A natural pearl forms when an irritant works its way into a particular species of oyster, mussel or clam. As a defense mechanism, the mollusk secretes a fluid to coat the irritant. Layer upon layer of this coating is deposited on the irritant until a lustrous pearl is formed.
Bjbead News Search
Pearl News
- Hot News
Pearl Pictures
- Hot Pictures
Discount Jewelry Catagory
Pearl Jewelry
Gemstone Jewelry
Crystal Jewelry
Turquoise Jewelry
Coral Jewelry
Shell Jewelry
Austrian Jewelry
Other Jewelry
Metal Jewelry
Wholesale Beads
Jewelry Packing & Pouches
How does a natural pearl from
2010-06-15 17:51:00
Pearl jewelry are the perfect gift on any occasion, and they are the favorite for many jewelry lovers. However, the pearls we saw on the pearl market are often cultured pearls, become the natural pearl are so rate and expensive. But after we discovered the formation of natural pearls, we cultivated cultured pearls that are similar to the natural pearls.
While the formation of natural pearls s almost a miracle. Natural pearl formation is very rare and usually happens when a parasite or other living organism drills its way through the shell of the oyster, where it will then encounter the mantle. The mantle is irritated by this parasite and tries to defend itself by encapsulating the irritant with epithelial cells, forming a sac of cells covering this parasite. These cells will then secret layers of nacre and conchiolin on the parasite.
As the nacre builds up around the irritant, it forms concentric micro-layers, eventually creating a pearl. Natural pearls that are both large in size (diameter), and have a very symmetrical shape are extremely rare. For pearls to form in nature it can take may years of near-perfect conditions for them to make a significant gain in size.
Today, almost any pearl that you’d encounter is a cultured pearl. Desirable natural pearls are extremely rare, and hence are quite prohibitively expensive. In fact, only one in approximately 10,000 oysters not in farms will ever produce a pearl, and of those, only a very small percentage would ever yield a gem that is the right shape, size and color of something desirable.
Comment on this article