Galwey Pearls

Size

admin — Wed, 02 Mar 2016 08:10:14 +0000

Pearls are measured by their width in millimetres. The Pinctada Maxima oyster, the biggest pearl producing oyster in the world, takes two to three years to produce a single Australian South Sea pearl. As a result, our pearls have a naturally thick and lustrous nacre and are renowned for their large sizes. They typically range in size from about 11mm to 16mm in diameter although pearls of 20mm and beyond are occasionally found and highly prized.

Ranging in size from 8mm to 20mm

Colour

admin — Wed, 02 Mar 2016 08:09:51 +0000

South Sea Pearls come in an array of spectacular colours that are derived from the natural colour of the nacre of the pearl oyster.

Australian South Sea Pearls from the Pinctada maxima oyster typically produce white or silver pearls with multi-hued overtones of pink, blue and green.

The South Sea Golds – a rare and highly sought after gem originate from the Pinctada Maxima Gold-lipped oysters and come in cream, champagne, vanilla and deeper golden varieties.

Tahitian Pearls are found in the warm South Pacific waters and are produced by the Pinctada Margaritifera oyster. These pearls vary in magnificent shades of black, aubergine, pistachio and peacock.

Shape

admin — Wed, 02 Mar 2016 08:06:51 +0000

Only Nature can decide what shape and colour a pearl will be. While the small nucleus implanted in a pearl oyster is round in shape, due to the thickness of the oysters’ nacre, the pearls emerge in a wide range of shapes from the most highly sought after round pearl to the unique shape of the baroque and circle pearls. Choosing a particular shape is a personal decision and each shape is as individually and beautiful as the next however all are valued differently with a perfect round pearl being the most expensive.

South Sea and Tahitian pearls are typically categorised by their shape as Round, Oval, Drop, Button, Baroque and Circlé

Keshi: Keshi pearls are small non-nucleated pearls typically formed as by-products of pearl cultivation and are composed of pure pearl nacre.

‘Keshi’ is a Japanese term that means “poppy seed” which relates to ‘small’ pearls. Keshies range in size from 2–10 millimetres and remain quite rare therefore making them highly sought after due to their intense lustre and freeform shapes.

Complexion

admin — Wed, 02 Mar 2016 08:04:37 +0000

Pearls are organic by nature and therefore show natural imperfections on their surface (flaws known as spots or marks). The quality of a pearl’s beauty depends on the degree of visibility of these imperfections – The clearer the surface, the more valuable the pearl. A pearl with a flawless surface is exceptionally rare.

Ranging from heavily spotted to clean (flawless)

Lustre

admin — Wed, 02 Mar 2016 07:59:06 +0000

Lustre is the most important characteristic of a pearl.

A pearl consists of countless layers of pearlescent organic material known as ‘nacre’. Lustre arises from the interaction of light with these layers of nacre. The highest quality pearls have a mirror-like lustre showing a high level of reflection. A pearl with deep and radiant natural lustre is desirable and valuable whatever its shape, colour or size and despite any surface imperfections.

Ranging from poor to excellent

Baroque

admin — Thu, 25 Feb 2016 10:55:31 +0000

Each baroque pearl has its own unique, non-symmetrical shape and this makes baroque pearls some of the most distinctive in the world. Finding similar baroque pearls to combine into a single piece is truly a labour of love with some pieces taking more than a decade to complete, but the results are stunning.

Circlé

admin — Thu, 25 Feb 2016 10:54:26 +0000

Circlé pearls are characterised by a distinctive band around the circumference of the pearl. This band provides a unique highlight to enhance the appearance and give the pearl an extra dimension. Circlé pearls are highly prized for all forms of jewellery, but are particularly beautiful in pendants and earrings.

Drop

admin — Thu, 25 Feb 2016 10:51:45 +0000

Shaped like a teardrop, the drop pearl is delicately elegant. Galwey has a range of drop pearl inspired pieces that are distinctly feminine.o.

Gold

admin — Thu, 25 Feb 2016 10:47:46 +0000

The rarest of pearls, South Sea golds originate from the gold-lipped oyster (Pinctada maxima) and have a beautiful golden sheen, ranging from almost white through to a deep yellow gold. As timeless as they are precious, Galwey’s gold pearls are an investment in beauty.

Mabé

admin — Thu, 25 Feb 2016 10:47:09 +0000

Make a statement with Mabé pearls. Galwey’s range of Mabé jewellery has been designed to highlight the iridescence of these unique pearls. Almost flat on one side with a semi formed round on the other, Galwey Mabés form the centrepiece for some truly striking pieces.