Saturday, December 27, 2008

Pearls in jewelry

Girl with a Pearl Earring

The value of the pearls in jewelry is determined by a combination of the luster, color, size, lack of surface flaw and symmetry that are appropriate for the type of pearl under consideration. Among those attributes, luster is the most important differentiator of pearl quality according to jewelers. All factors being equal, however, the larger the pearl the more valuable it is. Large, perfectly round pearls are rare and highly valued. Teardrop-shaped pearls are often used in pendants.

[edit] Shapes

Inexpensive, button-shape cultured freshwater pearls used in a necklace and bracelet.

Pearls come in eight basic shapes: round, semi-round, button, drop, pear, oval, baroque, and circled. Perfectly round pearls are the rarest and most valuable shape. Semi-rounds are also used in necklaces or in pieces where the shape of the pearl can be disguised to look like it is a perfectly round pearl. Button pearls are like a slightly flattened round pearl and can also make a necklace, but are more often used in single pendants or earrings where the back half of the pearl is covered, making it look like a larger, round pearl.

Woman with a Pearl Necklace, by Jan Vermeer van Delft

Drop and pear shaped pearls are sometimes referred to as teardrop pearls and are most often seen in earrings, pendants, or as a center pearl in a necklace. Baroque pearls have a different appeal to them than more standard shapes because they are often highly irregular and make unique and interesting shapes. They are also commonly seen in necklaces. Circled pearls are characterized by concentric ridges, or rings, around the body of the pearl.

In general, cultured pearls are less valuable than natural pearls, and imitation pearls are less valuable than cultured pearls. One way that jewelers can determine whether a pearl is cultured or natural is to have a gem lab perform an x-ray of the pearl. If the x-ray reveals a nucleus, the pearl is likely a bead-nucleated saltwater pearl. If no nucleus is present, but irregular and small dark inner spots indicating a cavity are visible, combined with concentric rings of organic substance, the pearl is likely a cultured freshwater. Cultured freshwater pearls can often be confused for natural pearls which present as homogeneous pictures which continuously darken toward the surface of the pearl. Natural pearls will often show larger cavities where organic matter has dried out and decomposed.

Some imitation pearls are simply made of mother-of-pearl, coral or conch, while others are made from glass and are coated with a solution containing fish scales called essence d'Orient. Although imitation pearls look the part, they do not have the same weight or smoothness as real pearls, and their luster will also dim greatly.

[edit] Lengths of pearl necklaces

Portrait of Caterina Sagredo Barbarigo by Rosalba Carriera. The subject is wearing a single-strand pearl collar and pendant pearl earrings

Queen of Italy, Margherita of Savoy, owned one of the most famous collections of natural pearls. She is wearing a multi-strand choker and a rope of pearls, possibly with matching bracelet and earrings

There is a special vocabulary used to describe the length of pearl necklaces. While most other necklaces are simply referred to by their physical measurement, pearl necklaces are named by how low they hang when worn around the neck. A collar, measuring 10 to 13 inches or 25 to 33 cm in length, sits directly against the throat and does not hang down the neck at all; collars are often made up of multiple strands of pearls. Pearl chokers, measuring 14 to 16 inches or 35 to 41 cm in length, nestle just at the base of the neck. A strand called a princess length, measuring 17 to 19 inches or 43 to 48 cm in length, comes down to or just below the collarbone. A matinee length, measuring 20 to 24 inches or 50 to 60 cm in length, falls just above the breasts. An opera length, measuring 28 to 35 inches or 70 to 90 cm in length, will be long enough to reach the breastbone or sternum of the wearer; and longer still, a pearl rope, measuring more than 45 inches or 115 cm in length, is any length that falls down farther than an opera.

Necklaces can also be classified as uniform, or graduated. In a uniform strand of pearls, all pearls are classified as the same size, but actually fall in a range. A uniform strand of akoya pearls, for example, will measure within 0.5 mm. So a strand will never be 7 mm, but will be 6.5-7 mm. Freshwater pearls, Tahitian pearls, and South Sea pearls all measure to a full millimeter when considered uniform.

A graduated strand of pearls most often has at least 3 mm of differentiation from the ends to the center of the necklace. Popularized in the United States during the 1950s by the GIs bringing strands of cultured akoya pearls home from Japan, a 3.5 momme, 3 mm to 7 mm graduated strand was much more affordable than a uniform strand because most of the pearls were small.

