Mother’s day is coming up on May 8th, 2011.  Have you picked out the perfect gift for mom yet?  I would love it if my baby gave me some jewelry in the future, but now he is still a little snot nosed monster.  Anyway, here are some of my picks from HSN’s Mine Finds collection.  HSN is also offering some great coupon codes for this week.  They are:

Now onto the jewelry!

Jay King Puzzle Agate Double-Row 17-1/2″ Necklace

Jay King Puzzle Agate Double-Row Necklace Solve your wardrobe puzzle with this final (and most important) piece. The neutral hues of each agate stone and grandiose silhouette add the perfect finishing touch to your sophisticated workday ensembles and savvy nighttime looks. Stone Information (all sizes and weights approximate) Color-Enhanced Agate: Freeform (18x13mm – 31x30mm); mined in India Design Information Two graduated strands of multisized, multitonal, faceted freeform agate nuggets Jay King Puzzle Agate Double-Row Necklace Details Measurements: Approx. 17-1/2″L x 1-7/8″W with 2-3/4″ extender.

Jay King Green Agate Nugget Bead Stretch Bracelet

Jay King Green Agate Nugget Bead Stretch Bracelet Envelop your wrist in beautifully soft color. Faceted green agate nuggets create a chunky style on this stretch bracelet. Buy more than one and stack them for a layered look. Stone Information (all sizes and weights approximate) Green Agate: Nugget (16x13mm to 21x16mm); mined in India Design Information Bracelet has faceted green agate nugget beads Jay King Green Agate Nugget Bead Stretch Bracelet Details Measurements: Approx. 7″L x 5/8″W Metal Type: Sterling silver Metal Stamp: .925 (quality tag only) Additional Features: Stretch fit.

Jay King Cultured Freshwater Pearl Sterling Silver Necklace and Bracelet Set

This set is on clearance right now for only $66. What a great deal! Finally, we also recommend that you look at Povada Jewellers to see a fine collection of gemstones and jewels!

Freshwater Cultured Pearl Jewelry Collection

For more than 60 years, the name HONORA has stood for quality and value in the jewelry industry. HONORA has specialized in supplying the very best Freshwater Cultured Pearls since they arrived on the market over 20 years ago. In addition to their exciting and affordable Freshwater Cultured Pearls, they also offer an exclusive collection of the finest South Sea Pearls available in classic strands, as well as our unique designs.

Multi Color Cultured Freshwater Pearl Three Bracelet Set
The magnificent luster and hues of blue, brown, pink and grey are displayed throughout this cultured freshwater pearl bracelet. Part of the Honora collection, this bracelet is comprised of three separate pieces. Whether worn separately or all together, they'll surely add a colorful accent to your wrist.
$100

Using these pearls in a variety of shapes and colors, HONORA creates exciting collections of jewelry in a wide range of styles. HONORA products are available at better retailers and fine department stores across the United States.

Freshwater Pearl Ring in Sterling Silver
This freshwater pearl and sterling silver ring has a flamboyant look and feel to it. This stunning piece features a 12mm white pearl that'll surely catch people's attention. It also includes a wide band that is accented with a uniquely woven texture.
$99

One common source of confusion among pearl consumers is the misinformation about what a Cultured Pearl is and how it differs from Natural Pearls. A Natural Pearl forms in nature when an accidental irritant such as sand, a parasite, or any foreign object enters the oyster. In a defensive response, the mollusk begins secreting nacre, thin layers of calcium carbonate in an attempt to cover the offending object.

Black Cultured Freshwater Pearl Bracelet in Sterling Silver
Sterling silver bracelet by Honora. Black pearls with a whisper of green and purple make this bracelet come alive. 7 exotic pearls that will keep you reaching for this piece time after time.
$129

Due to the odd shapes entering the mollusk, the pearls created by the continual layering of nacre will almost always be misshapen (baroque). Only in rare cases will a natural pearl occur in a spherical shape, making it impossible to supply commercial quantities of round necklaces to the marketplace.

