MINERALOGICAL CLASS: organic substances

COLOR: White, champagne and silver

DESCRIPTION: these are noble pearls, with a thick and homogeneous layer of mother-of-pearl. Their diameter varies from 9 to 17 mm. In addition to their size, which is larger than that of other commercially cultivated pearls, South Sea pearls are characterised by a layer of nacre of considerable thickness, a satiny sheen and pale, natural colours. They are divided into white and black pearls. They are generally used in their natural state and do not require artificial treatments or colouring. White pearls are cultivated in Australia, Indonesia and the Philippines. Black pearls are farmed in a large area of ​​the South Pacific. Pearls with golden or champagne shades are produced by the Maxima species of the Pinctada genus, known as "golden-lipped" (north-eastern Pacific: Philippines, Indonesia, Australia), while silver-coloured pearls come from the Pinctada Maxima, whose outer edges of the valves are white and which is known as the "white-lipped" mollusc (Australian coasts and south-eastern Indonesia).

OTHER CHARACTERISTICS AND USE: Even today in Australia the Pinctada Maxima is collected by divers at variable depths (8-30 m); in Indonesia and the Philippines however, most pearl molluscs are raised in hatcheries.

COMMENT: these pearls are cultivated in the seas north of Australia in the Pinctada Maxima ; it is a decidedly larger oyster than the Akoya-gai . This mollusc in fact has a diameter of about 25cm (compared to the 7-8cm of the akoya-gai). In this oyster pearls are produced that range from 9 to 16mm (and in some rare cases up to 20mm). The colors are similar to Akoya pearls, but with a greater presence of silver as a background color. It is not uncommon to find Australian pearls tending towards metallic blue or even golden yellow (the latter defined as " gold pearls "). Their production, as well as their presence on the market, is considerably lower than akoya pearls. They are, in fact, the pearls that reach the highest prices.

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