[edit] Colors of pearl jewelry

Earrings and necklaces can also be classified on the grade of the color of the pearl. While white, and more recently black, saltwater pearls are by far the most popular, other color tints can be found on pearls from the oceans. Pink, blue, champagne, green and even purple saltwater pearls can be encountered, but to collect enough pearls to form a complete string of the same size and same shade can take years.

The history of pearl hunting and pearl farming

[edit] Pearl hunting

For thousands of years, most seawater pearls were retrieved by divers working in the Indian Ocean, in areas like the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea, and in the Gulf of Mannar.^{[citation needed]}

Starting in the Han Dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD), the Chinese hunted extensively for seawater pearls in the South China Sea.^{[citation needed]}

Catching of pearls, Bern Physiologus (IX century)

When Spanish conquistadors arrived in the Western Hemisphere, they discovered that around the islands of Cubagua and Margarita, some 200 km north of the Venezuelan coast, was an extensive pearl bed. One discovered and named pearl, La Peregrina, was offered to the Spanish queen.^{[citation needed]} According to Garcilasso de la Vega, who says that he saw La Peregrina at Seville in 1507, (Garcilasso, "Historie des Incas, Rois du Perou," Amsterdam, 1704, Vol. II, P. 352.) this was found at Panama in 1560 by a negro who was rewarded with his liberty, and his owner with the office of alcalde of Panama.

Margarita pearls are extremely difficult to find today and are known for their unique yellowish color. The most famous Margarita necklace that any one can see today is the one that then Venezuelan President Romulo Betancourt gave to Jacqueline Kennedy when she and her husband, President John F. Kennedy paid an official visit to Venezuela.^{[citation needed]}

Before the beginning of the 20th Century, pearl hunting was the most common way of harvesting pearls. Divers manually pulled oysters from ocean floors and river bottoms and checked them individually for pearls. Not all mussels and oysters produce pearls. In a haul of three tons, only three or four oysters will produce perfect pearls^{[citation needed]}.

[edit] The development of pearl farming

Today, almost all pearls used for jewelry are cultured by planting a core or nucleus into pearl oysters. The pearls are usually harvested after one year for akoya, 2-4 years for Tahitian and South Sea, and 2-7 years for freshwater. This perliculture process was first developed by William Sawville-Kent who passed the information along to Tatsuhei Mise and Tokichi Nishikawa from Japan.

The nucleus is generally a polished bead made from freshwater mussel shell. Along with a small piece of mantle tissue from another mollusk to serve as a catalyst for the pearl sac, it is surgically implanted into the gonad (reproductive organ) of a saltwater mollusk. In freshwater perliculture, only the piece of tissue is used in most cases, and is inserted into the fleshy mantle of the host mussel. South Sea and Tahitian pearl oysters, also known as Pinctada maxima and Pinctada margaritifera, which survive the subsequent surgery to remove the finished pearl, are often implanted with a new, larger nucleus as part of the same procedure and then returned to the water for another 2-3 years of growth.

Despite the common misperception, Mikimoto did not discover the process of pearl culture. The accepted process of pearl culture was developed by William Sawville-Kent in Australia and brought to Japan by Tokichi Nishikawa and Tatsuhei Mise. Nishikawa was granted the patent in 1916, and married the daughter of Mikimoto. Mikimoto was able to use Nishikawa's technology. After the patent was granted in 1916, the technology was immediately commercially applied to akoya pearl oysters in Japan in 1916. Mise's brother was the first to produce a commercial crop of pearls in the akoya oyster. Mitsubishi's Baron Iwasaki immediately applied the technology to the south sea pearl oyster in 1917 in the Philippines, and later in Buton, and Palau. Mitsubishi was the first to produce a cultured south sea pearl - although it was not until 1928 that the first small commercial crop of pearls was successfully produced.

The original Japanese cultured pearls, known as akoya pearls, are produced by a species of small pearl oyster, Pinctada fucata martensii, which is no bigger than 6 to 8 cm in size, hence akoya pearls larger than 10 mm in diameter are extremely rare and highly prized. Today, a hybrid mollusk is used in both Japan and China in the production of akoya pearls. It is a cross between the original Japanese species, and the Chinese species Pinctada chemnitzii.^[8]

[edit] Recent pearl production

China has recently overtaken Japan in akoya pearl production. Japan has all but ceased its production of akoya pearls smaller than 8 mm. Japan maintains its status as a pearl processing center, however, and imports the majority of Chinese akoya pearl production. These pearls are then processed (often simply matched and sorted), relabeled as product of Japan, and exported.^[9]

In the past couple of decades, cultured pearls have been produced using larger oysters in the south Pacific and Indian Ocean. The largest pearl oyster is the Pinctada maxima, which is roughly the size of a dinner plate. South Sea pearls are characterized by their large size warm luster. Sizes up to 14 mm in diameter are not uncommon. South Sea pearls are primarily produced in Australia, Indonesia and the Philippines.

