How are pearls born in a shell?
Pearls are a true miracle of nature, an incredibly mysterious and precious stone. For many years, humanity has been creating amazing jewelry from it, which is distinguished by its delicate and fragile appearance, captivating with its sophistication and uniqueness. Below we will look at how pearls are formed.
How are natural pearls obtained?
We need to start with the fact that according to the method of formation, pearls are divided into 2 categories – natural and cultured. Natural is formed in mollusk shells. More precisely, pearls are the result of self-defense of mollusks. When a foreign object gets into the sink, it is enveloped in a special substance. So, layer by layer, pearls are formed. It protects the mollusk from foreign objects, reduces friction and reduces irritation. It is worth noting that pearls come in freshwater and seawater varieties. The first option is considered more universal and widespread. Freshwater pearls are quite easy to obtain and are therefore inexpensive. However, their sizes are somewhat smaller than their marine counterparts. In addition, they have an irregular shape and a distinct color. It should be emphasized that the most expensive pearls are produced by marine mollusks of the genus Pteria and Pinctidae.
How are artificial pearls made?
People began diving for pearls more than 4000 years ago. They had to dive to a dangerous depth of up to 20 meters without any insurance. In 1-2 minutes they had to collect as many shells as possible. There could be up to 30-40 such dives per day. It should be noted that the divers had only a knife at their disposal, and bloodthirsty sharks lay in wait around them. So, when people understood how pearls appear in nature, they began to obtain them artificially. The Japanese Kokichi Mikimoto was the first to do this in the 90s of the XNUMXth century. He was the first to open a company for growing this precious stone. What is the essence of artificial extraction: the shell flaps are slightly opened, foreign bodies (for example, beads) are placed inside, and then the shell is placed in a special reservoir. There, all conditions for the capricious mollusks to live are created in advance. It should be noted that it takes up to 2 years to grow a large river pearl, and up to 3 years for a sea pearl. Pearls grown this way are called cultured pearls. As a rule, it is used in most modern jewelry. The properties of the cultivated species are absolutely the same as those of the natural one, but the cost is much lower. The main suppliers of this stone are Japan and China, less often – Polynesia and Australia. The online store “Lavka Masterov” is ready to offer beads made from natural stones.
Popular types
- Kasumi. This stone can only be found in the vicinity of Lake Kasumigaura in Japan. It is produced by oysters specially bred in the 90s of the last century. Kasumi attracts with its teardrop-shaped shape, fairly large size (up to 2 cm), and spectacular shine. This species is often used to make jewelry.
- Keshi. Both freshwater and sea oysters can produce pearls. Typically, keshi is a natural species because oysters do not accept artificial implants. It has a flattened shape. Reminds me of a flower petal. Very prized by jewelers.
- Souffle. This name was coined by jewelry expert Jack Lynch. The stone is obtained as follows: earthy, dry material is placed into the pearl sac of the oyster, which gradually swells and stretches the sac. At this moment, the oyster grows nacre around the core, resulting in a large pearl. The cost of the stone in this case depends on the thickness of the mother-of-pearl layer.
- Blister. The stone has a unique structure, as if inflated from the inside with bubbles. Unique jewelry is made from it.
- Conc. Quite a rare species, which is especially valued by jewelers. The stone has a spherical or oval shape. It can be presented in a variety of colors – yellow, soft pink, white, brown. It is worth noting that conch shellfish live only in the Caribbean Sea. These pearls cannot be cultivated, since when the shell is opened, the animal dies.
The online store “Lavka Masterov” is ready to offer pearl beads of various types.
Primary colors
Classic pearls are always presented in white with some blue tint. However, the shades of this stone cannot be taken strictly and unambiguously. There are more than 120 species in nature. These are gold, green, pink and other colors. But they are, of course, less common than white.
On what factors does color depend? From the composition of the water in which the mollusk lives; from surrounding climatic conditions; from the type of mollusk itself, in whose shell the pearls are grown. It is believed that soft pink stones are most often mined in India, white and silver in Australia, and brown in Mexico. But Polynesia boasts black, blue and purple shades.
Once mined, pearls are often bleached and dyed specific colors. The freshwater variety stains quickly and easily because it has a thin layer of mother-of-pearl. And it may even take several months to paint sea stones.
Pink and black stones are most valued, and yellow stones are less valued.
