-round freshwater pearls are quite common with prices in the $1200 range. There are also some 12-14mm strands of good quality, but are currently selling in the $3000 range.

So are freshwater pearls going to start cannibalizing the South Sea pearl market? Perhaps for some single pearl pieces, but so far freshwater pearls cannot compete with strands of South Sea pearls in size, quality, roundness, or luster.

Tahitian Pearl Prices

2005-03-16T09:37:00.000-08:00

The Tahitian pearl market is finally turning up the heat on prices. We've seen prices on quality Tahitian pearls rise as much as 20% this year. You can still get great deals on fine quality Tahitian pearls at places like The Pearl Outlet, but even there prices are bound to rise some this year.

This increase in price stems from the US Dollar value on international markets as well as the fact the Tahitian Government is finally getting a grip on the supply.

The Tahitian government has ben halting shipments of inferior pearls now for nearly two years. Before that, the dumping of these inferior goods forced the entire Tahitian market down in price.

Demand also plays an important role. The demand for Tahitian pearls has steadily rose the past several years in both the US and in the far East. This high demand for quality goods has helped push up the high-end prices.

Tsunami Disaster

2005-01-07T15:13:00.000-08:00

Many customers have asked us if the recent Tsunami disaster in the Indian Ocean has effected any of the pearl production areas. So here is a breakdown of areas in this region and the effect of the Tsunami on their pearl production:

The Bay of Bengal: Myanmar (Burma) did feel the effects of the Tsunami, and the pearl farms in this area did sustain damage. Pearl production will probably be effected for the next couple of years. However, since Myanmar's government is a closed military system, it will be diffucult to learn about the full extent of the damage.

Indonesia: The Indonesian Cultured Pearl Association (ASBUMI) has stated that none of their associated pearl farms have been effected. Fortunately, all of Indonesia's pearl farms are located on the eastern islands.

China and Japan: These areas were not effected.

By: The Pearl Outlet

Fall 2004 Pearl Buying Trip

2004-09-19T08:26:00.000-07:00

I just got back from another pearl buying trip to Japan and China. This trip was for Akoya pearls only. I also visited a few of the pearling farms as well as the factories, and will be putting together a few pictures on the web site of the trip. www.thepearloutlet.com

I know many websites claim to buy directly from the pearling farms, but I have never once seen another buyer at any of these distant pearl farms or factories. In fact, seeing a foreigner appears to be a novel experience in these areas. Pearl farms are rarely located in areas visited by tourists, so when you're walking down the street, everyone stares at you like you're a celebrity, or at least a very odd site! LOL

The harvest this year of 6.5mm pearls was exceptional. For those of you who didn't know, the last few years we've seen very few quality 6.5mm pearls being produced. Many farms have quit producing 6.5mm pearls and have moved to the more lucrative 7mm and 7.5mm sizes.

On this trip I picked up quite a number of Japanese 8.5mm, 9mm, 9.5mm, and 10mm Akoya pearls strands. We will be adding these to our necklaces page within the next week here. Our pricing points will be approximately 65% below retail. This is exciting news since most online companies are still selling these sizes at or near retail. To order these immediately, just give us a call toll free at 1-866-673-3036 or internationally at 1-360-673-3043.

Tiffany and Co's New Iridesse Stores

2004-08-08T08:32:00.000-07:00

As many of you are probably aware of, the pearl industry is booming right now. Tiffany and Co is taking full advantage of this boom by starting a new division of independent pearl-only botiques called Iridesse.

The new Iridesse botiques will carry both Japanese and Chinese Akoya pearls as well as freshwater pearls, Tahitian pearls, and South Sea pearls. The first store will be at Tyson's Galleria in McLean, Virgina and the second at the Short Hills Mall in New Jersey.

Tiffany and Co. plans to open a total of 20 Iridese stores by 2009.

Natural Pearls or Cultured Pearls

2004-07-18T09:45:00.000-07:00

We have people call us quite often with the question "Are these natural or cultured pearls?” Another often repeated and related question is "Are these freshwater or cultured pearls?”

The answer is to educate our customers. The most simplistic answer is:

"All pearls online or at your local jeweler, no matter what type, are cultured."

Natural pearls have not been commercially harvested since the early 1900's and are bought as heirlooms or collectors' items. They are not available in quantity and are only sold in private sales or estate auctions.

A cultured pearl is defined as a pearl whose formation is instigated via human intervention. This is true even if the instigation is accidental, or with just a piece of mantel tissue, or bead nucleated. Freshwater pearls, saltwater akoya pearls, Tahitian pearls, South Sea pearls, Cortez pearls, etc... are all cultured pearls.

You can find out more on our Pearl Information Guide.

Cortez Pearls

2004-06-13T22:28:00.000-07:00

Few people in the industry have heard about Cortez pearls. They are harvested, as implied by their name, in the Sea of Cortez which is also known as the Gulf of Mexico. The oyster is known as the Winged Back or the Rainbow Lipped oyster. It is in the same family as the Pinctada Maxima or Silver Lipped oyster which produces giant South Sea pearls.

Cortez pearls are being sought after for some of their more exotic colors. Unfortunately, there is currently only one farm in Mexico producing these pearls, and they do not spend any monies on advertising. Thus, they are rare and fairly unknown.

To find out more about Cortez pearls, visit this page: http://www.perlas.com.mx/

Let's get this started.

2004-06-11T16:56:00.000-07:00

To set up this blog, let's start with a little introduction. My name is Terry Shepherd and I'm the owner of The Pearl Outlet. www.thepearloutlet.com

I'm starting this blog in order to allow our customers, current and future, to express their opinions, tell us what they like and what they don't like, and to educate everyone about pearls.

I will be updating this blog frequently with old and new information about pearls. I guarantee there will be something new for everyone. Even if you have and eduacation in pearls, or even 20 plus years experience in the pearl industry, you're bound to find out something here that you didn't know.