Mitsubishi commenced pearl culture with the south sea pearl oyster in 1916, as soon as the technology patent was commercialized. By 1931 this project was showing signs of success, but was upset by the death of Tatsuhei Mise. Although the project was recommenced after Tatsuhei's death, the project was discontinued at the beginning of WWII before significant productions of pearls were achieved.

After WWII, new south sea pearl projects were commenced in the early 1950s in Burma and Kuri Bay and Port Essington in Australia. Japanese companies were involved in all projects using technicians from the original Mitsubishi south sea pre-war projects.

[edit] Japanese freshwater pearl farming

In 1914, pearl farmers began growing cultured freshwater pearls using the pearl mussels native to Lake Biwa. This lake, the largest and most ancient in Japan, lies near the city of Kyoto. The extensive and successful use of the Biwa Pearl Mussel is reflected in the name Biwa pearls, a phrase which was at one time nearly synonymous with freshwater pearls in general. Since the time of peak production in 1971, when Biwa pearl farmers produced six tons of cultured pearls, pollution has caused the virtual extinction of the industry. Japanese pearl farmers recently cultured a hybrid pearl mussel — a cross between Biwa Pearl Mussels and a closely related species from China, Hyriopsis cumingi, in Lake Kasumigaura. This industry has also nearly ceased production, due to pollution.

Japanese pearl producers also invested in producing cultured pearls with freshwater mussels in the region of Shanghai, China. China has since become the world's largest producer of freshwater pearls, producing more than 1,500 metric tons per year.

Led by pearl pioneer John Latendresse and his wife Chessy, the United States began farming cultured freshwater pearls in the mid 1960's. National Geographic Magazine introduced the American cultured pearl as a commercial product in their August 1985 issue. The Tennessee pearl farm has emerged as a tourist destination in recent years, but commercial production of freshwater pearls has ceased.

Creation of a pearl

Diagram comparing a cross-section of a cultured pearl, upper, with a natural pearl, lower

The difference between natural and cultured pearls focuses on whether the pearl was created spontaneously by nature — without human intervention — or with human aid. Pearls are formed inside the shell of certain mollusks: as a defense mechanism to a potentially threatening irritant such as a parasite inside its shell, the mollusk creates a pearl to seal off the irritation.

The mantle of the mollusk deposits layers of calcium carbonate (CaCO₃) in the form of the minerals aragonite or a mixture of aragonite and calcite (both crystalline forms of calcium carbonate) held together by an organic horn-like compound called conchiolin. The combination of aragonite and conchiolin is called nacre, which makes up mother-of-pearl. The commonly held belief that a grain of sand acts as the irritant is in fact rarely the case. Typical stimuli include organic material, parasites, or even damage that displaces mantle tissue to another part of the animal's body. These small particles or organisms enter the animal when the shell valves are open for feeding or respiration. In cultured pearls, the irritant is typically a cut piece of the mantle epithelium, together with processed shell beads, the combination of which the animal accepts into its body. ^[1]^[2]^[3]

[edit] Natural pearls

Natural pearls are nearly 100% calcium carbonate and conchiolin. It is thought that natural pearls form under a set of accidental conditions when a microscopic intruder or parasite enters a bivalve mollusk, and settles inside the shell. The mollusk, being irritated by the intruder, secretes the calcium carbonate and conchiolin to cover the irritant. This secretion process is repeated many times, thus producing a pearl. Natural pearls come in many shapes, with perfectly round ones being comparatively rare.

[edit] Cultured pearls

Nuclei from Toba Pearl Island, Japan

Cultured pearls (nucleated and non-nucleated or tissue nucleated cultured pearls) and imitation pearls can be distinguished from natural pearls by X-ray examination. Nucleated cultured pearls are often 'pre-formed' as they tend to follow the shape of the implanted shell bead nucleus. Once the pre-formed beads are inserted into the oyster, it secretes a few layers of nacre around the outside surface of the implant before it is removed after six months or more.

When a nucleated cultured pearl is X-rayed, it reveals a different structure to that of a natural pearl. A cultured pearl shows a solid center with no concentric growth rings, whereas a natural pearl shows a series of concentric growth rings.

