The Pearl

like Persia, ground pearl powders could be used as a medicine to cure anything including heart diseases and epilepsy. B Pearls can generally be divided into three categories: natural, cultured and imitation. When an irritant (such as a grain of sand) gets inside a certain type of oyster, mussel, or clam, the mollusc will secrete a fluid as a means of defence to coat the irritant. Gradually, layers are accumulated around the irritant until a lustrous natural pearl is formed. C A cultured pearl undergoes the same process. There is only one difference between cultured pearls and natural ones: in cultured pearls, the irritant is a bead called 'mother of pearl' and is placed in the oyster through surgical implantation. This results in much larger cores in cultivated pearls than those in natural pearls. As long as there are enough layers of nacre (the secreted fluid covering the irritant) to create a gorgeous, gem-quality pearl; the size of the nucleus wouldn't make a difference to beauty or durability.