Watch the growth of an akoya oyster from 1 day old to 2 years old! This little oyster is all grown up!!! ***I filmed this in Japan!*** Best, India
Category: The Science of Pearls
The Building Blocks of Pearls
All About Pearls - Our Pearl Blog, Natural Pearls, The Science of PearlsIf you have ever heard me talk about pearls and how they are formed, you have probably heard me talk about bricks. Bricks, or the building blocks of pearls, is how I best describe the interlocking layers of pearls. The aragonite that makes pearls (and makes them shiny) are interlocking crystal layers cemented together like […]
They Are Not Oysters
All About Pearls - Our Pearl Blog, The Science of PearlsPteria, Mollusk, Oyster, Pinctada… what am I talking about? The beautiful pearl making species… they are not oysters, per se, so what are they?!
What Kills The Mollusk?
Pearl Farms, The Science of PearlsIf you haven’t already, check out my post on Growing Baby Oysters. This is part two, what kills the mollusk?
Freshwater Biological Association leads the way for pearl mussel conservation
International Pearls, The Science of PearlsThe following article, “Freshwater Biological Association leads the way for pearl mussel conservation,” was written by Carl Fallowfield and published in the Cumbria Crack on 07/13/2015. I am copying it here because of my interest in freshwater pearl mussels in England. You may have seen my earlier posts on the decline of these mussel populations due to […]
Potch and The Non-Nacreous Pearl
The Science of PearlsI am just leaving Coober Pedy, source of 70% of the world’s opals and I am feeling at once quite educated and hungry to learn more. Opal forms when silica separates from sand. It simply separates and hardens. It does not need heat, it does not need pressure, it just drips into the empty crevices […]
Flame of Pearls
All About Pearls - Our Pearl Blog, Natural Pearls, The Science of PearlsHark! The flame of pearls, the pearl on fire, the flame structure of pearls! You will only get the flame of pearls in non-nacreous pearls. Tell me, do you know what a non-nacreous pearl is? Well, read all about them here! Here is the brief run-down: Gorgeous, lustrous, nacreous pearls are composed of mostly aragonite. Fabulous, […]
What is a Non-Nacreous Pearl?
All About Pearls - Our Pearl Blog, International Pearls, Non-Nacreous Pearl, The Science of PearlsWhat is a Non-Nacreous Pearl? Quite a word, isn’t it? Non-Nacreous! Well, let’s take it back to the word nacre. Does that sound a little friendlier? Pronounced with a long “a,” nacre is mother of pearl. It is the building block for a pearl. Nacre is that beautiful, lustrous material in the inside of a […]
Turning Pearls into Gold
All About Pearls - Our Pearl Blog, International Pearls, The Science of PearlsAn interesting article came out Thailand this week about new technology to turn pearls into gold! Thai researchers at the Synchrotron Light Research Institute have figured out how to change the natural color of pearls from white to gold! Okay, so not exactly pearls to gold but pearls to a gold color!
How old do mollusks need to be to create pearls?
All About Pearls - Our Pearl Blog, Pearl Farms, The Science of PearlsHave you read up on the life cycle of mollusks? If not, click here are read the fascinating story. This reproductive cycle must be maintained within the cultured pearl industry so pearl farmers have mollusks to nucleate to create pearls. So, how old do mollusks need to be to create pearls?