[edit] Gemological identification

A well equipped gem testing laboratory (e.g. SSEF, Guebelin, GIA, AGTA) is able to distinguish natural pearls from cultured pearls by using a gemological x-ray in order to examine the center of a pearl. With an x-ray it is possible to see the growth rings of the pearl, where the layers of calcium carbonate are separated by thin layers of conchiolin. The differentiation of natural pearls from tissue-nucleated cultured pearls can be very difficult without the use of this x-ray technique.

Natural and cultured pearls can be distinguished from imitation pearls using a microscope. Another method of testing for imitations is to rub the pearl against the surface of a front tooth. Imitation pearls are completely smooth, but natural and cultured pearls are composed of nacre platelets, which feel slightly gritty.

[edit] Value of a natural pearl

Quality natural pearls are very rare jewels. The actual value of a natural pearl is determined in the same way as it would be for other "precious" gems. The valuation factors include size, shape, quality of surface, orient and luster.

Single natural pearls are often sold as a collector's item, or set as centerpieces in unique jewelry. Very few matched strands of natural pearls exist, and those that do often sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Yachtsman and financier Cartier purchased the landmark Cartier store on Fifth Avenue in New York for $100 cash and a double strand of matched natural pearls valued at $1 million.

Keshi pearls, although they often occur by chance, are not considered natural pearls. They are a byproduct of the culturing process, and hence do not happen without human intervention. These pearls are quite small: typically a few millimeters in size. Keshi pearls are produced by many different types of marine mollusks and freshwater mussels in China.^[4] Today many "keshi" pearls are actually intentional, with post-harvest shells returned to the water to regenerate a pearl in the existing pearl sac.

[edit] Origin of a natural pearl

Previously natural pearls were found in many parts of the world. Present day natural pearling is confined mostly to seas off Bahrain. Australia also has one of the world's last remaining fleets of pearl diving ships. Australian pearl divers dive for south sea pearl oysters to be used in the cultured south sea pearl industry. The catch of pearl oysters is similar to the numbers of oysters taken during the natural pearl days. Hence significant numbers of natural pearls are still found in the Australian Indian Ocean waters from wild oysters. X-Ray examination is required to positively verify natural pearls found today.

[edit] Different types of cultured pearls, including black pearls

Black pearls, frequently referred to as Black Tahitian Pearls, are highly valued because of their rarity; the culturing process for them dictates a smaller volume output and can never be mass produced. This is due to bad health and/or non-survival of the process, rejection of the nucleus and their sensitivity to changing climatic and ocean conditions. Before the days of cultured pearls, black pearls were rare and highly valued for the simple reason that white pearl oysters rarely produced naturally black pearls, and black pearl oysters rarely produced any natural pearls at all.

A blister pearl, a half-sphere, formed flush against the shell of the pearl oyster

Since the development of pearl culture technology, the black pearl oyster found in Tahiti and many other Pacific Island area has been extensively used for producing cultured pearls. The rarity of the black cultured pearl is now a "comparative" issue. The black cultured pearl is rare when compared to Chinese freshwater cultured pearls, and Japanese and Chinese akoya cultured pearls, and is more valuable than these pearls. However, it is more abundant than the South Sea pearl, which is more valuable than the black cultured pearl. This is simply because the black pearl oyster Pinctada margaritifera is far more abundant than the elusive, rare, and larger south sea pearl oyster - Pinctada maxima, which cannot be found in lagoons, but which must be dived for in a rare number of deep ocean habitats or grown in hatcheries.

Black cultured pearls from the black pearl oyster — Pinctada margaritifera — are not South Sea pearls, although they are often mistakenly described as black South Sea pearls. In the absence of an official definition for the pearl from the black oyster, these pearls are usually referred to as "black Tahitian pearls".

The correct definition of a South Sea pearl — as described by CIBJO and the GIA — is a pearl produced by the Pinctada maxima pearl oyster. South Sea pearls are the color of their host Pinctada maxima oyster — and can be white, silver, pink, gold, cream, and any combination of these basic colors, including overtones of the various colors of the rainbow displayed in the pearl nacre of the oyster shell itself.

