Gia Pearls Questionnaire

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In the GIA Pearl Description System, near-neutral bodycolors are silver, brown, and

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cream.

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The optical phenomenon created in some non-nacreous pearls when intersecting groups of crystals interact with light is called

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flame structure.

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The four major cultured pearl types are akoya, Tahitian, South Sea, and

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freshwater.

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A translucent color that appears over a large area of a pearl’s surface is called

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overtone.

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Conch pearls are

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usually small and rarely spherical

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The organic “glue” in nacre that holds aragonite platelets together is called

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conchiolin. Conchiolin and related substances are proteins. They control the production of calcium carbonate platelets and also form a matrix that holds the platelets together.

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How many shapes are recognized by GIA’s Pearl Description System?

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seven

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A non-nacreous natural pearl is called a

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calcareous concretion. Non-nacreous pearls are composed of a mix of calcite and aragonite crystals arranged in columns that are mostly perpendicular to the pearl’s surface. The arrangement results in a lower luster than that displayed by nacreous pearls.

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The natural substance produced by a mollusk to make pearls and mother-of-pearl is called

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nacre. Cells on the shell side of a mollusk’s mantle secrete complex liquids that harden to build the shell. One of those hardened liquids is called mother-of-pearl. When mother-of-pearl composes all or part of a pearl, it’s called nacre.

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The rainbow iridescence seen in some natural and cultured pearls and in mother-of-pearl is called

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orient. One effect of nacre’s extremely thin layers is that white light sometimes travels through it at different speeds and in different directions. This causes light to break up into its component spectral colors, creating an iridescent rainbow effect called orient.

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The trade term sometimes applied to Tahitian cultured pearls with a dark grayish purple bodycolor is

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aubergine.

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A pearl that forms over a naturally occurring or implanted irritant on the inside of a mollusk’s shell is called a

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blister pearl.

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Bivalve mollusks (have how many shells)

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have two shells.

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A pearl formed as the result of human intervention in the formation process is a

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cultured pearl.

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An ordered system for the classification of animals and plants is

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taxonomy.

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Mollusks feed by

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filtering plankton from the water

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An overabundance of phytoplankton that kills mollusks and other sea life is called

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red tide.

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How long does it often take a new pearl farm to show a profit?

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Five to 10 years

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Fertilized mollusk eggs at the age of 16 to 20 hours are called

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Larvae

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A pearl produced by a loose tissue piece or in a pearl sac that previously held a bead or cultured pearl is called a

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keshi.

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Most bead nuclei are made from

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freshwater mollusk shells.

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What percentage of saltwater mollusks expel the nucleus or die as a result of nucleation?

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50 to 60 percent

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Most freshwater cultured pearls are cultured with

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only mantle-tissue pieces.

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The cultivation of animals or plants in water is called

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aquaculture.

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To determine if the bead nucleus stayed in place after nucleation, many saltwater pearl farmers

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use X-ray equipment.

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An assembly composed of a nacre dome, filler, and a mother-of-pearl backing is called a

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mabe.

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The sticky threads grown by a saltwater mollusk and used to attach itself to a fixed surface are called

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byssus.

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Colder water

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has a sedative effect on mollusks.

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In Indonesia and the Philippines, pearl farms are often located in

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channels between islands.

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When young saltwater mollusks are at the stage where they can attach themselves to a fixed surface, they are called

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spat.

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Which test reveals the internal structure and is most often used to separate natural from cultured pearls by detecting the presence of a bead nucleus?

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X-radiography. X-radiography reveals the internal structure of a test sample. It’s most often used to separate natural from cultured pearls by detecting the presence or absence of a bead nucleus.

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Pearl farmers wash and polish akoyas by

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tumbling them in a water and salt solution

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Virtually all akoyas and the overwhelming majority of freshwater cultured pearls are

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bleached

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Freshwater pearls are more likely to be treated with gamma radiation because

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hey contain more manganese, which is affected by gamma rays.

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A category of treatments applied to some cultured pearl types after initial processing is called

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maeshori.

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Luster that is artificially enhanced

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always fades over time.

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A number of similar cultured pearl strands bundled together is called a

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hank

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The purpose of most treatments and imitations is to

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increase the range and affordability of products on the market.

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The final color of an irradiated pearl is dependent on the

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pearl’s original color.

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The bleaching solution used on pearls is typically

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hydrogen peroxide

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For pearls, the most commonly used inorganic dye is

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silver nitrate. If soaked in silver nitrate, pearls turn tones of brown or gray to black when exposed to light. The resulting tone depends on the strength of the solution and the length of soaking time.

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“Majorica pearls” are

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imitations

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Any procedure, beyond preliminary processing, that improves the appearance, durability, or value of a pearl is called a

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treatment.

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Using a weak solution of red dye to tint a cultured pearl is called

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pinking.

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A mixture of clear varnish and fish scales used to coat glass beads and make imitation pearls is

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essence d’orient.

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Japanese producers call newly harvested akoya cultured pearls

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hama-age

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What happened to the akoya pearl industry in Japan in 1992, 1996, and 2006?

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Environmental hazards caused huge losses.

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The most common sizes of akoya cultured pearls are

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6 mm to 8 mm

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Farmers harvest akoyas in winter because

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the result is better nacre quality.

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Consistently attractive, round and near-round akoya cultured pearls began to be produced around

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1916

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Virtually all akoya pearl mollusks

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are bredin hatcheries

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Approximately what percentage of akoyas survive nucleation surgery?

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50%

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Cultured pearls that grow together from two or three implants are called

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twin or triplet pearls.

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The typical growth period for an akoya cultured pearl is

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6 to 24 months

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The largest consumer market for akoya cultured pearls has traditionally been

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US

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An ancient Japanese unit of weight, used in the cultured pearl industry, equal to 0.13 ounces (3.75 g) is the

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momme.

