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If the particle
is enclosed completely by soft tissue, the pearl may
be round and well formed. If the irritating particle
becomes attached to the shell of the mollusk, a hemispherical¬-d
blister pearl will result.A pearl is built up in layers
concentrically arranged around the irritant.
The
layers may consist of a mineral produced by the mollusk
but unless the outer layers consist of nacre, the pearl
will not display the lustrous iridescence called orient
that makes pearls so highly prized an(: beautiful.
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Edible oysters cannot manufacture
the semi-transparent layers of nacre that are characteristic
of gem pearls.
Below the orient, sometimes
called overtone, is the body color or background color
of the pearl.
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Overtone
is seen in reflected light coming from the surface of the
pearl, and its colors include purple green, yellow, pink,
and orange. Body color is subdivided into three basic colors:
white, black, and "colored," including red, yellow,
pur¬ple, violet, blue, and green. Black pearls include
grays as well, 310¬bronze, dark blue, blue-green, and
green pearls with metallic luster¬ White pearls include
cream-colored, light rose, and cream rose (hot[ with pink
overtones), and so-called "fancy" pearls which always
haw three colors: cream, rose, and a blue or green overtone.
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Pearl |
| Pearl
To ancient man the natural forces around him inspired
reverence and awe sun and moon were deities with
formidable powers over the lives and destinies
of men. The discovery of a glimmering, lustrous
object from the sea that seemed to embody the
glow of the full moon was undoubtedly the inspiration
for a new cult. It is believed that pearls were
known and esteemed 3,500 years before Christ.
To the ancients e was the source of all life.
And in the lands around the Mediterranean a sell
cult developed that brought such status to the
pearl that it remained a Queen of Gems. No other
gem has retained its level of value and position
of desirability for as long a time.
.
The
pearl is actually the response of a mollusk to
the presence of an irritating impurity in its
body. Saltwater pearls are found in non-edible
oysters and freshwater pearls in mussels (clams).
The principal genus of associated with saltwater
pearls is Pinctada, and Unio is the w freshwater
pearl-producing clam genus. Many other types of
mollusks, produce concretions in their bodies,
but few display the iridescence associated with
gem pearls. |
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Within
the two hinged shells of the Pinctada mollusks are various
layers. Mother-of-pearl is the layer to which the body parts
are wd, lining the inside of the shell. If an irritating particle,
such as a or sand, gets inside the shell, the mollusk's tissues
will start to -it a protective layer of nacre (mother-of-pearl)
around it. This accretion may become a pearl.
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