We already know that pearls never go out of style – but these unusual and unique Keshi pearls give us even more reason to have a strand of our very own.

High-quality pearl strands and earrings will feature pearls well-matched in these characteristics.

The Akoya pearl is the most familiar type of cultured pearl. Grown in pearl oysters off the coast of Japan, Akoya pearls are created by inserting a nucleus (small shell bead) into the oyster. The oyster becomes irritated by the foreign substance and begins to secrete nacre to cover the material. On the average the pearl spends one to four years in the oyster and grows to between 6 mm to 9mm in size. Even though pearls are harvested en masse on pearl farms, producing a quality pearl is an extremely rare event. It is estimated that half of all nucleated oysters do not survive — and of those that do, only 20% bear marketable pearls.