Cultured Pearls

Cultured Pearl Formation

A pearl is formed when a small irritant or parasite penetrates and lodges in the mantle tissue of mollusks. In response to a substance called Nacre is secreted, and the creation of a pearl begins. Nacre is a combination of crystalline and organic substances. De Nacre builds up in layers, as it surrounds the irritant to protect the mollusks, and after a couple of years building it up from Nacre forms a pearl.

Natural pearls vs. cultured pearls

Natural pearls are pearls formed by chance. Cultured pearls have been given a helping hand by humans. Almost all pearls are grown. By inserting a foreign object into an mollusks, pearl farmers can lead to the creation of a pearl. Then the same process of natural pearl creation takes place. The difference is that in this case, the incentive is intentional.

Cultured pearls can be distinguished from natural pearls by x-rays that reveal the inner part of the bead.

The early days of cultured pearls

Modern cultured pearls are the result of discoveries made in the late 19th and early 20th century, Japanese researchers Tatsuhei Mise, Tokishi Nishikawa, and son of a noodle maker, Kokichi Mikimoto. Although some cultures had long been able to artificially stimulate freshwater mollusks that produce a kind of pearl beads are produced in this way were generally hemispherical mabes, rather than completely round pearls.

Final Round producing cultured pearls

While early Mikimoto career he focused on mabe production, he finally produced waves with a technique involving tissue and bead insertion in gonadedosis of an Akoya mollusks. He patented this technique in 1916.

The Cultured Pearl Industry Is Born

This revolutionized the pearl industry, because it was a reliable, consistent production of a large number of quality pearls. The cultured pearl industry today were born. While natural pearls are very different shapes, sizes and qualities, and are hard to find, cultured pearls could now be "designed" round from the start. High quality round pearls can now be manufactured by the millions, making them available to everyone.

Today's Cultured Pearl Industry

The evolution of pearl cultivation was much of a chance, risk and guesswork out of the pearl industry. This has to be stable and predictable, the promotion of rapid growth during the past 100 years. Today, the cultured pearl industry has largely replaced the natural pearl industry in the production of formed freshwater, South Sea, Tahitian, and of course the original Mikimoto Akoya pearls.