Majorca Pearls

What Are Majorca Pearls?

Majorca Pearls is a brand name for a type of fake or faux pearl. They got the name as they were originally manufactured on the island of Majorca located in the Mediterranean. They are now made in Spain.
The company uses a glass bead and coats the surface with a paste made from North Atlantic fish scales to make the imitation surface look like a real pearl. These nuclei are dipped in high quality essence d’orient and polished between dippings. A special final coating is applied and to prevent in deterioration, the Majorica pearls are put under ultraviolet radiation.

The making of fake pearls was a tradition that local women had been doing since the 19th century. In 1890 a German immigrant called Eduardo Hugo Heusch created the company Indústria Española de Perlas Imitación S.A.in Manacor on the island of Mallorca in Spain. This company was responsible for the creation of simulated pearls. After Heusch’s death his children renamed the factory to Pearls Majorica or Majorica Pearls.

Majorica pearls are known for not allowing inferior pearls to not leave the factory. As a result of this, they are known worldwide for producing the finest simulated pearls. They are the only brand name imitation pearls that the public recognize. The pearls have such a resemblance to the natural pearls that only experts can distinguish them.

Majorica Pearls Facts

Majorica pearls are man-made in the factory under strict controls of the manufacturing process; oyster pearls grow in nature with frequent irregularities uncontrolled by man.
It takes only several weeks to produce a Majorica pearl while it takes years to obtain a sizable oyster pearl and only 5% are gem quality pearls.
Majorica pearls lack individuality as every Majorica pearl is perfectly matched and round-shaped whereas no two oyster pearls are alike. Oyster pearl’s peculiarity stems from its certain blemish just like birthmark or fingerprint.

How Are Majorica Pearls Created

Majorica pearls are not formed like regular pearls in mollusks, instead they go through a man made process and start off as a solid glass ball that is coated with a special paste.

In starting, the highly trained workers of the Majoirca Pearl factory create a nucleus by melting an opaque piece of glass rod over a torch. The melted glass flows onto a coated copper wire which is electromechanically rotating. From here the workers are able to gage the size of the nucleus by the intensity of the flame and the way they rotate the wire. They usually get the nucleus to be around 1mm thick.
They get the glass to be the same shape, size and density that of a real pearl.
The new glass nucleus is then dropped into a special pearl liquid called hemage. These nuclei are dipped in high quality essence d’orient and polished between dippings These nuclei are then dipped into a special, pearly liquid called "hemage,” an adhesive paste made of oil and ground up fish scales or mother-of-pearl for their iridescence. The exact formula of this essence is closely guarded.
After the nucleus has been dipped in the hemage and has been coated, then it is dried and polished. This is done by hand to get rid of any imperfections that may arise.
The almost new faux pearl is coated at least 30 times, until there is couple of layers. This is also done to help increase the density and the uniformity of color.
After it was coated the pearls are dried in a time and atmosphere controlled environment.
To ensure that the new pearls will last, they are layers that were created in the steps above will go through different steps to make sure they won’t discolor, chip or peel. This is done with the use of different gases and solutions.
Then they are drilled and assembled into necklaces by specially trained workers.

Although many steps in the pearl production is done by hand, specially designed machinery is used to increase the production capabilities of the plant. The quality control department of Majorica rejects any pearl with the slightest imperfection. Only perfect pearls will be used to create the finest simulated pearls in the world !