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A pearl is technically a stone like creation that forms inside of an oyster. The way oyster's get the color is that if an oyster is in an oyster type farm called “cultured pearls” then it is known that the owners of the cultured pearls puts dye into the water that the oyster is living in, these cultured pearls farms also physically implant dirt or even a piece of a shell into the oysters shell so that it can start making its pearl. The chemical dye that is placed into the water that the oyster is living in will determine the pearls color the oyster will produce.
There are pearls that are called “mabe” which is pronounced ma-bee pearls and these pearls are similar to tear drops. These chemical dyes that are placed in the water of these oyster's can also be placed in the water of clams that are producing pearls. These man made pearls that are being made and are being inserted the shell to produce the pearl take less time to develop into a pearl than it would be if it was inserted a tiny piece of dirt.
In the old days people used to produce plastic or glass pearls. They used to spray the plastic or glass with hemage one or two times and let it dry, then drill then sell the bead. Before that they used to use the dipping process which for the price commanded in today's market, it is too expensive to use now. So the plastic pearls that are made today are sprayed or painted the color of the pearl, which normally had just one layer of coating on the pearl with was lead the paint to easily chip off.
Generally, South Sea pearls and Tahitian pearls take 2 to 3 years to form. Japanese Akoya pearls take a shorter period, less than 2 years. The standard cultivation period for Chinese freshwater pearls in the 1980s was between 1.5 to 2 years. The relatively short time resulted in small size and low quality. But in the past 10 years, Chinese pearl farms changed their way of cultivating pearls and let their implanted mussels stay in the water for much longer time. Nowadays Chinese freshwater pearls take from at least 3 years to as long as 5 to 6 years before they are ready for harvest. Such a long cultivation period leads to freshwater pearls that are much bigger in size and much higher in quality; meanwhile, it is a rigorous test to Chinese pearl farmers' patience and financial strength.
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