What are pearls in simple words?

Pearls are spherical or irregularly shaped shiny formations with a mother-of-pearl tint, resulting from the deposition of layers of aragonite (calcium carbonate) around a foreign body, most often grains of sand, in the cavity of marine and freshwater mollusks that have a shell with an inner layer of mother-of-pearl.

Title “PEARL”

It is believed that the name “pearl” comes from the Chinese word “zhen-gzhu”, meaning “sea shell”. Natural (“wild”) pearls were formed as a result random introduction foreign body into the body of a mollusk from its habitat.
Cultured pearls are the result of artificial application human core-seed.

Physico-chemical properties of pearls

Pearls consist of the thinnest plates of aragonite, fastened together with organic glue – conchiolin, secreted by the mollusk.
The chemical composition of pearls and mother-of-pearl is the same: calcium carbonate CaCO3, containing 10–14% organic matter and 2–4% water. Hardness The Mohs hardness scale is in the range of 3,5–4,0 (diamond hardness is 10,0).
Saltwater pearls are less hard than freshwater pearls. Diameter The diameter of pearls is measured in millimeters.
In the jewelry industry, pearls with a diameter of 3,0 to 20,0 mm are used. Color White: with shades of cream, pink, blue.
Black: with shades of brown, gold, blue, purple, green. Brilliance Silky, iridescent, matte, pearlescent.
With intense coloring it approaches metallic. Quality In international practice, they are denoted in Latin letters:
C, B, A, AA, AA+ and AAA. The highest quality is designated as AAA.
The best quality pearls are considered to be pearls of ideal spherical shape with bright luster and a minimum amount of surface natural defects. Transparency Translucent at high quality (AA–AAA).
Opaque at low quality (below A). Pearl weight unit The unit of weight for pearls is pearl granules – a non-systemic unit preserved in gemology for measuring the mass of pearls, equal to 50 mg or 0,25 carats. Age The age of a pearl determines its diameter: the larger the pearl in diameter, the greater its age. For example, it takes at least 9,5 years for a pearl to reach a diameter of 10–9 mm.

Pearl formation

The warm “living” glow of pearls is a consequence of the special natural mechanism of its formation. The bead is born as a result of the body’s protective reaction to the penetration of a foreign body into the shell. The mollusk disinfects a suspicious foreign object by covering it with numerous layers of mother-of-pearl. And the longer he has to “defend himself,” the greater the final result of his work. Although pearls are considered a precious stone, they cannot be fully classified as minerals, since the layering of mineral substances is accompanied by an admixture of organic compounds. The biogenic material itself produced by mollusks deserves special attention. Not all of their species are capable of producing stones with a characteristic iridescent sheen, and in some cases non-nacreous pearls are born inside the shell, which is also highly valued by jewelers for their decorative properties. The number of pearls, size, shape and color depends on the type of mollusk and its habitat. Stone born from freshwater pearl mussels and pearl mussels has a more subdued shine. Saltwater pearls have a deeper, brighter shine and a wide range of shades.

pearl mining

Once upon a time, pearl fishing was a difficult craft, and in search of stones, pearl divers were forced to open thousands of shells. Uncontrolled fishing for many centuries has led to a significant reduction in all shellfish. The vast majority of all modern pearls are cultivated on special farms, which makes it possible to create almost perfect beads with minimal harm to the pearl oyster.

Pearls in jewelry

The value of pearls in jewelry is determined by several factors, the main ones being size, brilliance and shape. The most expensive pearls will be large, spherical stones, without visible flaws. The thickness of the mother-of-pearl layer is also important for the price. Depending on all evaluation criteria, beads can be marked from class A to AAA. Baroque pearls stand apart in the art of jewelry – a stone that has an irregular asymmetrical shape with a bumpy surface. The most interesting among these pearls are the “paragons” that have the outlines of a human or animal body.

