Natural Abalone Pearl

ABALONE (PAUA) PEARLS

 

The abalone pearl is one of the most beautiful and unusual of all pearls. It is also one of the rarest.

The abalone produces an amazingly colored and highly iridescent nacre and mother-of-pearl shell lining that has long been valued for inlay and shell jewelry. Very much their shells, abalone pearls are vibrantly colored and highly iridescent.

 

It is a true nacreous pearl (consisting of many concentric layers of nacre), but it is not produced by a bivalve mollusk like other pearls, it is actually produced by an ear-shaped univalve mollusk. The resulting pearls are ones of beauty, the exquisite luster and iridescence, resulting from alternating layers of nacre produce rare and beautiful gems, especially sought after by top jewelry designers and connoisseurs around the world.

 

Most abalone pearls these days are “man made” or cultured pearls. The rarer naturally formed pearls have a more organic shape which reflects their natural evolution.  Currently production of cultured abalone pearls is limited to mabe pearls.

 

Each natural abalone pearl produced by Abalone is unique in appearance. There are many types of Abalone, but in New Zealand we have the beautiful “Haliotis Iris” locally known as Paua. The beauty of the Paua is directly reflected in the color, size, and shape of the pearls produced, and account for the distinct individuality of each pearl.

The colors of the abalone pearl are vivid and striking, ranging from a soft pink color to dark black, purple, green, and blue, all with pronounced highlights of in between.

 

The shape as mentioned is another distinguishing trait of natural abalone pearls. Mostly baroque, their shapes can be extremely unique and this adds to their allure. Some are shaped like elongated spheres, others like discs and some are horn or tooth shaped.

 

In terms of color, the magenta, greens and blue paua pearls are the most desirable and command the highest prices. Most will have a brownish or discolored area; this is typical and does not usually diminish the value to any great extent.

 

The smoothness of the surface and freedom from blemishes is also very important, but keep in mind that it is extremely rare to find an abalone pearl with a “flawless” surface or symmetrical shape; truly round or spherical abalone pearls are virtually unknown. Their beauty comes form their unique shapes and colours.