# cultured pearls **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 26, 2013, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cultured-pearls/648397 "2013-01-26T02:38:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Nalcolmjean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/96bed5/32.png) [@Nalcolmjean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nalcolmjean)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2013, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cultured-pearls/648397/1 "2013-01-26T02:38:29Z")
are cultured pearls considered real pearls and can they also be pricecy? ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2013, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cultured-pearls/648397/2 "2013-01-26T03:02:19Z")
Virtually (99.9%+) all saltwater pearls on the market are culture pearls. The Fancy Mikimoto pearls are cultured pearls. Natural saltwater pearls are extremely uncommon I would be amazed if you have seen some outside of a museum or some situation like that. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2013, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cultured-pearls/648397/3 "2013-01-26T03:22:15Z")
Yes, cultured pearls are real pearls, just like milk from cows that are bred on a dairy farm to give milk is real milk. They grow in oysters, it’s just that the oysters are farmed and seeded to ensure that they produce pearls (sometimes pearls of a specific shape, size or color). Cultured pearls are [graded](http://www.mikimotoamerica.com/about-pearl-jewelry/how-to-buy-pearls/mikimoto-grading-system/), and the highest grades can be very expensive. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2013, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cultured-pearls/648397/4 "2013-01-26T03:34:02Z")
Most pearls you see in jewelry stores today are freshwater pearls. Sorta like farm raised catfish. Mikimoto pearls are still quite saleable. They’re about the only ones. ---
**Author:** ![araminty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5e925/32.png) [@araminty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/araminty)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2013, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cultured-pearls/648397/5 "2013-01-26T05:17:36Z")
> [@gazpacho](#): > > Virtually (99.9%+) all saltwater pearls on the market are culture pearls. The Fancy Mikimoto pearls are cultured pearls. Natural saltwater pearls are extremely uncommon I would be amazed if you have seen some outside of a museum or some situation like that. I own a small handful of natural saltwater pearls. My father worked in the industry. I’ve had a few set, and the jewelers I worked with did not seem particularly surprised or impressed by them. ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2013, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cultured-pearls/648397/6 "2013-01-26T16:33:00Z")
As your question has already been answered, I’ll add that perfect round pearls are either very expensive cultured pearls, or, much more likely, fake ones. (Fake = a glass bead with a small layer of factory added pearl paint) As a result, there is much more interest these days in wild shape (“baroque”) pearls, as these are not yet often imitated. IN general, perals can be expensive in a jewellers store, but they can be had MUCH cheaper through Ebay, especially from the far East. I get the impresson that jwellers ere are still counting on clients having the impression that Pearls = expensive when that is not true anymore. [Examples are here](http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw=pearl+irregular&_osacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=p2045573.m570.l1313&_nkw=pearl+baroque&_sacat=0). Both fake and natural (wild or cultured) pearls can be colored with paint nowadays, so they come in all sorts of colours.