Freshwater pearls are the most versatile, with the largest variety of pearls produced today. Freshwater pearls come from freshwater mussels created in a lake, pond or river and are mainly produced by China and Indonesia. Generally speaking, freshwater pearls are not as round as saltwater pearls, and they do not have the same sharp luster and shine as Akoya pearls. However, they appear in a wide variety of shapes and natural colors, and they tend to be less expensive than saltwater pearls, making them very popular with younger people and designers. While the most commonly produced shapes are baroque, a very small percentage, less than 2% of total production, are considered round or very near round. Freshwater mussel pearls produce a much larger harvest output of saltwater pearls every year therefore making them more affordable.
Freshwater pearls feature natural pastel shades of white, pink, lavender, peach, purple, plum, black and many more which is dependent on the type of mussel. The typical range of size of fresh water pearls is 2mm – 11mm and sometimes larger,
The most popular size for a classical fresh water pearl necklace for the younger lady would be 6mm-7mm and for the more mature and professional lady, a slightly larger size of 7mm - 8mm. If uncertain, our bestselling freshwater pearl necklaces are from the 7.0 to 8.0 mm collection.
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