Pearl: Is it a stone or an animal product?

So what are pearls anyway? Pearls are made of calcium carbonate and can be considered small accidents of nature. Sometimes in the life of oysters, mussels, shells, and some other shellfish, a tiny parasite or grain of sand is ingested in the folds of the shell’s body. The animal will secrete a substance called nacre and cover the intrusion with a hard layer to protect itself from damaging the rest of the body.

Mother-of-pearl is a very hard substance and is made up of little brick-like pieces that come together and form layer after layer of these little bricks, almost like a brick wall. Mother-of-pearl also coats the inside of shellfish and creates a nice, shiny surface. This surface called nacre is a hard organic / inorganic composite material produced by some mollusks as the inner layer of the shell; it also forms the outer coating of the pearls. It is strong, porcelain, resistant and iridescent.

Due to the brick-like structure of mother-of-pearl, it results in the nice or pearly appearance that we see when we look closely at the pearl. Scientists have experimented with lasers to create patterns similar to mother-of-pearl bricks by etching them into glass. The results were 200 times the hardness of normal glass.

William Saville-Kent was born in England in 1845, educated and lived for many years in Australia and New Zealand. In 1889, he became Queensland Commissioner of Fisheries. In 1892, he was promoted to Western Australian Fisheries Commissioner, a position he held until 1895. During this time, he experimented with pearl farming on Thursday Island. The method he invented is still used today. He sold his patent to a Japanese businessman who promoted the business and got it to where it is today.

The process for creating a cultured pearl is fairly simple and takes the guesswork out of hit or miss natural creation.

A small spherical piece of shell is rounded, polished, and then inserted into the oyster’s mantle by prying open the shell. A small incision is made and the nucleus is inserted along with a small piece of mantle gland.

The oyster is then placed in a cage and returned to the water, where it will remain for about two to three years. During that time, the bead will be covered with layers of mother-of-pearl. Eventually the pearl will pull out like a perfectly round delicacy.

So now we return to the question: Is the pearl a stone or an animal product? Now you can be the judge.