A Cultured Pearl is formed in much the same way, but man supplies the initial irritant instead of nature to get the process started. Pearl farmers use a round mother of pearl shell or a piece of mantle tissue, which they insert into the soft tissue of the animal, in an attempt to create a pearl which will possess gem qualities. Pearls are grown over several years (2 to 6 years on average), under the constant care of farmers keeping a watchful eye on their crop.

Multicolor pearls are one of the hottest trends this year. Freshwater pearls come in various pastel shades of white, pink, peach, lavender, plum, purple, and tangerine, depending on the type of mussel. Freshwater pearls come from freshwater mussels. Nothing is more natural than a pearl. Unlike gemstones, that are cut and polished to unleash their beauty, pearls emerge from the creature that conceived them.

Fiona Lavender Freshwater Pearl Ring
Genuine 9 to 10mm lavender freshwater button pearl.
Sterling silver and white gold plate.

Formation
Natural Freshwater pearls are formed within a mussel. These mussels open their shells slightly and allow water to flow in, so that they can take nutrients from the microscopic particles and organisms in the water. Small irritants such as small animals can also float in. Parasites can drill right through the mussel's hard shell. To protect itself, the mussel encloses the irritant in a sac and then secretes layer upon layer of nacre around the irritant, that in time produces a lustrous pearl.

Freshwater Pearl Multicolor Drop Style Necklace
Natural multicolor pearls: white, pink, and lavender.
8mm pearls suspended from a 16" chain.
Sterling silver chain and setting.

Pearl Color
Freshwater pearl color is determined by the mussel itself and environmental factors that affect the nacre as it is layered. The most prevalent natural colors are whites, as well as pastel colors in both pinks and lavenders. White pearls are still by far the most popular, but pastels in pinks and lavenders have slowly edged their way into the fine jewelry marketplace. The two colors are very popular for second strands, mixed-color strands or when a less traditional look is desired. Light pink and lavender are naturally occurring colors in freshwater pearls, but their colors can be enhanced after processing.

Golden and Dark Chocolate Freshwater Pearl Necklace
These 8-8.5mm, AA+ quality pearls have a great luster and inner shine. The necklace is 18" long and is strung on double silk thread, knotted between each pearl. The clasp is solid 14k gold.

Pearl Value
The value of Freshwater pearls can vary based on specific factors such as roundness, luster, size, surface quality, and color. As the pearls are nucleated with only tissue, they are 100% nacre. Pearl matching for finished jewelry pieces is also very important.

Shape
As cultured freshwater pearls are tissue nucleated only about two percent of any given harvest is round. As a result, roundness is one of the most important factors in the evaluation of freshwater pearls.

Luster
Pearls produce an intense, deep shine called luster. This effect is created when light reflects off the many layers of tiny calcium carbonate crystals that compose the pearl. This substance is called nacre. The more light reflected and the clearer the image, the better the pearl's luster. The luster of Freshwater pearls may be different than those of saltwater. Freshwater pearls tend to have a satin finish.

Size
Pearls can range in size from 1mm seed pearls to huge 20mm South Sea pearls. cultured pearls of 6 – 7.5mm are the most common, above this size the price jumps upward rapidly with each half-millimeter from 7.5mm up. To date the largest pearl recorded is a 26.95mm baroque south sea pearl.

Surface Markings
As a mollusk creates a pearl, the layers of nacre do not always adhere smoothly. Sometimes spots and bubbles can appear in the layering process. Pearls with the smoothest surfaces are the highest-quality, most sought-after pearls.

Exotic Pearls
Tahitian Black Pearls are some of the rarest, most valuable pearls available and have the distinction of being the world's only naturally Black Pearl. They range in size from 9mm to 16mm making them some of the largest pearls available. They are rarer than other types of pearls, since only a small number of oysters survive to produce a fine Tahitian pearl.

