以往，珍珠受青睞的程度僅限於長輩的市場中；但是近年來，珍珠漸漸成為流行時尚的關注焦點，現在有越來越多的年輕族群開始注意、喜愛它了；尤其受到歡迎的是以小尺寸的珍珠與飾品相互搭配的設計。但是，在實際購買珍珠飾品前有許多相關的知識是必須先了解的。因此，mittag小編透過這篇文章來讓您對珍珠有一個基本的概念，相信對您在選購珍珠商品時會有許多的幫助喔！

 

 

珍珠的地位 寶石界的皇后

 

珍珠與鑽石、紅寶石、藍寶石、祖母綠、貓眼齊名，有「五皇一后」的美名。其中的「一后」指的就是珍珠。珍珠沒有鑽石的光亮璀璨，沒有彩色寶石的閃耀艷麗，但是珍珠色澤溫潤細膩，珠圓玉潤的姿態，正是珍珠最為迷人的地方。國際寶石界將珍珠列為六月份誕生的幸運石，以及結婚十三周年和三十周年的紀念石。

若要開始介紹珍珠，小編勢必要從大自然中十分罕見也取之不易的天然珍珠說起，天然珍珠雖說也有淡水或海水之分，但是想找到足夠的人工採集天然珍珠進而串成一條珍珠項鍊，其項鍊項鍊價格大約只有首富才負擔得起，而且還遠遠供不應求；所以，小編在此先把野生珍珠省略不談，因為野生天然珍珠的數量是少於珍珠總產量的1%，所以現今市面流動的珍珠大多數是人工養殖的珍珠(占比99%以上)。大量生產養殖珍珠的技術是由日本人開始發展出來的，由於兼具極佳的品質與佔優勢的價格，養殖珍珠迅速取代了天然珍珠的市場，並開始成為流行風格的素材之一。

 

 

養殖珍珠分淡水養殖（Freshwater Pearl）跟海水養殖（Saltwater Pearl）

 

這裡我們首先從淡水養殖珍珠開始，淡水珍珠以往指的都是無核珍珠，但是在2011年愛迪生有核珍珠誕生後，淡水養殖珍珠開始區分成無核養殖跟有核養殖兩種。
無核養殖：大部份的淡水珍珠產自中國，占據了世界淡水珍珠總產量的90％以上，其次為美國、日本等地。一般海水珍珠的生長周期為三年，而淡水珍珠則為一至二年（一般來說，海水珠的生長所需時間是淡水珠的二倍；因為海水温度較低，珍珠就長得慢；而淡水温度高，珍珠就長得快）；加上通常一個海水珠母貝只產生一顆珍珠，而一個淡水珠母貝可以生產大約20顆珍珠，所以淡水珍珠價格也相對優勢。淡水珠的外觀從圓形（round）到不規則形（baroque）皆有，顏色也多樣鮮明（白色、紫色和橙色等色）。基於淡水珠豐富的色彩及較親民的價格，令它在市場上相當受歡迎，非常適合日常配戴。

有核養殖：愛迪生有核珍珠誕生於2011年，比起其他珍珠品種，它算是新型的珍珠（發明家愛迪生曾說實驗室造不出珍珠和鑽石，因此取名為「愛迪生珍珠」向愛迪生致敬），比起以往的淡水珍珠，它最大的差異是有核養殖。愛迪生珍珠直徑可以到達12-20mm，而且因為有核養殖，一顆珠蚌只產出一顆愛迪生珍珠，所以比普通的淡水珍珠更圓、更大、更明亮。同時，愛迪生珍珠顏色的豐富性（紫色、橙色、古銅色、金屬色、巧克力色、白色等）增加了淡水珍珠在市場上的競爭力。在愛迪生珍珠誕生之前，海水珍珠占據著大顆粒珍珠的主流市場，也是人們心中大珍珠的代表，現在顯然已經扭轉市場印象。

 

 

海水養殖有分日本Akoya珍珠、南洋珍珠、大溪地珍珠

 