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Compared to other pearl-bearing mollusks, akoyas tend to be

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smaller

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A removable pendant designed to accent a strand of cultured pearls is called a(n)

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enhancer

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When did experimental akoya cultured pearl production begin in China?

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1958

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Akoya mollusks are big enough to be nucleated when they are about

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two to three years old.

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The Chinese freshwater pearling industry is composed of

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several big companies and thousands of small-scale businesses.

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Chinese freshwater pearl colors include white, peach, gold, and

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lavender to purple.

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No one really knows how many farms, farmers, mussels or cultured freshwater pearls there are because

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there is no official tracking of Chinese freshwater pearl culture.

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Before glochidia become independent juveniles, they live

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as parasites on the gills or fins of fish.

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The leisure mussel is a hybrid of the

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triangle mussel and the Japanese Biwa mussel.

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Any cultured pearl produced by returning a freshwater mussel or saltwater mollusk to the water after the first harvest is called a

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second-generation cultured pearl.

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In China, the most common pearl-growth period is

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three to five years.

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Most Chinese freshwater pearl farms are located in

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manmade ponds.

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Most of the freshwater cultured pearls on the market today are grown in

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China.

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Whole freshwater cultured pearls first appeared on the market in

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1971

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The two locations where freshwater pearls are cultured in Japan are

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Lake Biwa and Lake Kasumigaura.

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Any cultured pearl produced by returning a freshwater mussel or saltwater mollusk to the water after the first harvest is called a

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second-generation cultured pearl

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South Sea cultured pearls are known for their thick nacre and

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soft luster.

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The system utilizing mollusk-holding net panels that hang from floating horizontal lines is called the

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long-line system.

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Undisturbed in the wild, P. maxima can reach diameters up to

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12 inches

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In Australia, the ratio of wild to hatchery mollusks used for pearl cultivation is about

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????? see “Growing and Collecting the Mollusks” in Assignment 6

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Most spherical South Sea cultured pearls produced in Australia measure

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11 to 14 mm

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The original focus of the P. maxima harvest was

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mother-of-pearl.

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The growth period for most South Sea cultured pearls is

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18 to 24 months.

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Mollusks used for breeding purposes are called

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broodstock.

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Compared to other countries, Australia’s South Sea pearl production is

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???? see “Production and Sales” in Assignment 6.

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The balance between wild mollusk collection and population stability is called

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sustainable yield.

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A nucleator might gain the title of master or expert technician after about

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??? see “On the Farms” in Assignment 6.

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At an auction, the lowest price a seller will accept for a lot is called the

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reserve price.

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There are two types of P. maxima in the South Sea range: gold-lipped and

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silver-lipped.

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Generally, nucleation of South Sea cultured pearls takes place between

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May and September

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Philippine farmers culture pearls in

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both the silver-lipped and gold-lipped mollusks.

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Undisturbed in the wild, P. margaritifera mollusks can

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live to be 30 years old.

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n French Polynesia, the best environment for growing mollusks is in

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a closed lagoon.

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Early Polynesians valued the black-lipped mollusk mostly for its

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mother-of-pearl shell.

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Each donor mollusk provides enough mantle tissue for about

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40 implants.

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A ringlike coral island and reef that nearly or entirely encloses a lagoon is called a(n)

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atoll.

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Tahitian cultured pearls are cultivated in the

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Pinctada margaritifera cumingii.

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Black-lipped mollusks are ready for nucleation when they’re about

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two or three years old.

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In French Polynesia, the only way to obtain enough adult mollusks for pearl production is to

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collect spat from the wild and nurture them into adulthood.

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Calling Tahitian black pearls by that name is not really accurate because they’re

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not actually grown in Tahiti and not all are black.

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The first to experiment with culturing pearls in black-lipped mollusks was

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Dr. Germain Bouchon-Brandely.

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Serious attempts at Tahitian pearl culturing began in the

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1960s.

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How much of the Tahitian cultured pearl crop is round and of the finest quality?

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??????see “Harvest and Market Preparation” in Assignment 7.

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The trade term for Tahitian cultured pearls with a dark grayish purple bodycolor is

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????? see the introduction to Assignment 7.

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The challenges of early Tahitian pearl farmers were to

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produce marketable quantities and establish a market for them.

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By 1850, P. margaritifera shells and pearls were depleted due to

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early harvesting by Europeans.

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What two categories of the pearl trade sometimes overlap?

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Dealers and manufacturers

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An agreement made between dealer and retailer to share advertising costs is

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cooperative advertising.

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How much greater is the wholesale value of polished diamonds and colored stones sold worldwide compared to that of pearls?

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?????? see “Buying Opportunities for Retailers” in Assignment 8.

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Cultured pearls that are worn fairly regularly should probably be restrung

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once a year.

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Many auctions are

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???? see “Auctions” in Assignment 8.

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It is safe to clean pearls with a(n)

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soft, damp cloth.

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A cultured pearl necklace measuring 14 to 16 inches is called a

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???? “Selling Cultured Pearl Strands” in Assignment 8.

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Cultured pearls have a very complex distribution system because

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they come from locations all over the world.

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A company that sells directly to consumers is a

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retailer.

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Trade shows

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provide a convenient buying opportunity.

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A necklace with cultured pearls or beads positioned at regular intervals on cord, chain, or wire is called a

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station necklace.

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A traditional store with a physical presence in a fixed location is called a

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brick-and-mortar retailer.

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Although akoya cultured pearls have been marketed for nearly 100 years, other pearl types didn’t begin to appear until the

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1950s.

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The most common cultured pearl strand lengths are the collar, choker, princess, and

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matinee.

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Involvement of a business in multiple aspects of its product’s market is called

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vertical integration.