| |
Pearl Jewelry - The Story of Pearl Hunters
As long as pearl jewelry have been known to people, they have been a highly sought commodity for their beauty. It's only in recent times however that the industry has taken the hunt for the perfect pearl to a whole different level. Today, the shiny orbs that we see on in display in jewelry stores have actually almost always been grown in farms.
That's a far cry from the dangerous extraction and collection methods used before the invention of modern technology. In the past, not more than 100 years ago, the only way to retrieve pearls was by diving in lakes, floods and the ocean to pick them up, one at the time. The unfortunate divers who'se job it was to do this, were often poor and lured by the relative large sums they could get. The diver would sometimes have to dive as deep as 100 feet on one single breath of air. In order to preserve air and to stay submerged the longest, the divers would hold on to heavy stones on the way down.
Naturally, this dangerous activity was reserved for the desperate or the powerless - in many cases slaves or extremely poor peasents. Today, this method is all but obsolete in most places of the world. The cheaper cultured pearls have become popular and are many times the only pearls available to the consumer.
There are however still a few isolated areas that practice this old art of pearl diving. Some of the finest natural pearl speciments come from the gulf of Bahrain. Here, divers still risk their health to retrieve what are considered the top of the crop in the world. In fact, Bahrain wants no part of the sale of cultured pearls, banned from trade. Bahrain is one of the few places on earth that does an active job in trying to preserve the natural habitat and waters from pollution.
It's an interesting story and one that continues to fascinate buyers around the world. Somehow, the beauty of the pearl grows when it's been retrieved from the depth of the ocean.
Buying Pearl Jewelry Without Being Ripped Off
Buying pearl jewelry can be fun, exciting and confusing. Whether you're considering a gift of pearl jewelry for someone special or as a treat for yourself, take some time to learn the terms used in the industry. Here's some information to help you get the best quality pearl jewelry for your money, whether you're shopping in a traditional brick and mortar store or online.
Pearls
Natural or real pearls are made by oysters and other mollusks. Cultured pearls also are grown by mollusks, but with human intervention; that is, an irritant introduced into the shells causes a pearl to grow. Imitation pearls are man-made with glass, plastic, or organic materials.
Because natural pearls are very rare, most pearls used in jewelry are either cultured or imitation pearls. Cultured pearls, because they are made by oysters or mollusks, usually are more expensive than imitation pears. A cultured pearl's value is largely based on its size, usually stated in millimeters, and the quality of its nacre coating, which give it luster. Jewelers should tell your if the pearls are cultured or imitation. Some black, bronze, gold, purple, blue and orange pearls, whether natural or cultured, occur that way in nature; some, however, are dyed through various processes. Jewelers should tell you whether the colored pearls are naturally colored, dyed or irradiated.
Clams, oysters, mussels and many other mollusks with limy shells are known to produce pearls. But very few kinds yield gem pearls of jeweler's quality. The pearl is an abnormal growth of mother-of-pearl, or nacre, imbedded in the soft bodies of these shellfish. It is built up, layer upon layer, in the same way as nacre is added to the lining of the growing shell and always has the same color and luster. For example, over the country, hundreds of good-sized pearls are found each year in the oysters we eat. Unfortunately these have no commercial value regardless of whether they have been cooked or not because they are dull opaque white or purple like the shell of the parent oyster. In recent times almost all pearls of gem quality come from the oriental pearl oyster which has a bright shimmering translucent nacre.
A pearl starts growing when some irritating foreign substance such as a sand grain, bit of mud, parasite or other object becomes lodged in the shell-producing gland called the mantle. Pearls formed in the soft flesh where nacre can be added on all sides are most likely to be spherical and the most highly prized. By far the great majority are flattened or variously distorted and have little value. Size, color, luster and freedom from flaws are other essential qualities. Unlike other gems, such as diamonds, pearls have an average life of only about 50 years. In time the small amount of water in a pearl's make-up is lost and its surface cracks. Because they are mostly lime, necklaces which are worn often are injured by the acid secretions of the human skin.
