Mabe Pearls
One of the more popular types of pearls in the world is the Mabe Pearl. In the West, people often call all half round pearls Mabe. In Japan, “Mabe” pearl means a half-round pearl made from “Mabe” pearl oyster. The name originates from Japan as the Japanese call the giant winged-pearl oyster “Mabe” since they have traditionally been used for producing half round pearls.
They produce this type of pearl because of the structure of its internal organs that is different from other pearl oysters. Half round pearls are also created by other types of pearl oysters suck as the black and silverlip pearl oysters.
The luster and color of the Mabe pearl is a lot more brilliant than the other half-round pearls that are available on the market. That is why they cost much more as their quality is so good. Among the different pearls available, many people often state that the Mabe pearl is the most beautiful of them all. Because of its beauty, many pearl farms have tried to develop round pearls instead of the regular half-pearl. This has been accomplished in Japan, but it was abandoned because of the low success rate, which made it not economical.
How Are Mabe Pearls Created?
A mabe is a hemispherically shaped pearl that is grown against the inside of an oysters shell, instead of regularly in its tissue. This is done by using a piece of plastic hemisphere and gluing it into the inside of an oysters shell. The hemispherical nucleus is kept in the oyster until it is covered with a sufficient amount of nacre. Once it is covered with enough nacre, the pearl is cut away from the inner shell by using a circle-bit drill. The pearl is then taken out, and the cavity filled with a substance such as epoxy resin and backed by a mother-of-pearl plate this method results in the pearl having a hemispherical shape.
Mabe pearls can sometimes occur in nature, but this is very rare. While in the oyster a mabe pearl is actually considered a blister pearl not a mabe pearl. After the blister pearl has been ‘worked’ it then becomes a mabe pearl.
Types of Mabe Pearl Jewelry?
Cultured Mabes are used for such things as rings and earrings, rather than for stringing on necklaces.They tend to be very beautiful with high lustre and orient, but are priced much lower than round pearls