The new era of pearls – the Edison pearl

Until a few years ago, freshwater pearls with a size of 10 millimeter or more might sound too good to be true. Fast forward a few years, and the Edison pearl has made those large pearls a reality. These Edison pearls are the latest development in the Chinese freshwater pearl production. At the time of writing, only three pearl farms are making Edison pearls.

What about the details of these pearls?
These pearls are relatively innovative and large, but what about the quality of these pearls? Can these pearls compare to what shoppers have become accustomed to? We will break down the specifics about these Edison pearls. The shape is usually round to slightly off-round. As with most freshwater pearls, you should not expect a perfect round shape for every pearl. read more

Edison Pearls – Game Changer for large pearls

Just when people in the pearl industry think they have seen everything, they are witness to the introduction of a new pearl. The Edison pearl is the result of a new freshwater pearl culturing technique. When looking at the traditional freshwater pearls, you will notice that these are relatively small when cultured. The donor mollusk’s tissue is only about a 2 millimeter square of tissue. Per host mollusk, this means that we should realistically expect between 12 and 14 freshwater pearls.

The Edison pearl is changing the game
However, that is until we saw the newest addition to the family of freshwater pearls – the Edison pearl. The cultivation of these pearls uses some techniques that manufacturers also use during saltwater culturing. This means that for every mollusk, only a single pearl is cultured. Now that might seem like a strange idea (less pearls = less money right?) but the harvest is a much larger sized pearl. These pearls have bright luster and colors that range from plum, peach, pink, white, and even exotic purple tones. read more