Buying Pearl Jewelry Without Being Ripped Off
Buying pearl jewelry can be fun, exciting and confusing. Whether you're considering a gift of pearl jewelry for someone special or as a treat for yourself, take some time to learn the terms used in the industry. Here's some information to help you get the best quality pearl jewelry for your money, whether you're shopping in a traditional brick and mortar store or online.
Pearls
Natural or real pearls are made by oysters and other mollusks. Cultured pearls also are grown by mollusks, but with human intervention; that is, an irritant introduced into the shells causes a pearl to grow. Imitation pearls are man-made with glass, plastic, or organic materials.
Because natural pearls are very rare, most pearls used in jewelry are either cultured or imitation pearls. Cultured pearls, because they are made by oysters or mollusks, usually are more expensive than imitation pears. A cultured pearl's value is largely based on its size, usually stated in millimeters, and the quality of its nacre coating, which give it luster. Jewelers should tell your if the pearls are cultured or imitation. Some black, bronze, gold, purple, blue and orange pearls, whether natural or cultured, occur that way in nature; some, however, are dyed through various processes. Jewelers should tell you whether the colored pearls are naturally colored, dyed or irradiated.
Clams, oysters, mussels and many other mollusks with limy shells are known to produce pearls. But very few kinds yield gem pearls of jeweler's quality. The pearl is an abnormal growth of mother-of-pearl, or nacre, imbedded in the soft bodies of these shellfish. It is built up, layer upon layer, in the same way as nacre is added to the lining of the growing shell and always has the same color and luster. For example, over the country, hundreds of good-sized pearls are found each year in the oysters we eat. Unfortunately these have no commercial value regardless of whether they have been cooked or not because they are dull opaque white or purple like the shell of the parent oyster. In recent times almost all pearls of gem quality come from the oriental pearl oyster which has a bright shimmering translucent nacre.
A pearl starts growing when some irritating foreign substance such as a sand grain, bit of mud, parasite or other object becomes lodged in the shell-producing gland called the mantle. Pearls formed in the soft flesh where nacre can be added on all sides are most likely to be spherical and the most highly prized. By far the great majority are flattened or variously distorted and have little value. Size, color, luster and freedom from flaws are other essential qualities. Unlike other gems, such as diamonds, pearls have an average life of only about 50 years. In time the small amount of water in a pearl's make-up is lost and its surface cracks. Because they are mostly lime, necklaces which are worn often are injured by the acid secretions of the human skin.
telecommunications
The latest Hilton hotel takeover comes less than a month after it was used to host the South America-Africa Summit on September 26 and 2 with guests including Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi and Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe, according to the reports.
On Wednesday, Chavez decried the pearl earrings hotel's owners because they had dared to impose conditions on its use for the summit, according to AFP's latest report.
"To hold the conference we had to ask for permission... and the owners tried to impose conditions on the revolutionary government. No way," AFP quotes Chavez as saying. "So I said, 'Let's expropriate it.' And now it's been expropriated."
Officially, the seizure was described as an "urgent" effort to boost "the social development side of the tourism and hotel industries in Nueva Esparta state"," AFP says.
Also on Wednesday, Venezuelan Tourism Minister Pedro Morejon said that the hotel was in an "advanced state of gemstone jewelry disrepair" and that the government would refurbish it.
"We're going to socialize the hotel," the minister said in a TV broadcast, according to the AFP.
The hotel takeover is the cultured pearl latest step in a nationalization campaign that's gained momentum over the last four years and resulted in takeovers of companies in strategic industries including telecommunications, cement steel, oil services and banking, according to the reports.
Photo: Chavez and Gadhafi wave during a ceremony at the Hilton Margarita resort on Sept. 28. Photo by Carlos Garcia Rawlins, Reuters.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez seizes Hilton resort
On Wednesday, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez officially took over the beachfront Hilton resort on Margarita Island by presidential decree, according to reports by Reuters, Dow Jones, Agence pearl bracelet France Press and others.
The government had already been a majority shareholder in the hotel, which has 280 rooms, 154 time-share suites, a casino, a free-form swimming pool, shops, three restaurants, offices, meeting areas, and an adjoining marina, according to the AFP story. The resort is now held by the state tourism corporation, Venetur, which reports to Venezuela's Tourism Ministry, the story says.
