Edison Pearls
Edison is the freshwater pearl grown around a bead, which is how it gets to sizes and shapes that ordinary freshwater cannot reach. Expect big pearls, a metallic cast to the luster, and natural color that runs from white through pink and peach. Every strand is its own thing, so what is here changes constantly.
About Edison pearls
The freshwater pearl that behaves like a saltwater one.
Grown around a bead
This is the whole difference. Ordinary freshwater pearls are grown from a piece of tissue with nothing at the center. An Edison is grown around a bead, the way an akoya or a South Sea pearl is, which is what lets it reach the sizes you see here.
Size
Where a standard freshwater strand tops out, Edison keeps going. What we hold runs from about 9 mm into the twelves, and larger pearls turn up from time to time. That size in a saltwater pearl would cost several times as much.
Color and luster
White, pink and peach, all natural, often with a metallic cast that makes the reflection look almost mirrored. The color is the pearl's own and sits deeper than a dye ever would.
Shape
Round to near-round, with the occasional ripple or a raised ring where the nacre grew unevenly. On a large pearl a little irregularity reads as character rather than a fault, and a perfectly round Edison is priced accordingly.
Before you buy
What is an Edison pearl?
A freshwater pearl grown around a bead rather than from tissue alone. Edison borrows the bead-nucleated method used for akoya and South Sea pearls and applies it in freshwater mussels, which is how it reaches sizes ordinary freshwater cannot.
Is the color natural?
Yes. White, pink and peach are the pearl's own color, and the metallic cast on the better ones is the nacre rather than anything added. We do not dye Edison pearls. If you see a bright uniform color in a freshwater pearl that nature does not produce, such as black, it has been dyed, and we say so.
How does it compare with a South Sea pearl?
Honestly, it does not, and we would rather you heard that from us. A South Sea pearl is a saltwater pearl with thick nacre and a particular depth of glow that Edison does not reach. What Edison gives you is comparable size, real natural color and a metallic luster, for a fraction of the money. It is a very good pearl on its own terms, not a substitute for one that costs ten times as much.
Why does every strand look different?
Because Edison pearls are produced in small numbers and vary a great deal, so a strand is assembled from whatever came in rather than pulled from a standing inventory. Size, color and surface shift between strands and sometimes within one. We cannot reorder a strand that has sold, which is why it is worth asking about something you like now.
Can I see the exact pearls before they ship?
Please ask, and on this collection more than most. Large pearls with a metallic cast photograph badly, and a screen will flatten exactly the quality you are paying for. Ask on any product page and we will send more photographs or a short video, or show it to you live on camera, at no cost and with no obligation to buy.
More freshwater
Want to see them properly?
Metallic luster is the one thing a photograph cannot carry. Book twenty minutes and we will turn them in the light for you and tell you honestly how they read.
