Xevaa Blogs

   Pearl Jewelry - The Story of Pearl Hunters
[12/11/2010 9:48 am]
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
[12/11/2010 9:45 am]
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.

   freshwater pearl bracelet
[21/10/2009 6:59 am]
There’s a story that the sages like to tell. The story of how the oyster sets about making a pearl and it goes something like this. It all begins with a grain of sand that gets into the freshwater pearl bracelet oyster’s shell and this irritates the oyster so terribly. No matter what the oyster does it cannot rid itself of the little grain of sand.

‘0h my,’ says the oyster, ‘this is terrible, I have a big problem here, what am I going to do about this, how can I get rid of this problem?’ Try what it may nothing worked. The grain of freshwater pearl sets sand was there to stay. The oyster spends its days thinking about how to get rid of this grain of sand. After a while the oyster decides to pray and meditate and to ask for guidance from the powers above. The oyster meditates for a long time. It understands that it was never going to get rid of the grain of sand. The oyster finally accepts the fact that it has no choice but to live with the problem.

After more reflection it occurs to him to change its approach to the problem. The oyster instead of being irritated slowly and with great love and patience begins to engulf the grain of sand with warmth and love. Lo and behold the grain of sand begins to coral jewelry soften and slowly grow. With amazement the oyster watches the little grain of sand as it grows and grows, and eventually turns into a beautiful, smooth, shiny velvety little pearl. When the oyster succeeds in doing this, it is satisfied and is very happy with itself. It has not only rid itself of the problem but has gained wealth and value.

The sages believe that the pearl oyster has been there for thousands of years as a lesson for turquoise jewelry us humans. It is there to teach us a simple lesson and that is, if we wrap our difficulties and problems and all the things that annoy us with patience, warmth and light then we too can be rich, same as the pearl oyster. We can each be like the oyster with a pearl, if we learn to face and accept each difficulty, each obstacle and each challenge that life presents us with. With patience we can transform ourselves to rise above each and every unpleasant situation. With each problem that we overcome we are polishing and developing our pearl inside, our precious true Self. With each success we grow, we gain inner strength and become more self-confident. We can look at every problem as another grain of sand that we need to work with, with courage and intelligence, to shell jewelry turn it into a pearl and the more pearls we have the richer we will be. It is a wealth that we have inside that no one can take away from us. And life means us to grow, to strive always in a spiral forwards and upwards.

Now all this sounds very nice and as usual the theory is easy, you might say, the practice, however, in real life is another story. This is true because in reality nothing in life is easy. Nothing comes from nothing and everything takes time. If we look around us in nature everything that grows has to take a certain time. Just as every seed that is planted, even a human embryo, needs a certain time to grow, everything in life needs its time to develop as it was meant to do, by the cosmic Law of Growth.

It is futile to go against this universal law. Anyone who wants to achieve anything worthwhile in life, has to make the effort that is required and then wait for matters to take their course, in order for the outcome to materialize. The same process applies to the physical, the emotional as well as to the mental level. Nothing in life is free. Everything has to be paid for eventually, or is paid for, in one way or another. In accordance with the Law of Cause and Effect, every thought sets things in motion and every action has a consequence.

There is, however, a science to everything in nature and once you understand and apply this science, then everything does become effortless and your success is assured.

The science of creating inner pearls in your life and to accumulate an abundance of inner wealth is easy to follow. Once you have succeeded in accumulating enough inner wealth within you, you will have activated the Law of Magnet, which in turn will attract all the wealth and material abundance and riches that you desire for yourself be that friends, love or money.