日本 Akoya珍珠（Akoya Pearls）：是日本珍珠養殖場的特產，Akoya是珠母貝馬氏貝的名稱。日本Akoya珍珠最大特色就是其優美的水潤皮光，顏色白亮，光澤度高、鏡面感強，還有玫瑰粉紅伴色形成淺淡的表面；Akoya珍珠尺寸雖偏小，卻亮度十足，因此被稱為「小燈泡」。Akoya日本珠每個珠貝只能植入一個核，所以珍珠之間不會互相擠壓，形成圓形的機率就大幅提高。日本 Akoya 平均養殖期約三年，近年也在中國大陸大量繁殖。Akoya珍珠的外觀大多圓潤，常見的顏色有銀白和金色，光澤瑩透，直徑約介於4mm至10mm。

南洋珍珠（South Sea Pearls）：產於東南亞各國：菲律賓、印度尼西亞、泰國、緬甸、澳大利亞等海域，它的質地非常好，是珍珠中的上品，所以有「珍珠之王」的美稱。南洋珍珠來自屬於白蝶珍珠蛤類的珍珠貝，這種珍珠貝比起出產日本 Akoya 養珠及淡水珍珠的珍珠貝大得多，因此產出的珍珠尺寸也大得多。由於這類珍珠貝的稀有度及敏感度（對養殖環境非常要求，所以這種珍珠養殖條件較高），因此價格也昂貴許多。人工養殖的南洋珍珠較一般的海水珍珠大，直徑介於8至18mm，不過10至14mm大小的珍珠較常見，色調從白到金色皆有。

大溪地黑珍珠（Tahitian Pearls）：黑珍珠90%以上產自大溪地。是南太平洋法屬玻里尼西亞境內的特產，珍貴異常，享有「珠中皇后」的美譽。是唯一天然生成的從深灰到黑色色系的珍珠。大溪地黑珍珠的天然黑色成色來自母貝黑蝶貝的黑色唇邊。雖然它被稱為「黑」珍珠，但其成色的範圍可以有帶黑、綠、藍、灰及啡啡色，色調愈黑愈濃的黑珍珠愈珍貴，最優質的顏色除了濃勻的黑色外，還有綠色的伴色，又叫孔雀綠色。這種黑蝶珍珠貝在養殖過程中很敏感，使得它出產成本非常高，為珍珠類中市價最高者。大溪地珍珠的尺寸大小可達 9至14mm。

 

穿戴珍珠的好處

具有色澤溫潤細膩的色彩與圓潤的姿態和高雅氣質的珍珠，象徵著圓滿、健康、純潔、富有和幸福，自古以來深受人們所喜愛。珍珠能帶給我們身體健康，主要是因為珍珠的組成物質包含有大量的碳酸鈣和角質蛋白，其中的角質蛋白經水解后能生成人體必需的20多種氨基酸；珍珠中還含有鐵、鋅、錳、銅、鉀、鎂等多種對人體有益微量元素和礦物質，被認為具有防癌、抗衰老、提高人體免疫力的作用。據說佩戴珍珠項鏈，還具有安定情緒、提高睡眠品質等作用喔。

 

 

珍珠穿戴及保養方法

 

• 保養珍珠的最佳方法，是經常配戴，因為人體天然的油份可保持珍珠的光澤。
• 將珍珠遠離家居化學品，包括香水﹑化妝品及噴髮劑等，這些產品的化學物質，會令珍珠的光澤變得暗淡，建議您在穿衣準備出門前的最後一刻再戴上珍珠，而回家後最先除下。
• 珍珠含一定的水分，過度暴曬會導致水分流失進而影響其內部結構，所以盡量避免在日光下暴曬和紫外線照射。
• 請勿用水清潔珍珠飾品，更不要佩戴珍珠首飾游泳或洗澡，因為自來水中含大量的氯化物，直接沖洗會讓氯化物接觸到珍珠表面，進而引起珍珠變黃，失去光澤。
• 汗水也會損壞珍珠的動人光澤，因此每次佩戴珍珠飾品後，要用細膩柔軟的布輕輕擦拭（例如擦眼鏡或相機鏡頭的柔軟絨布），風乾後保存起來。千萬不要用面紙去擦拭，這樣很可能對珍珠的皮光產生磨損。
• 不佩戴珍珠飾品時，可存放在墊有柔軟、乾淨絨布的乾燥盒子裡，儲存時與其他首飾隔開，避免刮傷珍珠脆弱的表面。
• 請勿用夾鍊袋密封，這樣會導致珍珠發黃褪色，因為珍珠需要新鮮的空氣，每隔幾個月記得拿出來穿戴，讓珍珠呼吸一下空氣。