[edit] Other pearls, referred to as 'calcareous concretions'

Biologically speaking, under the right set of circumstances, almost any shelled mollusk can produce some kind of pearl, however, most of these molluscan pearls have no luster or iridescence. The great majority of mollusk species produce pearls which are not attractive to look at, and are sometimes not even very durable, such that they usually have no value at all, except perhaps to a scientist, a collector, or as a curiosity. These objects used to be referred to as "calcareous concretions" by some gemologists, even though a malacologist would still consider them to be pearls. Valueless pearls of this type are sometimes found in edible mussels, edible oysters, escargot snails, and so on. Kenneth Scarrat, director of GIA Bangkok, has recently argued for changes to current nomenclature. He argues conch "pearls" should be referred to(and various other types of mollusc pearls) as simply pearls, not 'calcareous concretions'.^[5]

Shell of the Indian volute or bailer shell Melo melo, surrounded by a number of Melo pearls

A few species produce pearls that can be of interest as gemstones. These species include the bailer shell Melo (genus), the giant clam Tridacna, various scallop species, Pen shells Pinna (genus), and abalones. Another example is the conch pearl (sometimes referred to simply as the 'pink pearl'), which is found very rarely growing between the mantle and the shell of the queen conch or pink conch, Strombus gigas, a large sea snail or marine gastropod from the Caribbean Sea. These pearls, which are often pink in color, are a by-product of the conch fishing industry, and the best of them display a shimmering optical effect related to chatoyance known as 'flame structure'.

Somewhat similar gastropod pearls, this time more orange in hue, are (again very rarely) found in the horse conch Pleuroploca gigantea.

Currently the largest known existing pearl from a giant clam

The largest pearl known, was found in the Philippines in 1934. It is a naturally-occurring, non-nacreous, calcareous concretion from a giant clam. Because it did not grow in a pearl oyster it is not pearly, instead it has a porcellaneous surface. In other words, it is glossy like a china plate. Other pearls from giant clams are known to exist, but this is a particularly large one.

The pearl weighs 14 lb (6.4 kg) and was supposedly first discovered by an anonymous Filipino Muslim diver off the island of Palawan in 1934. According to the legend as it is currently told, a Palawan chieftain gave the pearl to Wilbur Dowell Cobb in 1936 as a gift for having saved the life of his son. The pearl had been named the "Pearl of Allah" by the Muslim tribal chief, because it resembled a turbaned head. Another even more elaborate legend says that this object is actually the Pearl of Lao-Tzu, a cultured pearl created with a carved amulet and then supposedly progressively grafted into several giant clams, before supposedly being lost due to a shipwreck in 1745. ^[6] This legend has been discredited, however because this pearl is indeed the product of a giant clam, Tridacna gigas, which cannot be grafted. The pearl is also a whole pearl, not a mabe pearl, and whole pearl culturing technology is only 100 years old. ^[7]

Freshwater and saltwater pearls

Freshwater pearl mussel, Margaritifera margaritifera

Freshwater and saltwater pearls may sometimes look quite similar, but they come from very different sources.

Natural freshwater pearls form in various species of freshwater mussels, family Unionidae, which live in lakes, rivers, ponds and other bodies of fresh water. These freshwater pearl mussels occur not only in hotter climates, but also in colder more temperate areas such as Scotland: see the freshwater pearl mussel. However, most freshwater cultured pearls sold today come from China.

Saltwater pearls grow within pearl oysters, family Pteriidae, which live in oceans. Saltwater pearl oysters are usually cultivated in protected lagoons or volcanic atolls.

PEARLS - WIKIPEDIA

Pearl

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For other uses, see Pearl (disambiguation).

Pearls

A pearl is a hard, roundish object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle) of a living shelled mollusk. Just like the shell of mollusks, a pearl is composed of calcium carbonate in minute crystalline form, which has been deposited in concentric layers. The ideal pearl is perfectly round and smooth, but many other shapes of pearls (baroque pearls) occur.

The finest quality natural pearls have been highly valued as gemstones and objects of beauty for many centuries, and because of this, the word pearl became a metaphor for something very rare, very fine, very admirable and very valuable.

Almost any shelled mollusk can, by natural processes, produce some kind of "pearl" when an irritating microscopic object becomes trapped within the mollusk's mantle folds, but virtually none of these pearls are valued as gemstones.

A black pearl and a shell of the black-lipped pearl oyster

Saltwater pearl oyster farm, Seram, Indonesia

Nacreous pearls, the most desirable pearls, are produced by two groups of molluscan bivalves or clams. One family lives in the sea: the pearl oysters. The other, very different group of bivalves live in freshwater, and these are the river mussels; for example, see the freshwater pearl mussel.