In-demand jewelry
Now you know what pearls are made of and what shapes and colors they can come in. What kind of jewelry is it used in? In pendants, earrings, rings, beads and bracelets. Icons are also embroidered with it.
The demand for pearl jewelry never goes away. Even in Ancient Egypt, the first beauties believed that this stone was capable of giving youth and beauty for many years. Almost all of Cleopatra’s jewelry had pearls.
Modern researchers say that pearls help with depression, insomnia, and hypertensive crisis. It has a positive effect on the nervous system. And a good mood is guaranteed to everyone who receives pearl jewelry as a gift!
How does pearl mining work? Pearl producing countries Interesting facts about mining More than 95% of all pearls on the market are a product of cultivation, that is, artificial cultivation. But these pearls are natural and are formed in the shell of a pearl-bearing mollusk, not inferior in beauty and quality to natural ones.
How does pearl mining work?
This is not to say that pearls are not mined in the traditional way, but their market share is insignificant, and jewelry is quite expensive. For example, in Bahrain and off the coast of Japan, pearls were mined hundreds of years ago and are still mined today. Pearls can be either saltwater or freshwater, the latter being mined in rivers and lakes.
Extraction methods
The process of extraction itself, both in the case of cultured pearls and in the case of natural (wild) pearls, looks the same: pearl oysters are raised to the surface and the precious core is extracted from them. After this, the pearls are immediately ready for sale in bulk or for making jewelry – they do not require processing. Divers do the fishing. For example, in our time, about a thousand ama divers live on the pearl island of Mikimoto, near the Japanese city of Toba. They can descend to a depth of 10 meters and remain under water for 1–2 minutes. But there are also those who work near the shore. In the diving profession, there are restrictions on the quantity and season of catch (April – November), and there is a ban on catching juveniles. Ama must be registered with a fishing cooperative and have a boat license. The harvest takes a long time and painstakingly – not every shell will contain pearls. Therefore, the cost of finds is much higher than that of cultivation products. They came to cultivation in the middle of the XNUMXth century, when fishing was universally prohibited due to a decline in the oyster population and the deterioration of the ecology of the regions as a result of human activity. In a number of Asian countries and not only there are cultivation farms.
Cultivation stages
- In nuclear farming, a mature oyster is taken and usually one mother-of-pearl kernel is inserted into it by hand along with a fragment of the mantle of another mollusk. The nuclear-free method involves implanting only a piece of the mantle of another mollusk into the mother shell. Moreover, the number of seeds can reach up to thirty.
- After replanting, the pearl mussel is returned to the reservoir. The process of forming a pearl takes from several months to several years.
- Once the formation process is complete, the pearl is removed and used for jewelry production.
The maximum number of cultivation cycles for one oyster is three.
Pearl producing countries
Asian countries remain leaders in the field of cultivation: Japan, China, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam. The pearl farms of Australia, the Persian Gulf countries, and French Polynesia are famous for their products.
How to find pearls in natural conditions? The few finds are accidental. Thus, in a number of rivers of the Arkhangelsk region, where the common pearl mussel previously lived, no populations have been found at present. They survived only in the basins of the Solza and Onega rivers.
The European pearl mussel is preserved in the rivers of the Murmansk region and Karelia. But now pearl-bearing mollusks are only being studied and protected; mass fishing is not carried out.
Interesting facts about mining
Finally, we have prepared a selection of facts related to the mining and discovery of the mineraloid.
1. There are known cases of death that occurred during pearl fishing. For example, in 1937 in the Philippines, a diver came across a huge mollusk, but, having opened the shell, he was captured by it and could not get out. When the diver was discovered a day later and raised to the surface along with the shell, it contained a 6-kilogram pearl (the pearl of Allah).
2. In Bahrain, tourists are offered dives to search for pearl mollusks, accompanied by a guide. Searching for and catching pearl mussels on your own is prohibited.
3. Pearl farm workers’ main concerns are red tides, harmful algal blooms, and temperature changes because farmed oysters could die.
4. Pearls and pearl jewelry purchased in other countries are subject to declaration when imported into Russia.
5. In 2019, an elderly resident of the American city of Portland, having purchased oysters from a local merchant, discovered a pearl in one of them during a home lunch. Finds like this are extremely rare.
6. A rare success for divers is to get Abalone, Melo and Conch pearls.
7. The largest gem-quality pearl is considered to be the Peregrina, caught in the mid-55,95th century, weighing XNUMX carats. One of the owners was Elizabeth Taylor.