 

 

 

 

The types of pearls! A glance at the gem in the water

by mittag jewelry

 

In the past, the popularity of pearls was limited to the elders' market; but in recent years, pearls have gradually become the focus of fashion, and now more and more young people are beginning to pay attention to pearls; especially popular is the design of small-sized pearls. However, there is a lot of relevant knowledge that must be learned before actually buying pearl jewelries. Therefore, allow mittag to provide a basic concept of pearls through this article, we believe that this helps when buying pearl products!

 

 

The position of the pearl, the queen of the gem world

 

Pearls are at the same level as diamonds, rubies, sapphires, emeralds, and cat eyes. They have the reputation of "five emperors and one queen". The "one queen" refers to the pearl. Pearls have no bright brilliance like diamonds, no sparkling brilliance as colored gems, but the pearls are warm and delicate, which are the most charming parts of pearls. The international gem world lists pearls a lucky stone born in June, as well as a memorial stone for the 13th and 30th anniversaries of marriage.

If we want to start introducing pearls, it is necessary to start with natural pearls that are rare and hard to get in nature. Although natural pearls also have divided into fresh water and sea water pearls, but if we want to find enough natural pearls to form a pearl necklace, the price of the necklace is only affordable for the richest man, and it is far from enough; therefore, we omit the wild natural pearl here because the number of wild natural pearls is less than 1% of the total pearl production. Therefore, most of the pearls currently available in the market are artificially cultured pearls (more than 99%). The technology for mass production of cultured pearls was developed by the Japanese. Due to the excellent quality and cheaper price, the cultured pearls quickly replaced the natural pearl market and became one of the popular materials.

 

 

Cultured pearls are divided into Freshwater Pearl and Saltwater Pearl

 

Here we start with freshwater cultured pearls. Freshwater pearls used to refer to non-nucleus pearls. However, after the birth of Edison nucleus pearls in 2011, freshwater cultured pearls were divided into two types: non-nucleus culture and nucleus culture.
Non-nucleus cultured pearls: most of the freshwater pearls are produced in China, accounting for more than 90% of the world's total freshwater pearl production, followed by the United States and Japan. Generally, the growth cycle of seawater pearls is 3 years, while freshwater pearls is 1~2 years (generally, the time required for the growth of seawater pearls is twice that of freshwater pearls; because the temperature of seawater is lower, pearls grow slowly; freshwater temperature is higher, pearls grow faster); plus usually a seawater mother shell produces only one pearl, and a freshwater pearl mother shell can produce about 20 pearls, so the price of freshwater pearls is also relatively cheaper. The appearance of freshwater pearls ranges from round to baroque, and the colors are also varied (white, purple, and orange). Based on the rich color of the freshwater pearls and the more affordable price, it is very popular in the market and is very suitable for daily wear.

Nucleus cultured pearls: Edison nucleus pearl was born in 2011. It is a new type of pearl compared to other pearl varieties. (Inventor Edison once said that the laboratory could not make pearls and diamonds. So people named it "Edison Pearl" to pay tribute to Edison.). The biggest difference compared to the previous freshwater pearls is nucleus cultured. Edison pearls can reach 12-20mm in diameter, and because of nucleus culture, a single pearl produces only one Edison pearl, so it is rounder and larger and than ordinary freshwater pearls. At the same time, the richness of Edison pearl color (purple, orange, bronze, silver, chocolate, white, etc.) increases the competitiveness of freshwater pearls in the market. Before the birth of Edison pearl, seawater pearls occupied the mainstream market of large-sized pearls, and it was also the representative of the big pearls in people's hearts. Now it has clearly reversed the market impression.