Here are the steps in a nutshell that will help you to create the pearls.

a) Shift your focus and forget the inconveniences of life. Only you can put an end to your suffering. Focus instead on the good things in your life.

b) Be content and speak constructively. To complain is to waste your breath and your energy. Practice gratitude instead. Watch your words, for words are energy vibrating. Are your words constructive or destructive?

c) Be generous in nature. Be a giver. If you are a scrooge financially, emotionally and mentally now, right this moment, is a good time to change. Practice forgiveness. Forgiveness will lighten your load.

d) Be authentic and sincere. Be true to yourself. With putting on an act you fool no one but yourself. Don’t underestimate peoples’ intelligence. Honesty is appreciated by the right people. The rest who need to be impressed are not worth it.

e) Open yourself to good influences. Watch who you move around with and who your friends are. Free yourself of defeating habits, behaviours and thinking patterns. You can accumulate good habits just as easily as bad habits, so why not concentrate on the good habits.

f) Have respect for life. Treat yourself and others with respect and with love and compassion. Don't you feel good when you are treated with respect? So do unto others as you want done to you. Sounds familiar?

g) Be in touch with the Source. Acknowledge and connect to the Life Force, the Source of all Energy. Make the conscious connection daily to recharge you batteries. Call it whatever you like, God or the Absolute, just connect and watch your life change for the better.

Go ahead and create your own pearls and become wealthy materially, emotionally and spiritually. You are the creator of your life. That is what we are meant to do in this life. We are meant to create our life. No one is doing anything to you, you are doing it to yourself.
Enjoy the process, live with passion. Good luck.

   silver pearl jewelry
[21/10/2009 6:57 am]
Pearl engagement rings are a classy alternative to diamond engagement rings. And speaking of classy, let me tell you about the tooth test, which involves rubbing the pearl up and down your front tooth to silver pearl jewelry determine if the pearl is real. Cultured and natural pearls will feel rough against a tooth, while imitation pearls will feel smooth.

The process of how a pearl comes to be is pretty cool, if I do say so myself. Pearls are created when an object such as a small rock enters an oyster or mussel. The oyster/mussel than covers the object with something called nacre and a pearl is eventually created. The amount of the nacre coating is dependent on the mollusk, the pearl strand water composition, and the length of time that the irritant is left inside to develop. As nacre thickness increases, so does the quality and durability of the pearl.

Natural pearls are fairly rare and typically the whole process is helped along by man.... resulting in cultured pearls. The only difference between natural and cultured pearls is that with cultured pearls, the external irritant such as a small rock is purposefully added into an oyster/mussel by man, thus triggering the pearl creation process. The only other difference is that natural pearls are more expensive since they are more rare. Another way to freshwater pearl strand categorize pearls is whether they are freshwater pearls or saltwater pearls. Saltwater pearls are more rare and hence, more expensive.

When people think about pearls, they typically visualize small, white round beads. Yet, unbeknownst to akoya pearl strand many, pearls come in a wide variety of sizes, colors and shapes. For instance, there are some pearls that are large, green and possibly even tear-drop shaped.

One of the downsides to pearl strands a pearl engagement rings, is that pearls are definitely more delicate and fragile than other gemstones and need a lot of TLC.

   single strand necklace
[21/10/2009 6:55 am]
One of the first smartphones from Research in Motion, Blackberry pearl 8100 plays music and display videos. In comparison to other Blackberry devices, this one seems tiny enough. Currently available with very few carriers, Blackberry pearl 8100 is expected to single strand necklace reign the market in the time to come.

Instead of a D-pad, which is a standard with all wireless and smartphones, Blackberry Pearl 8100 boasts of twisted pearl necklace a trackball, used to select things on the bright and lucid screen of the handset. The SureType system used in the handset, instead of a regular QWERTY keyboard might pose a little problem for tin cup necklace the smartphone users. Here, each key has to do double- or even triple-duty.

The Blackberry pearl 8100 is different from all the other Blackberry handsets as it can play audio and video. The audio quality is decent and the visuals are good enough. The 1.3 megapixel camera in the handset is not exceptional, but comes in handy when you need to freeze special moments of your life. The built-in flash, though not too bright, is another conspicuous feature of multi-strand necklaces this handset and is a rarity in handsets.

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