Saltwater pearls can grow in several species of marine pearl oysters in the family Pteriidae. Freshwater pearls grow within certain (but by no means all) species of freshwater mussels in the order Unionida, the families Unionidae and Margaritiferidae. These various species of bivalves are able to make nacreous pearls because they have a thick iridescent inner shell layer called "mother of pearl", which is composed of nacre. The mantle tissue of a living bivalve can create a pearl in the same manner that it creates the pearly inner layer of the shell.

Fine gem-quality saltwater and freshwater pearls can and do sometimes occur completely naturally in the wild state, but this is rare. Many hundreds of pearl oysters or pearl mussels have to be gathered and opened, and thus killed, in order to find even one wild pearl, and for many centuries that was the only way pearls were obtained. This was the main reason why pearls fetched such extraordinary prices in the past. In modern times however, almost all the pearls for sale were formed with a good deal of expert intervention from human pearl farmers.

A pearl being extracted from an akoya pearl oyster

A nacreous pearl is made from layers of nacre, by the same living process as is used in the secretion of the mother of pearl which lines the shell. A "natural pearl" is one that formed without any human intervention at all, in the wild, and is very rare. A "cultured pearl", on the other hand, is one that has been formed on a pearl farm. The great majority of pearls on the market are cultured pearls.

Imitation or fake pearls are also widely sold in inexpensive jewelry, but the quality of the iridescence is usually very poor, and generally speaking, fake pearls are usually quite easy to distinguish from the real thing.

Pearls have been harvested, or more recently cultivated, primarily for use in jewelry, but in the past they were also stitched onto lavish clothing, as worn, for example, by royalty. Pearls have also been crushed and used in cosmetics, medicines, or in paint formulations.

Pearl is considered to be the birthstone for the month of June.

In several European languages, the word 'pearl' is synonymous with 'bead', which can lead to confusion when articles are translated.

CathayGems

About CathayGems - On Line Jewelry Manufacturer

CathayGems is one division of C.D. Plus, Inc. - a company incorporated in San Diego, California of United States. We are governed by American Consumer protection laws and business regulations that keep you safe from false advertising and unsafe products.

In addition, if anything you ordered is not what you thought or if it does not look good on you, you will have no problem of sending it back to us and get a return within 90 days, because as you can find out from your post office, U.S. customs does not refuse or confiscate packages containing jewelry. But the same cannot be said for other nations or countries.

We have been a provider of freshwater pearls and pearl jewelry direct from pearl farms for more than 12 years, although we have come on line only 5 years ago, as indicated by our Better Business Bureau report which you can access directly on line now or at the bottom of each page.

Thanks to the Internet! We would never have had the opportunity of serving you directly on line. We would be still only available to businesses buyers and store owners at trade shows and conventions.

We manufacture not only pearl jewelry but also sterling silver jewelry, which is the reason why you can custom order any one piece of your exclusive line of jewelry and we do them well. We challenge you to take any piece of ry piece of silver jewelry to any lab for a test, the content will be over 92.5% for pure silver and over 14k for gold, just as we said. Our outstanding record with the Better Business Bureau is proof!

What Sets Cathaygems Apart from the Competition?

Because we are a true pearl farm-to-consumer supplier of pearls and pearl jewelry, we can offer the highest quality premium pearls. You pay no middleman's profit - that's how we keep our prices low. All purchases come with a Certificate of Authenticity.

We obtain cultured pearls directly from pearl farmers, immediately after they are harvested. After being sorted by size, shape, color, and luster, our jewelry crafters then create the most exquisite pieces possible, directly from our own manufacturing unit, which is a member of the Shanghai Gem and Jade Association, the prestigious professional jewelry organization in the People's Republic of China. CathayGems pearls is being been registered with the United State Trademark office as well.

Customer Satisfaction is Our Top Priority - We Stand Behind Everything We Sell

In addition to our manufacturing workers, all of our employess in the USA value our customers and are proud to offer a Five-Part Protection Program that keeps our regular customers coming back and our superior rating with the Better Business Bureau. Here's what you'll find at Cathaygems, that you won't find anywhere else:

A Low Price Guarantee with 100% Price Protection and 10% Match

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If for any reason, you are not 100% happy with your purchase from Cathaygems, we ask that you simply send your purchase back for an immediate refund. No pressure, no hassle, and no questions asked.

Why Choose Cathaygems?

When you think of pearls you might picture Princess Diana, Audrey Hepburn or Jacqueline Kennedy elegantly wearing them. They've been seen for decades on many of the world's most prominent women, but luckily their affordability makes them available to all. They truly are nature's greatest gift and a must for any modern woman, both young and mature alike.

