Cultured Pearls

[sumrain]

A pearl originates when a small irritant or object is placed within the tissue of a

mollusk or oyster. In response to this process, the mollusk or oyster releases a

nacre. A nacre is a mix of organic and crystalline substances. As the layers of the

nacre begin to build gradually, eventually it will form a pearl when it is

surrounded by the irritant.

Cultured pearls are the ones that are given a helping hand by a human. While

natural pearls are the ones that are formed by nature. By inserting a foreign

object into the tissue of the mollusk or oyster, pearl farmers are given the

ability to induce the pearl creation. Don’t let this statement fool you, the

natural creation of a pearl still does occur. The only difference is that with the

production of cultured pearls, the creation of the pearls are not accidental.

Natural pearls are formed more or less by chance, by a piece of food or a parasite

lodging itself within the gonad or muscle tissue of the oyster.

Japanese researchers have made quite a few discoveries in the late 19th and early

20th centuries that ended up resulting in the production of the modern-day cultured

pearls we are able to see produced to this day. Certain cultures have long been

unable to artificially stimulate a freshwater mollusk in order to produce a type of

pearl. A remarkable discovery would have to be one by Kokichi Mikimoto that

suggested a specific technique for releasing the creation of a round pearl within

the tissue of an oyster.

That certain discovery made by Kokichi Mikimoto modernized the pearl industry. The

reason for this modernization was because it gave pearl farmers the ability to

cultivate large amounts of high-quality pearls in a reliable manner. Unlike the

natural pearls that have a wide variety of shapes, sizes, and characteristics, the

cultured pearls can be designed from the beginning to be round and flawless for the

most part. To better serve the health and survival of the oysters, the ability of

monitoring these oysters during the several years that they produce, is an ability

that pearl farmers can find to be quite useful. The accessibility of pearls for a

large amount of people around the world is a good example of the effect of pearl

farmers having the ability to grow tens of thousands of pearls.

The history and modernization that cultured pearls hold is a rather interesting

subject when dealing with pearls. It is miraculous how far the pearl industry has

came over time. Usually, cultured pearls can be identified against natural pearls

by being placed within x-rays. Placing pearls in an x-ray will reveal the nucleus

that lays within the pearl.