The origin of pearls and its history

History of pearls Pearls in ancient times The Chinese were the first people to use this precious stone. It started about 42 centuries ago. At first, pearls were not used as jewelry, they replaced money. How are pearls grown?
The first stage of pearl cultivation is collecting eggs from pearl oysters. The young mollusks that emerge from it are kept in metal cages with small cells to protect them from attack by octopuses. Pearls fresh from the shell are not hard. To harden, it is subjected to special treatment, for which special chemical solutions are used. After this, the pearls are processed. Processing is any action that changes the appearance of the pearl. It is a mistake to consider cultured pearls artificial. A cultured pearl is as natural as a rose grown in a greenhouse under the supervision of an experienced gardener. The process of culturing pearls. Today, the main niche of freshwater pearls on the world market is occupied by cultured pearls, that is, those grown in rivers and lakes. A huge share of pearls comes to us from China, which annually supplies dozens to the market. Pearls that have an irregular shape are called baroque or baroque pearls. This includes all stones that turned out to be of imperfect shape. They can be natural or cultivated. The largest pearls The Pearl of Allah is the largest known in the world. There is a tragic story associated with it. In 1934, on May 7, the son of a Philippine leader, 18-year-old Etem, disappeared. It turned out that during the dive.

Types of pearls

Akoya pearls are grown in bivalve oysters, which belong to the genus Pinctada and are called Akoya-kai in Japanese. This is where the name of this type of pearl comes from. Akoya pearls gained worldwide popularity thanks to. Only four types of oysters produce saltwater pearls in the world. The Pinctada Maxima mollusk, which is used to grow South Sea pearls, is an absolute giant among them. They produce very large pearls, mostly in white, gold and silver tones. Tahitian pearls are grown in the large black-lipped oyster Pinctada Margaritifera. Pearl farms are scattered throughout French Polynesia. Mabe pearls are cultured pearls. It is grown in Japan and Southeast Asia. It can be either freshwater or marine. Mabe, unlike ordinary pearls, has a hemispherical rather than round shape, which is why it is sometimes called a “half-pearl”. These are very beautiful pearls with an irregular shape. The name Keshi is translated from Japanese as “grain, poppy”. The color and size of the “grain” depend on the type of oyster. Cortez pearls are cultured saltwater pearls. Grown only in Mexico on special pearl farms on the coast of the Sea of ​​Cortez. The diameter of pearls is from 8 to 12 millimeters, it is grown. Kasumi is considered the most mysterious pearl. In our country it is not yet very well known, which is why it gives rise to many misconceptions. It is grown in Lake Kasumi-ga-ura in Japan. Abalone is one of the most expensive and amazing types of pearls. It is very rare. It develops in deep-sea mollusks Abalon, the age of this species is about 30 million years. Conch pearls often have a porcelain sheen rather than a traditional mother-of-pearl shimmer. Pearls are symmetrical in shape, usually in the form of ovals, teardrops or baroque shapes. The magnificent orange Melo pearls are found in Melo Melo snails. They live along the coastal regions of Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. Their shell size is from 15 to 30 centimeters.

Imitation pearl

Currently, there is a lot of jewelry that imitates real pearls. Imitation pearls were first produced in the mid-16th century in France. In the 20th century, a number of methods began to be used to imitate pearls – from glass, mother-of-pearl pastes, celluloid, and gelatin. The likeness of black pearls is cut from hematite, and pink pearls are cut from coral.

Pearls in jewelry

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Pearls are the only precious stone that is of animal origin: it is not formed in the bowels of the earth, like diamonds or emeralds, but in the shells of bivalve mollusks.

Where do pearls come from inside shells? In Ancient Greece they believed that these were the hardened tears of mermaids. In the Middle Ages, they believed that angels hid the tears of orphans and innocent people in shells, and there they turned into pearls.

In fact, the pearl is the fruit of the mollusk’s labors in self-defense! It is formed when a foreign object or parasite gets inside the shell, irritating the delicate body of the mollusk. The mollusk cannot get rid of a foreign body, and therefore it protects itself from the stranger by enveloping it in layers of a special substance. He does this in the same way as when forming his shell.