Tahitian Pearl Starfish Pendant
Pearl pendant enhanced with .18 carats of diamonds, a true Tahitian saltwater pearl. Excellent luster, blemish free, deep peacock overtone, set in 14k white gold with 20 diamonds.

Black Pearls are harvested in the azure blue lagoons French Polynesia from the Pinctada Margaratifera oyster, one of the largest pearl-producing oysters in the world. One hundred times more rare than white pearls, Black Pearls are considered to be one of the rarest gems on Earth.

Tahitian Pearl Dark Multicolor Bracelet
Perfectly round pearls strung on twin silk, natural colors with various dark overtones, 14k gold clasp.

Although they are called Black Pearls, the colors range from iridescent emerald green, sea green, pale silver blue, melon, peach-copper, pink, cranberry, Bordeaux, indigo and aubergine, to dark green and deep midnight black. Shimmering, iridescent, exotic and rare, Black Pearls are the ultimate gift.

Tahitian Black Pearl Bamboo Man's Ring
Available in three finishes:
• Natural sterling silver
• Rhodium-plated
• Argentium sterling
The setting anchors the 10 mm black Tahitian pearl so it rotates and appears to float on the surface. The ring's base has subtle bamboo design elements while its shape – wide at the top, tapered in the back – insures maximum ergonomic comfort.

Since each Tahitian Black Pearl is unique and doesn't resemble any other, it takes hundreds of Tahitian Pearls to find the matching ones required to make a single strand. So if you're looking for unique pearl jewelry with exceptional value, Tahitian Pearl jewelry might be just what you're looking for.

Catherine the Great of Russia owned a strand of 30 Tahitian black pearls, the largest weighing as much as .14 ounces. In Europe, pearls became a hot item reserved only for royalty through laws that forbade any citizen to own or wear pearl jewelry!

So, what are you expecting in your stocking this coming holiday season? What about pearls? Maybe? Or maybe not?

According to Premium Pearls.com, the holiday season is when many men like to give their sepecial someone some special pearl jewelry:

This holiday season, another interesting jewelry-related trend will also be at work: More men than women are expected to buy jewelry online as a holiday gift, according to Yan Berry, founder and owner of PremiumPearl.com. "From our order database, more than 70 percent of our customers are men," Berry said. "At Christmas seasons in the last few years, we have seen a large percentage of orders coming from men buying jewelry for their wives, daughters and mothers."

Berry's experience is consistent with america online's research regarding the buying habits of male online shoppers. Men tend to spend more than women online, especially during the holiday season, according to AOL.

This does make some sense I guess since holiday time is a major jewelry gift giving time of the year. And, who doesn't love pearls? Here are some pieces they call their best sellers. I really like this double strand bracelet and the pendant is pretty unusual as well.

Everyone wants to be a jewelry designer these days, and while I think for the person who really wants to design and sell her work, you need some real experience as far as making it, even the novice jewelry lover can come up with some great jewelry design ideas. In fact, many jewelry designers I know start off making jewelry because they can't find what they are looking for, so heck, why not just make it?

If you love pearls and haven't been able to find what your are looking for as far as a special pearl jewelry piece, then check into Shecy Pearls option to Design Your Own Pearl Jewelry. You start off giving basic information on the company's on-line form such as the type of jewelry – ring, necklace, bracelets, earrings – and then a price range, and then they provide a box for you to type in details, such as size of the pearls, color, type of metal, that sort of thing. Once you plug all that in, they contact you and go on from there.

Of course, first it might be a good idea to check out what they have in stock already. I love this lavendar pearl necklace (pictured above/left). The multi-strand has 8-9mm AAA grade pearls that have a light purple tint to them.

Here are a few more pieces just for the heck of it.