 

 

Saltwater pearls are divided into Japanese Akoya pearls, South Sea pearls, and Tahitian pearls

 

Japan Akoya Pearls: Akoya is the name of the mother shell. Japan's Akoya pearls are characterized by their beautiful hydrating skin, bright white color, high gloss, strong mirror reflection, and a pale pink color on its surface. Akoya pearls are small in size but strong in brightness, so it is called "small light bulb." Akoya mother shell can only implant one core per shell, so the pearls do not squeeze each other, and the chance of forming a round pearl is greatly increased. Japan Akoya has an average breeding period of about three years and has also proliferated in mainland China in recent years. The appearance of Akoya pearls is mostly round, the common colors are silver and white-pink, and the gloss is clear, and the diameter is about 4mm to 10mm.

 

South Sea Pearls: Produced in Southeast Asian countries: the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Myanmar, Australia, etc... Its texture is very good, it is the top grade in pearls, so it has the reputation of "King of the Pearl". The pearls of the South Sea come from pearl oysters belonging to the white butterfly pearl oysters. This pearl oyster is much larger than the pearl oysters that produce Japanese Akoya cultured pearls and freshwater pearls, so the pearls produced are much larger. Due to the rarity and sensitivity of such pearls (which are highly demanding in aquaculture environments, such pearl cultured conditions are high), the price is also much more expensive. The cultured South Sea pearls are larger than the average seawater pearls, with diameters ranging from 8 to 18 mm, but pearls of 10 to 14 mm size are more common, colors ranging from white to gold.

 

Tahitian Pearls: More than 90% of black pearls are produced in Tahitian. It is a special product in the French Polynesia in the South Pacific Ocean. It is a precious and enjoys the reputation of “Queen of the Pearl”. It is the only naturally occurring pearl from dark grey to black. The natural black color of Tahitian black pearl comes from the black lip of the black butterfly mother shell. Although it is called "black" pearl, its color range can be black, green, blue, gray and brown, the darker the black pearl is more precious. The highest quality color except the thick black, it comes with green color too apart from black itself, also known as peacock green. This black butterfly pearl is very sensitive in the breeding process, making it very costly to produce, which is the highest price among pearls. Tahitian pearls can range in size from 9 to 14 mm.

 

 

 

The benefits of wearing pearls

 

With a warm and delicate color and a rounded posture and elegant temperament, pearl symbolizes perfection, health, purity, wealth and happiness. It has been loved by people since ancient times. Pearl can bring us good health, mainly because the composition of pearl contains a lot of calcium carbonate and keratin protein. The keratin protein can produce more than 20 kinds of amino acids necessary for human body after hydrolysis; the pearl also contains iron, zinc, manganese, copper, potassium, magnesium and other beneficial trace elements and minerals to the human body; and pearls are considered to have anti-cancer, anti-aging and improve human immunity. It is said that wearing a pearl necklace also has the effect of calming the mood and improving the quality of sleep.

 

 

Pearl wearing and maintenance method

 

• The best way to maintain pearls is to wear them regularly, because the body's natural oils keep the pearls shiny.
• Keep pearls away from household chemicals, including perfumes, cosmetics, and hair sprays. The chemicals in these products will make the pearl's luster dim. It is recommended that you wear pearls at the last minute before you go out. First remove pearls when you go home.
• Pearls contain a certain amount of water, excessive exposure to sunlight will lead to water loss and affect its internal structure, so try to avoid exposure to sunlight and ultraviolet radiation.
• Do not use water to clean pearl jewelry, and do not wear pearl jewelry to swim or bathe. Because tap water contains a lot of chloride, direct washing will make the chloride touches the surface of the pearl, which will cause the pearl to turn yellow and lose its luster.
• Sweat can also damage the pearl's luster, so every time wearing a pearl jewelry, gently wipe it with a delicate soft cloth (such as soft flannel for cleaning glasses or camera lens), and store it after air drying. Never use tissue paper to wipe it, which is likely to scratch the pearl skin.
• When not wearing pearl jewelry, it can be stored in a dry box with soft, clean flannel. It should be separated from other jewelry to avoid scratching the fragile surface of the pearl when stored.
• Do not seal with a zipper bag, which will cause the pearl to fade yellow, because the pearl needs fresh air, remember to wear it every few months, let the pearl breathe the air.