Hollow pearls – Chinese fw pearls with lost nuclei
A curious variety of freshwater pearls, rather flat and lumpy in a somewhat distinctive way, are surprisingly lightweight for their size. This turns out to be because they are nucleated with a soluble material, most of which may be removed after holes are drilled in the pearls, making them hollow.
An obvious concern about the strength of such hollow pearls might limit their usefulness for some types of jewellery. Nacre thickness reached in freshwater pearl cultivation exceeds that of all other types; that makes it more likely to produce durable hollow pearls than any other. However, because the inside of the nacre layer is exposed to the air, it is reasonable to expect color and luster changes in hollow pearls over time that are not as commonly observed in other pearls. If one is not already in use, it may be necessary to invent a treatment to coat the inside of hollow pearls. The light weight is sure to be welcomed by many among a continuing escalation of pearl size.
Similar hollow pearls were introuced as “souffle’ pearls” by Jack Lynch of Sea Hunt Pearls at Tucson 2010.
Until more is known about these pearls’ durability in various uses, and about how large a premium buyers are willing to pay over similar shaped heavier pearls with shell nuclei, Pacific Pearls has made only a small investment in hollow, lost-nucleus pearls…. but we could not ignore a new product made using a previously unknown technique.