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Pearl Nacre Defined Nacre, also known as mother-of-pearl, is a crystalline substance that creates the iridescent visual effect attributed to pearls. Nacre is an organic substance secreted by mollusks to produce their shells. It may be used to protect the animal against an intruder (the so...

Imitation Pearls Defined Imitation pearls are products elaborated to simulate the appearance of cultured or natural pearls, but do not possess same natural chemical composition or physical properties nor origin (a living organism) of cultured or natural pearls. A group of...

By Caitlin Williams and Kathie Hodson The Pearl Millions of dollars, arranged murder, historical fabrications, journeys across vast oceans and battles in court? all are attached to what some people have called the ugliest pearl in the world. Complex and treacherous like the myriad folds on the...

Naming Problems Ever since Shohei Shirai's book "Pearls and Pearl Oysters of the World" (1994) came out, many species that were once believed to be different have been confirmed as actually belonging to one species. Such is the case for the Pinctada imbricata species, that now encompasses...

Pinctada nigra (Gould, 1850) Common Synonyms P. atropurpurea (Dunker, 1852) P. flexuosa (Reeve, 1857) P. sheepmakeri (Dunker, 1872) P. reentsii (Dunker, 1872) P. tristis (Dunker, 1872) P. natalensis (Jameson, 1901) P. nigra pearls are rare and generally inferior. They were...

The Pinctada fucata/martensii/radiata/imbricata species complex Naming Problems Ever since Shohei Shirahi's book "Pearls and Pearl Oysters of the World" (1994) came out, many species that were once believed to be different have been confirmed as actually belonging to one species. Such is the...

Pinctada maculata (Gould, 1850) Distinguishing Characteristics P. maculata is the smallest of the Pinctada genus. The shell measures barely over 5 cm in length, and the pearls are at most 8 mm in diameter. Nacre color ranges from white to golden and brown. The "pipi" shell is used in Polynesia...

Pinctada chemnitzii (Phillippi, 1849) Distinguishing Characteristics P. chemnitzii is often confused with the "Akoya Complex" or Pinctada imbricata species. Ecology and Habitat P. chemnitzii is found on the Northern coast of Australia and in the South and East China Sea. It is also native to...

Pinctada capensis (Sowerby, 1872) Distinguishing Characteristics The shells of P. capensis look remarkably similar to Pteria shells. They have a longer shape that is slightly deformed. When both halves are open, the silhouette of the shell resembles a "C" shape. The luster of the inner shell is...

Pinctada albina (Lamarck, 1819) Distinguishing Characteristics P. albina is known as the smaller Australian Oyster. In the 1960's, studies revealed that there were local differences between the color and size of the shell. Because the differences were determined to be geographical...

Tahitian Pearls, The Early Years Tahitian pearls retained popularity throughout the South Pacific as a gem of beauty and rarity, but the pearls were, for much of their early years, unheard of in Western markets. Jean-Claude Brouillet Starts a Tahitian Pearl Farm It was not until businessman...

Culturing Tahitian Pearls By Josh Humbert of Kamoka Pearls (KamokaPearls.com). Tahitian pearls are cultured in lagoons surrounded by atolls in French Polynesia using the Pinctada margaritifera mollusk (pearl oyster). Collecting the Baby Oysters Oysters start their lives as free-swimming...

Kokichi Mikimoto Kokichi Mikimoto's contribution to the cultured pearl industry cannot be overstated. While he may not have single-handedly invented the industry, he played a pivotal role in its development and widespread acceptance of the Japanese akoya pearl. Born in Toba City, Japan, in...

Japanese Akoya Pearls Defined Japanese Akoya Pearls is a term often used as a misnomer to describe all cultured akoya pearls. This is no longer an industry accepted term as akoya pearls are now also grown in China, South Korea, Vietnam and Australia. Japanese akoya pearls is the correct term...

Hanadama Akoya Pearls Hanadama is a Japanese word for "Spherical Flower" and is the term used to describe high quality and highly valued akoya pearls from any given harvest. These pearls are separated from typical class grading prior to auction and are sold as individually separated lots...

CBSB "Fireball" Pearl Culture and the Return of the Biwa Pearly Mussel by Jeremy Shepherd and Doug Fiske In April of this year, PearlParadise.com CEO Jeremy Shepherd and GIA writer Doug Fiske traveled with GIA photographer Valerie Power to the Weitang and Zhuji regions, centers of the...

Am I Getting Freshwater or Cultured Pearls? A common question faced by many pearl buyers today is whether a particular strand of pearls is composed of freshwater or cultured pearls. This question cannot have a definitive answer because freshwater pearls are in fact cultured pearls. Freshwater...

The Genus Pinctada, Roding 1798 The family Pteriidae is composed of nine or ten genera, and pearl oysters belonging to the Pinctada and Pteria genera are the most important from our point of view. We start off with the firts of these genus. Pinctada History and Discovery Historically, there is...