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Pearls have been used as in jewelry for a few thousand years now, and pearl necklaces, bracelets, and other pieces of jewelry are the quintessential fashion jewelry that have been valued possessions since pearls were first incorporated into jewelry a few thousand years ago.

The term pearl is today synonymous with fine, rare and valuable. Although, the use of pearls today is largely confined to the jewelry industry, in centuries past, pearls have also been sewn on to costumes for royalty as well. Pearls today are also sometimes incorporated into cosmetics, and the popularity of pearls can largely be attributed to their luster and iridescence.

A pearl begins to develop when a foreign body or an irritant such as a parasite or sand particle enters the soft tissue or mantle of an oyster or other mollusk. As a defensive measure, the mollusk secretes a material to coat the irritant in fine layers. This substance, which is called nacre, is a fine crystalline calcium carbonate, which is held together by an organic glue. The nacre gradually increases in size and hardens, leading to the formation of a pearl.

Prior to the twentieth century, the introduction of the irritant that triggers pearl development was left solely up to Mother Nature. Pearls of this type are called natural pearls. Divers would dive down to the bottom of the seas to collect oysters from pearl beds. The oysters would be pried open and the creature killed in order to identify and collect the pearl. Since the introduction of the irritant needed to trigger the development of the was left entirely to chance, a large number of mollusks were destroyed in order to find just a few pearls. This is what made, and continues to make, natural pearls expensive.

Today, cultured pearls are quite common in the world of fashion jewelry, and this is largely due to the development of peri-culture. For cultured pearls, the stimulus needed to trigger the development of the pearl is provided by man. An external irritant such as a small bead or tissue from a donor mollusk is inserted into the tissue of the host mollusk. Each host oyster can have up to a dozen such insertions, which results in a dozen or more pearls from each host.

Pearl farms in Asia and primarily China are now mass producing cultured pearls. Cultured pearls are significantly less expensive than natural pearls, and therefore very popular with fashion jewelry designers. Although pearls are available in a variety of colors, the most common colors for pearls are white or light cream. The color can vary depending on the mollusk that produces the pearl. Dark colored pearls such as the Tahitian pearls are rare and quite expensive.

In general, other properties being equal are the larger pearls, which are more expensive than smaller pearls. Pearls can generally be found in eight basic shapes such as round, semi round, button, drop, pear, oval, baroque, and circled. Perfectly round pearls are the rarest and most valuable. Semi rounds are also used in necklaces or in pieces where the shape of the pearl can be disguised to look like it is a perfectly round pearl. Button pearls are like a slightly flattened round pearl and can also make a necklace, while drop and pear shaped pearls are largely used in pendants and earrings.

Fashion jewelry, handcrafted and smart, will work miracles. Do you have an authentic preference for the combination of the crude, vivid gemstones on colorful materials, highlighting in the most exquisite manner your fine wrist, your slender neck or your delicate fingers? Perhaps you like the more elegant touch of one-color jewels – they remain simple, yet radiate so much classiness that it is impossible not to notice them.

Handmade jewelry, designed by an expert, can do that; and not only that, it can also carry on throughout time. You can make a piece of art of your looks with the suitable fashion jewelry complementing your daily and /or special outfits. The advantage offered by handcrafted jewelry is that each design conveys a singular message about the one wearing the jewels. Handmade jewelry means permeation with detail, passion, and meaning. In other words, it is all about the features that will make you unique and incomparable.

Wearing correctly your handcrafted jewelry is one of the essential notions related to the jewels’ durability. Handmade jewelry is beautiful and delicate. Why risk spoiling it? Therefore, to stop the staining of your fashion jewelry, to prevent blemishing the shell of the precious stones or drying out their gleam, it is necessary to leave them aside when you consider engaging in any sort of activity that will make you perspire. Consequently, when you consider exercising or any other actions that require your arduous involvement, do your handmade jewelry a favor and set it in its safe place.

Even more, it is not advisable to have your exclusive jewelry on right before applying body lotions, skin care products, make-up, fragrances, and so on. It may happen, particularly with softer gemstones, to take in the substances you put on your skin. Once they have sucked up some minor amount of body lotion, you risk having your fashion jewelry lose its shine. If you are wearing exclusive jewelry, then you had better give it some exclusive attention.

By keeping your fine jewelry away from contact with potentially damaging factors, you are substantially contributing to the increase of the jewels’ lifespan. This is extremely good news for you – the lifespan of your unique jewels is the lifespan of your unique outfits.

The beads that are used to make the jewelry may be glass, crystal, wooden, ceramic, metal, pearl or stone. There are bead artists who create customized beads from different materials. It is possible to create birthstone jewelry with beads since precious and semi-precious stones are used to make beads. One piece of jewelry may have different varieties and sizes of beads used in its creation. For instance, a southwestern style necklace may have different sized silver, turquoise and coral beads on its strands. Depending on the pattern or instructions that are used to make beaded jewelry, the jewelry item may have been woven. When handcrafted beaded jewelry is woven, the bead artist is able to create pictures on the item. A woven bracelet may have a depiction of roses against a leafy background on it or any other picture that is desired by the artist or customer. A bead artist can be very creative with woven jewelry in a similar way as the quilter or painter. It is possible to weave beads into different shapes that will suit the purpose of the ornament.

In that case, needles and a strong beading thread are used to weave the beads by hand or with a loom. The result will be a flat piece of beadwork. The flat beadwork is versatile and can be as tiny or large as the bead artist desires. If a small rectangular piece has two edges sewn together, it can be used to form a small bag as a pendant. A long woven piece of beadwork may be left flat to serve as a belt. If the two long edges are sewn together, the result is a beaded pipe form that can be used to create handsome necklaces or bracelets. Thin wire can be used to create jewelry instead of the needle and thread. When wire is used for stringing beads, the jewelry is sturdier than the threaded beads. There is less room for creativity with the wired beads since they can only be strung on the wire but the simplicity of manufacture does not lessen the beauty of finely made beaded jewelry. Handcrafted beaded jewelry is valued for its elegance and the hard work that goes into their manufacture. Bead artists need good eyesight, a steady hand and patience to create their jewelry. The many hours that a bead artist needs to create their jewelry are appreciated by anyone who has ever tried to use beads to make jewelry.