Pearls are a popular feature in jewelry, though they come in many different types and colors, with some pearls much rarer than others. Natural pearls are far rarer than cultured pearls.
There are various types of rare natural pearls in the world, but the rarest pearl in the world is the Melo Melo pearl. Some may argue it is not a true pearl since it is non-nacreous, but it is still referred to as a pearl and highly valued, particularly in intense orange hues.
Melo Melo pearls are beautiful and highly coveted pearls, though pearl enthusiasts also seek out several other types of pearls for private collections or to create jewelry pieces with.
Distinguishing between natural pearls and cultured pearls
The process behind creating a real pearl is an intriguing one that involves certain mollusks coating an irritant in their shell with layers of nacre. The pearl forms as these nacre layers build up.
When considering pearls, it’s important to note the difference between natural pearls and cultured pearls. Both of these types of pearls are real pearls (as opposed to fake, manmade pearls), as they are both made in mollusks.
The difference between them though is that natural pearls are extremely rare and are formed by mollusks in the wild, compared to much more readily available cultured pearls which are formed by mollusks in commercial pearl farms.
To create a cultured pearl, a pearl farmer intentionally places an irritant in the mollusk’s shell in order to stimulate the mollusk to begin making a pearl. Cultured pearl farms can use both seawater and freshwater mollusks to create the pearls.
Natural pearls are so rare that many places have placed a ban on harvesting them. In terms of commercially available pearls, almost all of them are cultured pearls as opposed to natural pearls.
The Melo Melo pearl
The Melo Melo pearl stands out for its beautiful coloring, extreme rarity, and the fact that it is produced by a sea snail as opposed to an oyster. The snail is known by several names such as the Melo Melo snail, the bailer volute, the bailer shell, or zebra sea snail.
The Melo Melo snail is found within Southeast Asia in areas such as the South China Sea, the Bay of Bengal, the Gulf of Thailand, and the Andaman Sea. The waters off of Vietnam’s coast are the primary source for finding Melo Melo pearls.
It’s likely that only one snail in every several thousand will produce a decently sized pearl and finding one with a prized orange hue is even rarer. Since the snails live at deep depths, this makes the pearls hard to harvest as well without suitable technology.
To date, no Melo Melo pearl has been successfully cultured, meaning that all Melo Melo pearls currently available are natural pearls, adding to their rarity and desirability.
The Melo Melo pearl is a non-nacreous pearl, which some would argue means it is not a true pearl in the sense that true pearls are formed by bivalve mollusks using nacre. The Melo Melo pearl does not have the distinct luster or iridescence of nacreous pearls, but this doesn’t mean it’s not impressive in its appearance.
A Melo Melo pearl can produce what is known as a swirling, shimmering flame structure in light, with a porcelain-like luster. This beautiful appearance in combination with their rarity makes them highly valued and sought after.
The most valued color for a Melo Melo pearl is a deep, intense orange, though they can range in color from dark browns to light tans and yellows.
Since they vary in size, color, and quality, Melo Melo pearls are valued on an individual basis. Unmounted, high-quality Melo Melo pearls usually cost over $75,000 but mounted pearls can cost over $200,000, such as a mounted pearl auctioned by Christie’s which sold for over $250,000.
Other types of rare pearls
Conch pearls are another extremely rare pearl, though like Melo Melo pearls they are non-nacreous. They have not been successfully cultivated and it is estimated that only one in every ten thousand queen conch sea snails will produce a pearl, with only around one in a hundred being gem quality.
Conch pearls range in color from pastel pinks to peaches, with the most valuable color being a dark, intense pink.
The exceptionally rare abalone pearl is formed by abalone mollusks and a natural abalone pearl can take eight to ten years to produce. Abalone pearls come in a range of colors and are usually baroque in shape.
Tahitian pearls are another rare type of pearl which are produced by black-lipped oysters specifically in French Polynesia. Although black is a common color, they also range in color from dark greens to silver.