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Among the most beautiful and unusual creations are freshwater pearls. Although in the past, they have not held the allure and value of saltwater pearls, jewelry designers have taken these unique gifts of the waters and made them into things of beauty.

One of the reasons they were disparaged in the past is because they usually are not perfectly round like salt water pearls, but in these modern times, their often unusual shapes and the wide range of colors available are making them hot, trendy and exciting.

Sometimes called baroque pearls, they begin just like traditional pearls as a grain of sand inside a freshwater mollusk. The mollusk deposits layer upon layer of nacre until the pearl is of a size to be harvested. Freshwater pearls are now farmed in the rivers of China, and Japan.

I recently obtained an exquisite string of pink pearls that are going to be my Granddaughter’s thirteenth birthday present. She loves all things pink, so the color alone is going to please her, but I hope that she begins a tradition that is often associated with pearls — handing them from mother to daughter. Since I never had a daughter, we’ll have to skip a generation, but I don’t think that’s going to make the tradition any less meaningful. I debated about waiting to give them to her when she marries which is also somewhat of a tradition, but decided that this time in her life is an important one as moving into the teen years is often a pivotal time especially for a young girl.

I got these pearls from www.pearlparadise.com which has a wide selection of pearl jewelry to choose from. I was very pleased with the selection, ease of ordering, delivery and the lovely case that came with the pearls.