How many of us have ever fantasized this scene: It is a quiet dinner, in a very nice restaurant. The lights are low and you are sharing a romantic night with a certain special someone.  As the waiter delivers oysters-on-the-half-shell, you notice a faint glimmer of light originating from your delicacy.  Could it be?  Is it a beautiful pearl that was somehow overlooked? 

While the fantasy is fun, it will likely be something that you will never experience.  The reason is fairly simple.  Oysters that make beautiful pearls don't taste very good.  And oysters that taste good don't make beautiful pearls.  It all depends on the species.

Any mollusk that produces a shell can potentially produce a pearl.  These pearl producing animals can live in either the sea, or in fresh water.     

Marine pearls vs fresh water pearls -

Pearls that come from oysters that live in fresh water are called fresh water pearls. These pearls are much more common than those that come from the marine oysters.  A major factor contributing to the difference in availability has to do with the many difficulties in harvesting pearls from the sea.  The sharks alone would be enough to keep me away.

Obviously different species thrive in different environments; however, there are hundreds of different species of fresh water pearl mollusks.  (Have you ever heard of Biwa pearls?  They get their name from a freshwater lake in Japan, where they are produced.)  Some of these fresh water oysters have been known to produce dozens of pearls at a time.

The size, shape, color, and luster of a pearl are dependant on a number of factors including the species that produced it.

Natural pearls vs cultured pearls –

All genuine pearls are the result of a biological process that takes place inside the mollusk.  One of the main distinctions is whether it was a naturally occurring process (i.e., a grain of sand drifting into an oyster shell) or if the process was helped along by humans. 

It has been estimated that only one out of 10,000 will naturally contain a pearl.  Even if you were lucky enough to find "the one" that had a pearl, there is an extremely high likelihood that it would be irregularly shaped, and not something that you would want to use in a nice piece of jewelry.

Enter the "pearl farmers".  Over the years, techniques have been developed to aid the natural processes that form pearls.  The temperature and chemistry of the water are just two of the factors that are used to increase both the quality and quantity of the pearls being harvested.

More about pearls, in our next issue of "Jewels".

Making Jewelry Fun, Inc.     Salt Lake City, Utah

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Last modified: 01/10/10