Pearl

Pearls are formed in shellfish-especially oyster and mussels. Layers of aragonite are secreted around the irritant and gradually build up to the form of solid pearl. Now day’s pearls are cultured in huge quantity.

Hardness: -7.0

Appearance:
Pearls vary in color from white, white with a hint of color generally pink or black. They are sensitive towards acids, dryness and humidity, and so are less durable than other gems. Natural pearls consist of about 92% of calcium carbonate. Mostly natural pearls are spherical however they can be irregular in shape also. They are also pierced and threaded specially the small and medium size. The biggest problem of pearls is difference natural pearls from cultured pearls.

Occurrence:
Natural pearls are harvested from Persian Gulf and from the gulf of manaar (Indian Ocean). Cultured pearls are harvested from Japan and along the North West coast of Australia.