Muriel Hurtis Jewelry

Pearls are one of the few organic precious gemstones, and they begin life as a particle of grit or other debris that becomes embedded inside the shell of a marine or freshwater mollusc such as a clam or oyster. This triggers a defensive mechanism in the mollusc to protects its soft, vulnerable interior and the particle is covered by layers of the substance used normally to coat the inside of the shell which is called nacre (mother of pearl). This process continues until the particle is totally smooth and covered, and results in a beautifully formed circular object called a pearl.

Natural pearls are rare, and so are quite expensive and sold by carat weight. Many of the natural pearls you see on today’s market are in fact vintage pearls, as modern jewelry is usually crafted from the more readily available cultured pearls. Cultured pearls are made by manually introducing a particle of grit to a suitable mollusc, and the shape and size of the pearl can be manipulated by what type of mollusc is used, what water it lives in and also how long the pearl is left before it is harvested. The longer a pearl is left, the harder and thicker the layers of nacre become, and so the larger the pearl generally the higher the quality and expense, and cultured pearls are sold by millimetres rather than karats.

Pearl Shapes
The traditional pearl used in jewelry is spherical in shape, and the rounder and more perfect the sphere the more expensive and desirable the pearl is. You can also get teardrop shaped pearls and baroque pearls, which are those that have an irregular shape, and although these are less expensive they are often very unique and can be very beautiful in their own right.

You can find lots of bargains on many items of expensive and beautiful jewelry online, but it is important that you do your research very carefully first, as you will not be able to look at the pieces in person before you buy, and you need to know all of the karats and hallmarks to understand the value of what you are buying, so you know what is a fair price to pay.

Hallmarks
A hallmark is basically a quality control marking that tells you the weight of pure gold or silver in the jewelry, and all items sold in the UK must by law have a full set of hallmarks if they are being sold or traded. Hallmarks consist of 3 stamps, one that tells you the karat (the pureness of the precious metal), one that tells you the maker’s name and also one that tells you the country of origin.

In some rare cases items of antique jewelry may not have any recognisable hallmark stamps, and as you will not be able to examine the piece yourself when buying online it is best to stay away from these items unless you are absolutely sure of their authenticity. When buying gold, platinum or silver jewelry online make sure you check the hallmarks are present, and if you are buying on an auction site ask the seller to send you a clear picture of the hallmarks if it is not shown in the listing.

Auction Websites
Auction websites such as eBay are a great place to pick up bargains on new and used jewelry, but as with any type of auction buying you do need to be carefully about setting yourself a strict budget, and sticking to it. Auctions can be very exciting, and it can be tempting to keep bidding in the last few moments to ensure you get the piece, but this could mean that you end up spending over the odds for it, and then you have to add the postage costs as well.

Make sure you have checked the item you are bidding on carefully, and have noted down the weight, karat, country or origin and maker’s mark. Do some research online and look at what similar pieces are worth, and this will give you an idea of what budget to set yourself. Of course if you really like the piece of jewelry you are bidding on then it is worth spending a bit more money if you are going to keep it and wear it all the time, but it does pay to check prices first so you don’t end up paying more for something in an auction room, that you could buy new somewhere else for less.