The Necklace Pearl

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Who would think that something as beautiful as a rich and lustrous pearl would get its start as something very irritating? That beautiful necklace pearl that was a product of the oyster or mussel, has at its core something that was so unhealthy to the mollusk that it might really injure its delicate insides, unless something was done to protect the delicate creature that has to hide inside of a hard stone-like shell. So delicate that it couldn't live without this protective shell.

The folklore has it that a grain of sand gets into the soft delicate inner life of a mollusk, and it instantly noticed and a nacreous coating begins to coat this irritating grain. More than likely, a grain of sand is not the irritating object that becomes the core of this pearly stuff that the mollusk secretes as a defense. How can that e so? Think about it. These creatures feed and breathe underwater by passing water through a filtering system inside of the soft body. If you have ever been in the ocean you know that sand is always present, even high up in the water column, away from the sea bed.

It still makes sense that sand is the culprit, or to us pearl jewelry loving humans, that sand is the means to bring us the gem that we love the pearl. Sad as it is to destroy myths, most natural pearls are found to have a tiny parasite, often times another tiny mollusk who bore through his cousins shell in an attempt to live out its life in a very secure environment, but probably killing its defenseless host. I have seen tiny fish that died inside the mollusks shell and were encased in the most beautiful pearl fish shaped coffin.

The gem that we make our pearl jewelry from is made from substance called nacre this is the mineral that the mollusk uses to coat the inside of its shell and any foreign object. Once the threat is coated with nacre, it becomes harmless to that soft little creature; all is now covered with mother of pearl, perfectly smooth, round, and unable to hurt the animal.

Cultured pearls are grown by either inserting a tiny bead made from the shell of a mussel, when done this way the pearl is either an akoya, Tahitian pearl, or South Sea Pearls. Another way is when a piece of the mollusk, the soft part that lines the shell, called the mantle, that has the most amount of the nacreous producing cells, these are the freshwater pearls.

As they say someone's pain is another's gain. And oh yes sometimes it is a grain of sand that starts the pearl. Whatever the direct cause, we love pearls and all the pearl necklaces, pearl earrings and other pearl jewelry that can be made from the little necklace pearl.

Click here to see many beautiful pictures of the necklace pearl.

Patrick Cavanaugh, artist and pearl jeweler, has a special interest in pearls.

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