Okay, so if you aren't in the jewelry trade you won't get to find out details like how much this beautiful pearl jewelry costs, but hey, we re just window shopping, so price is not an issue. This wonderful pearl ring can be found (along with loads of other pearl goodies) at the ASBA web site:

Founded in 1983, ASBA has quickly proved to be a guiding force in the U.S. market place with fine quality goods at exceptional prices. Mr. Israileff's lineage in the cultured pearl business can be traced to his father's work in Kobe, Japan, in the 1950's, where he aided in the expansion of the cultured pearl industry outside of Japan. This expansion of knowledge of the industry outside Japan has enabled us to broaden the vision of retail jewelers all across the U.S.

ASBA joined forces with two major manufacturers of fine 14 and 18 karat gold diamond and colored stone jewelry, in 1990 and 1997, to compliment our incredible cultured pearl selections. ASBA & Dangler, located in Sarasota, Florida, operates from a 10,000 square foot facility. Purchased in 1993, this facility allows us direct control over quality while keeping manufacturing costs low.

Hey, these folks are almost in my neck of the woods. Of course, they are on the other side of the state from me, but still (mental note).

Here's some more of their pearl jewelry to enjoy, a few earrings and a nice, classic pendant.

A & Z Pearls, Inc. is a jewelry manufacturer who specializes in pearl jewelry – which is obvious from the company's name – but what may not be so obvious is that along with the usual fine pearl jewelry collection you can find on this site, you can also find one-of-a-kind pearl masterpieces like this little angel made from pearls and 18kt gold.

I think is very cool how they used some of the natural shapes pearls come in and created jewelry art pieces around them. It sort of reminds me of when you are looking at clouds and one cloud might look like a cow and another might look like a bird.

So enjoy. I lifted a few here from their collection, but there are a lot more on their site. I think the swan is my favorite because it reminds me of that poem, "Leda and the Swan."

In my never ending fascination of pearl jewelry and all things related to pearls in general, I recently stumbled upon the Baggins web site, chock full of pearl jewelry!

Pictured are some big-momma pearls from the South Sea, but they also carry pearls from just about any place you can get them these days including Keshi, Akoya, and Tahitian pearls.

Enjoy today's pearl fest!

If you are curious about how pearls are farmed these days, then check out the pearl information on Wikipedia:

Generally a difference is made between natural and cultured pearls. This difference focuses on whether the pearl was created by nature, without man's intervention or with the help of man. In both cases however the genesis of a pearl can generally be outlined as follows:

Pearls are formed inside the shell of certain bivalve mollusks. As a response to an irritant inside its shell, the mollusk will deposit layers of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) in the form of the minerals aragonite or calcite (both crystalline forms of calcium carbonate) held together by an organic horn-like compound called conchiolin.This combination of calcium carbonate and conchiolin is called nacre, or as most know it, mother-of-pearl. The commonly held belief that a grain of sand acts as the irritant is in fact rarely the case. Typical stimuli include organic material, parasites, or even damage that displaces mantle tissue to another part of the animal's body. These small particles or organisms enter the animal when the shell valves are open for feeding or respiration. In cultured pearls, the irritant is typically a cut piece of the mantle epithelium, together with processed shell beads, the combination of which the animal accepts into its body.

I'm a major pearl fan. In fact, I keep picking up and putting down the idea of writing a book on pearls. There is such a huge variety out there from the tiny rice pearls to the Tahitian bomb shell pearls. So, I'm always on the look-out for some great pearl eye candy, and that's just what I found at Assael International:

Assael International is the world leader in South Sea & Tahitian Natural Colored cultured pearls. In 1976, Assael International became world renowned for introducing to the jewelry industry the newest and highly prized gem – "The Tahitian Natural Color Cultured Pearl." Through its leadership, professional and relentless efforts, this new gem has reached tremendous worldwide demand and prominence.

Our company stands above the industry because of its world class staff that brings intuition and a lifetime of experience to every piece of jewelry created. Our experts travel the world to find the best quality cultured pearls and precious stones for our creations.

The wonderful necklace pictured top left is stunning. I love how they have incorporated different shapes into this design. It just shows that each pearl doesn't have to be perfectly shaped to be used in a really beautiful design.

Here's some more pearl jewelry finds from their web site.