When you think of purchasing quality genuine pearl jewelry at great prices, we want you to think of only one place... Cathaygems. From pearl necklaces, chokers and bracelets, to post and dangling earrings, to pearl sets and so much more, we offer the finest selection and then some! If you search our vast site, and don't find the pearl piece you want, our excellent craftsman can create the exact jewelry you're looking for.

With our convenient website, we offer an affordable and leisurely way to shop for the world's finest quality cultured pearls with no overhead and no pressure from salespeople.

Brides love our impressive selection of jewelry and sets for that classic and finished look that pearls add on their big day. Pearls are the perfect accent for flower girls and the bridal party, through the generations to the grandmothers celebrating this special day. And when purchasing several pieces at a time, you may be amazed at the additional price savings you can get.

FAMILY BIO DATA OF N T R

Name	:	Sri Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao
Date of Birth	:	May 28th, 1923
Place of Birth	:	Nimmakuru, Pamarru Md., Krishna Dt.
Place of Birth	:	Andhra Pradesh (INDIA).
Star Sign	:	Tula,
Religion	:	Hinduism,
Education	:	Intermediate from SRR College, VIJAYAWADA.
Education	:	B. A. from AC College, GUNTUR.
Wife	:	Smt. Basava Rama Taaraka,
Father	:	Sri Nandamuri Lakshmaiah Chowdary,
Mother	:	Smt. Venkata Ramamma,
Brother	:	Sri Nandamuri Trivikrama Rao,
Sons	:	Sri Nandamuri Jayakrishna,
		Sri Nandamuri Saikrishna,
		Sri Nandamuri Harikrishna,
		Sri Nandamuri Mohankrishna,
		Sri Nandamuri Balakrishna,
		Sri Nandamuri Ramakrishna,
		Sri Nandamuri Jaishankar Krishna,
Daughters	:	Smt. Lokeshwari, Smt. Purandheeshwari,
Daughters	:	Smt. Bhuvaneshwari, Smt. Umamaheshwari,

N T RAMARAO THE GREAT

WELCOME TO LEGEND NTR HOME PAGE

Viswa Vikhyata Nata Sarwabowma Padmasri Dr. Nandamuri Taraka Ramarao, popularly known as ‘NTR’ and fondly called as ‘ANNA’ by many, is one of the greatest actors ever to grace the Telugu silver screen. He was a versatile actor, director, producer and a great leader who acquired a permanent place in the hearts of millions of Telugu People all over the world. His unique style of acting has inspired many upcoming actors and hopefuls but none have even remotely been able to match his natural, exclusive style. His respect towards his motherland and mother tongue served as the base to his popularity. He was an institution by himself and is an icon of discipline and self pride. Know more about this Legendary leader @ Nandamurifans.com

BLOOD DIAMONDS

Blood Diamonds

© Amnesty International USA“Blood diamonds are gems that have been used to fund rebel groups in wars in Africa, leading to more than 4 million deaths and millions more people displaced from their homes,” explains a joint statement from Global Witness and Amnesty International. The two human rights groups are driving international efforts to stop the worldwide trade of conflict diamonds and offer opportunities for individuals to get more involved with the issue.

Blood diamonds featured in the Sierra Leone civil war and in Angola, Cote d'Ivoire, and the continued instability in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), among other places.

Just this month, as Survival International reports, the Bushmen of Botswana’s Kalahari have appealed to DiCaprio to assist them in protecting their land from diamond mining, which they say threatens their livelihood and their survival as a people. Other celebrities, including supermodels Iman, Erin O'Connor, and Lily Cole, have lent their voices to the campaign to boycott De Beers, the company that runs the country's diamond mines alongside the Botswanan government.

Given diamonds’ controversial role in financing civil war and fueling conflict, international activist pressure led in 2003 to the launch of the Kimberly Process--a system of international certification requirements to verify that a diamond doesn't come from a conflict zone.

But many question the effectiveness of these protocols. According to Amnesty International, "government controls in the United States and in other countries are not strong enough or enforced © Global Exchangeeffectively to stop rebel groups from exploiting diamonds to fuel conflict." The San Francisco-based group Global Exchange is asking concerned members of the public to email the World Diamond Council to demand concrete measures to ensure that diamonds are conflict-free.

Visit the Blood Diamond Action Web site to find out more about the ongoing problem of blood diamonds and what you can do about it. If you're in the market for a diamond or you know someone who is, be sure to check out this buyer's guide (.pdf format) from Amnesty International. And if you're headed to the film, why not bring along a few flyers (.pdf format) to educate fellow movie goers about how they can take action against conflict diamonds?

