Currently more practical classification method is to classify pearl into natural and cultured pearl according to the forming reason and growing water. Natural pearls include natural freshwater pearl and natural akoya pearl. The former is generated from the body of freshwater oyster. The latter is generated from marine shell body. Cultured pearl adopt the artificial cultivation method to make pearls in the body of oysters and shells which can be divided into seawater cultured pearl and freshwater cultured pearl.

You need to pay attention that cultured pearl also is natural, except for artificial plant nuclear, the process of formation is similar to natural pearl’ s, only start and speed up the process of formation artificially. Natural pearl is very expensive because of rare natural production and difficult harvest. It is very hard to satisfy modern human requirement for business circulation. Therefore, the method of cultured breeding pearl emerge as the times require. Most of pearls we find in today’s market are cultured pearls, and after several decades’ development, the technology of cultivating pearl is very advanced. As through the strict quality control, the cultivated pearls’ quality are much better than natural pearls.

Then what are the difference between freshwater cultured pearl and akoya cultured pearl? Akoya pearl mainly adopts nuclear breeding. The sequence is grinding pearl shell into small ball first, and implant between new pearl shell and pallium with a piece of pallium microlith, after a period of time, pearl nuclear is covered with nacre and form a complete ball pearl, then we can harvest them. Freshwater pearls often adopt seedless cultivation. The sequence is to plant the pallium microlith into the pallium layer of oyster directly firs. An oyster can be planted about 30-50 pallium microlith. After a period of time, the implanting microlith will be covered layer by layer by the nacre which is excretived by oyster, and then it can be harvested by manual. As the pearl cultivated by this method without the control of the pearl nuclear, the shape are in big difference, and mainly depend on the the shape of implanted pallium microlith. While considering big production, it is the main way to cultivate freshwater pearls.

Akoya pearl’ s cultivating requirement is very strict, let alone the natural disasters like typhoon, flood, cold wave, even the temperature increased for several degrees or the pollutant load in the seawater increased slightly will result in the death of seashells. Nowadays, there are freshwater pearls’ cultivating industries all over the world. Even akoya pearl has small yield and long circle. The produced pearls’ luster is firming and bright. A pearl oyster which is cultivated by freshwater can produce 30-40 pearls, with big production and short circle, while the luster is not as good as akoya pearls.

Of course, not all akoya pearls are expensive than freshwater pearls. If compared with the same quality of freshwater pearl and akoya pearl, then the latter’ s price are higher because of the factors that affected by low quality, long producing circle, strict cultivating terms and so on. Consumers should pay attention that not all akoya pearls are good when purchasing.