Mabe Pearls

Oh, those lovely blisters... A mabe pearl is a half-spherical cultured pearl grown on the inside shell of a mollusk (the pearl oyster Pteria penguin), as opposed to inside a mollusk's body. Mabe pearls do not form naturally, rather, their growth is artificially induced. The pearl farmer attaches a plastic hemisphere onto the inside of a mollusk's shell until its nucleus is covered with a sufficient amount of nacre (see here). Then the pearl is cut away from the inner shell, and the cavity filled with a substance such as epoxy resin and backed by a mother-of-pearl plate. Mabe pearls are sometimes referred to as blister pearls. The term Mabe is possibly a word used in the Ryukyuan Japanese (Amami) dialect.

Pearls are grown when faced with a foreign body, a small parasite or a grain of sand, and the secreting organ of the shell (the mantle) isolates the intruder by forming a layer of mother-of-pearl. It was by observing this reaction that the Japanese perfected their pearl-culture techniques which are now used throughout French Polynesia. The probably most valuable pearls (among the fully round ones) are the salt-water (ocean) Akoya pearls. Like everything valuable, pearls have also been falsified and tons of so-called "costume jewelry pearls" are circulating around. I am for "less is more." One doesn't have to have a truckload of these lovely pearls, but what you buy or receive as gift, should be the real thing. Although many people believe that freshwater (FW) pearls are not as highly valued as salt-water pearls, there are very close-to-perfect round highly valued freshwater pearl items with thick nacre and excellent luster available which may, under circumstances, outperform salt water pearls regarding the price.

Mabe Blister Pearls

This lens is about the phenomenal round, heart shaped and square Mabe pearls so many women admire! While some Mabe pearls are made by clam living in salt water, today, the vast majority of Mabe blister pearls jewelry is coming from freshwater (FW) clams and pearl farms. Indulge in their beauty, and please read the overview below. We are selling these exquisite pieces of jewelry at our website Classic Treasures, so if you like what you find here, why not take a plunge (no pun intended!) to see the jewelry (necklace, pendant, ring) available with these delightful bulging pearls, in our store? We buy the blister pearl jewelry directly from a very highly reputed pearl farm that produces above average quality pearls. We offer brand new and vintage high end apparel for men and women, as well, at Classic Treasures. We also offer beautiful Artisan genuine gemstone jewelry in .925 sterling silver setting. Have fun browsing!