And diamonds aren’t the only bit of fancy jewelry financing civil war and oppression. As Oxfam’s No Dirty Gold campaign explains, gold mining also bears the scars of conflict, destruction, and human rights abuse. In places such as the DRC, control of gold mines has been at the heart of some of the fighting. And in many Latin American countries, local communities protesting mining operations in their area have been intimidated, brutalized, and violently suppressed.

Child Soldiers

More than 300,000 children under 18 are fighting and dying in at least 30 conflicts worldwide. From Burma to Sri Lanka, armed groups recruit children and use them in both combat and non-combat duties in their operations. Children as young as eight years old have been used in conflicts across Africa. These children are often abducted or drawn by economic circumstances and the lure of status.

Many children are used as messengers, porters, and cooks, and are often forced into providing sexual services during times of conflict. But the proliferation of lightweight automatic weapons has greatly enhanced the usefulness of children as soldiers too.

In the DRC "child combatants are often considered ideal recruits by armed groups because they are relatively easy to manipulate, unlikely to question the group's motives, and arouse little suspicion," according to the advocacy group Refugees International. Children are not only the people most readily exploited into war; by the very nature of their immaturity they can often be induced to committing some of war's greatest atrocities.

A child’s role in conflict has, of course, not only significant educational and physical implications for his or her development, but long-term psychological consequences. In addition to working to stop the recruitment of children into armed conflicts, many organizations are helping to reintegrate youths back into their communities after their soldiering days.

© Refugees InternationalIt can be a difficult, yet immensely rewarding process. In the southern part of Sudan, where peace has reigned for nearly two years, UNICEF has helped the country's transitional government reintegrate nearly 90 percent of some 20,000+ child combatants. "It is time for these children to go home, go to school, and enjoy the fruits of peace," said UNICEF Sudan Representative, Ted Chaiban, at a demobilization ceremony earlier this year.

A 2005 Refugees International mission to Rwanda and the DRC showed--in pictures--the immense difficulties faced by many former child soldiers as they attempt to re-enter civilian life. The group is now calling for demobilization programs in the DRC to give special attention to girl combatants.

And as Sri Lanka has experienced a renewed surge of violence in recent months, Refugees International has expressed new worries about increasing child soldier recruitment in that South Asian country as well. For more background on child soldiering visit:

'The Blood Diamond'

Behind 'The Blood Diamond': Learn More and Get Involved

December 8, 2006

Amanda Atwood and Jeffrey Allen, OneWorld US

Leonardo DiCaprio said this week that filming "The Blood Diamond" was one of the toughest things he's ever done, and the experience will stay with him the rest of his life. The movie, which opens in the United States Friday, is sure to shed new light on the serious issues of diamond mining, conflict, and child soldiering in Africa.

Sierra Leone, where the movie takes place, has turned the corner from war to peace. But for Sierra Leone's people, the process of recovery has only begun, and diamond mining remains linked to human exploitation and conflict in far too many places.

OneWorld has been covering the efforts of non-profit organizations working to improve the lives of those impacted by diamond mining operations and conflict worldwide. We've brought together some key links and information to help you get more informed before you watch the movie, and more involved long after.

Sierra Leone

© World BankThis small West African country bordering Liberia and Guinea suffered a civil war from 1991 to 2000, with rebels from the so-called Revolutionary United Front (RUF) attacking both government soldiers and civilians. Tens of thousands were killed and more than 2 million of the country’s 5.5 million people were displaced.

The RUF incorporated child soldiers into their ranks, typically through abduction and forced recruitment. The conflict was prolonged by income from the sale of diamonds by rebels, and by support from then-Liberian-president Charles Taylor, who is currently in custody in The Hague, awaiting trial by the Special Court for Sierra Leone for crimes against humanity and his role in fueling the civil war in Sierra Leone.

Following a Nigerian intervention into the country in 2000, a ceasefire was declared and the civil war ended. United Nations peacekeeping forces withdrew in 2005, and the country is beginning to heal the physical and psychological scars of the conflict.

To learn more about child soldiers and blood diamonds in Sierra Leone, and to read about the country’s recovery and development, visit the International Rescue Committee’s News Index.

GlobalGiving offers individuals the opportunity to support high-impact, grassroots projects around the world. This holiday season, consider supporting a project to bring music into the lives of Sierra Leone's youth.

Plus, RSS or bookmark OneWorld's full coverage on Sierra Leone to stay up-to-date with new developments and features from the country.

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