It's not the first time the Chavez government seized a Hilton hotel. It previously took over the Hilton in freshwater pearl Caracas and removed the Hilton brand, renaming it Hotel Alba, a reference to the Venezuelan-led leftist regional alliance Alianza Bolivariana para las Americas (ALBA), the Dow Jones story says. Since then, Hotel Alba has become a meeting point for Chavez sympathizers from around the globe, the story says.
Hilton Worldwide issued a statement, saying that silver pearl jewelry it's "evaluating how the Venezuelan government's action affects its interest in the Hilton Margarita & Suites. The hotel remains a member of the Hilton system of hotels and welcomes guests with the same level of service they have come to enjoy."
moose was tranquilized
In a possible attempt to escape hunting season, an uninvited moose wandered into the Mainstay Suites hotel in the western part of Fargo, N.D. today, according to media reports.
The moose's appearance must have been a shocker to folks at the hotel earlier this morning. Full-grown, males can weigh anywhere from 800 to 1,500 pounds and females 600 to 800 pounds, according to the pearl earrings Minneapolis Star-Tribune's story.
* How often do hotels check your ID when handing you new key?
Ultimately, of course, the moose's escape plan failed. Animal experts and 13 police officers had surrounded the young bull moose earlier today, according to the most recent story filed by Associated Press. A local veterinarian, an official from the local zoo and the North Dakota Game and Fish Department were called to the hotel to help, the story says.
And as of a few wholesale pearl earrings minutes ago, the moose was tranquilized with a dart gun and released in a wildlife area.
The moose, however, may ultimately have the last laugh - at least this year. Why? It was painted with white X's to alert hunters not to shoot and eat the animal, since it's filled with drugs, according to the AP.
Sgt. Jeff Skuza told the AP that occasionally moose wander in the pearl jewelry wholesale city and they have to deal with moose incidents a couple of times each year.
loyalty members
They are most likely to go to Starwood hotels around China, such as those in Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Hangzhou. In terms of international travel, the most popular redemption destinations are hotels in other wholesale pearl jewelry cities in Asia, such as Taipei, Taiwan; and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Nearly two-thirds of the free rooms obtained by Chinese SPG members are at Sheraton hotels, according to the analysis. After that, it's St. Regis, Le Meridien, Westin and Four Points by Sheraton. Also, the Chinese members like to redeem SPG points for room upgrades and spa treatments.
Interestingly, SPG pearl jewelry members from China aren't booking just one night a year. SPG's analysis reveals that the fastest growing category among Chinese members is the person who stays 10+ nights per year. That category jumped 40% this year vs. last year, which SPG says is an unprecedented growth rate.
The growth in Starwood's loyalty coral jewelry program comes as Starwood - as well as Starwood's biggest rivals - add hotels in China. Outside the USA, Starwood has more hotels and its biggest pipeline in China than any other country. And in July, Starwood opened its first customer call center with 100 employees to assist Chinese guests traveling in China and elsewhere.
SheratonInChinapg-vertical
With travel still down in the USA, the big hotel brands are looking everywhere they can for some love (in the hotel world, it's called loyalty). And it seems that Starwood's having some success finding some among the newly wealthy in China.
Starwood Hotels' loyalty program is seeing explosive growth from Chinese travelers, Starwood CEO Frits van pearl necklace Paasschen told me during an interview last Friday.
Enrollment in the Starwood Preferred Program by Chinese travelers surged 50% this year vs. same period in 2008, according to the program's most recent enrollment analysis. In fact, China now ranks as SPG's 4th-largest country source for active members, putting it behind the USA, Canada and the UK, van Paasschen told me.
Dramatic loyalty member cultured pearl jewelry growth in China is just one of the topics that Van Paaschen and I talked about Thursday night, when we met for an interview at Starwood's newest W hotel in Washington D.C. We talked while the W was still filling up for its official opening bash. (Yes, I'll post my party pictures soon!) Since we covered a lot of ground, I akoya pearl jewelry plan to spread out nuggets from our conversation in the coming days.
So where do the Chinese SPG members go when they accrue enough points for a free stay? Hint: Not the United States.
FREE Blog at Beeplog.com
Responsible for the content of the member blogs are our members, not the provider, Beepworld GmbH
|
|
|