The inner layer of the shell, produced by the mantle of the mollusk, is nacre (German). perl – pearls, mother – mother; Perlmutter – “mother of pearls”) If you find a bivalve shell on a river or seashore, examine its inside. You will see that it is covered with a layer that has a beautiful shine. This is mother of pearl.

Inner surface of the sink
bivalve mollusk

When a foreign object, such as a grain of sand or a parasite, gets into the shell, the mantle begins to envelop the uninvited guest with nacre – layer by layer. This is how a pearl is formed. Thanks to it, the mollusk gets rid of the inconvenience caused by a foreign object. By sealing it in a smooth carbonate ball, the mollusk reduces friction and irritation.

Thus, in the center of the pearl there is always a “crystallization center”, the germ of the pearl. But it also happens that there is no foreign object in the center of the pearl. In this case, the seed for the formation of a pearl can be a gas bubble, a drop of liquid, or a piece of mollusk tissue – during the process of pearl formation, it gradually decomposes.

The shape of a growing pearl depends mainly on where its embryo ends up. If the pearl sac is located near the surface of the shell, then the nacreous layer of the pearl merges with the nacre of the shell and forms an irregular pearl – a blister. The blister does not have a pearlescent layer at the attachment point. If the bag ends up in the mantle of the mollusk, then a pearl of the correct shape grows. Pearls that form in the muscles or in parts adjacent to them have an irregular, often very bizarre shape.

Formation of a pearl sac in the shell of a bivalve mollusk – pearl mussel
First, the cells of the mantle begin to envelop the foreign body with an outer film, forming around it
a pearl sac that is pressed into the tissue of the animal. The inside of the pearl sac is first released
some organic matter, then calcium carbonate crystals in the form of prismatic aragonite and finally
aragonite in the form of a lamellar layer (nacre).

The group of mollusks that are capable of forming pearls is called pearl mussels.

Pearl mussels come in freshwater and marine varieties.

Freshwater, or river, pearls are the most versatile. It has long been used to decorate both the outfits of peasant women and the dresses of noble ladies. River pearls are thousands of times cheaper than sea pearls, since they are obtained easier and faster; In addition, freshwater pearl mussels are larger than sea pearl mussels and are capable of simultaneously growing up to 20 pearls. Freshwater pearls are smaller than sea pearls, have a less regular shape and are less shiny. But river pearls are stronger than sea pearls and more resistant to abrasion. Freshwater pearls account for the largest share of pearl production in the world.

Freshwater pearl beads

The highest quality pearls are produced by marine mollusks of the genera Pinktada and Pteria. They usually form dense settlements – banks, which are located at a depth of 10-15 m.

At first, people obtained pearls by diving for pearl shells. The pearl diving industry dates back more than 4 thousand years. It is very difficult and dangerous, because the diver must dive to great depths (usually up to 20 m) without any auxiliary devices, armed only with a knife, remain there for a sufficient time (usually one to one and a half minutes) to collect as many shells as possible and make up to 30 -40 dives per day! In addition, sharks await the diver in the sea.

Having figured out how pearls are formed, people learned to grow pearls artificially. This technology was invented by the Japanese researcher Kokichi Mikemoto in the 90s of the 19th century. He also created the first pearl growing company. Pearls are grown like this: by opening the shell flaps, foreign bodies, for example, a tiny bead or bead made of natural mother-of-pearl, are introduced under the mantle of the pearl oyster. Then the shell is placed in a special reservoir, in which ideal conditions are created for the mollusks to live. It takes 3 years to grow one good sea pearl, and up to 2 years for a river pearl.

Pearls grown in this way are called cultured pearls. Almost all pearls used in jewelry (90%) are cultured. In terms of its properties, it is no different from natural pearls, and is several times cheaper, despite the fact that not all cultured pearls meet quality standards – there are a lot of defects in this matter.

The main suppliers of cultured pearls are China and Japan, with Australia and Polynesia to a lesser extent.