Pearls have captivated humanity for centuries with their sheen and beauty. Various cultures have believed the pearl to have mythical properties, including the ancient Greeks, who believed pearls were tears shed by Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty. But how are pearls made?
Contrary to popular belief, pearls do not originate from a grain of sand entering an oyster. Surprisingly, sand is not a part of the process at all. Instead, they are born from a defense mechanism of marine oysters and freshwater mussels. When an irritant, such as a parasite or food particle, enters the mollusk’s shell and lodges into the mantle, it triggers the secretion of aragonite (a carbonate mineral) and conchiolin (a protein) to shield the mollusk from harm. As the secretion mixes with the intruder, it creates the material nacre, also known as mother-of-pearl. Over time, the layers of the nacre eventually become a pearl.
In commercial pearl cultivation, artisans manually introduce irritants into mollusks to induce the production of nacre, fostering the creation of pearls with precision and care. Nacre can envelop almost any irritant to create a variety of unique pearls. It is why pearls are diverse in shape, color, and size, with no two pearls the same.
Today, cultured pearls are prevalent, while natural pearls remain extremely rare. Regardless of where they originate, pearls hold great cultural and aesthetic importance, symbolizing purity, elegance, and timeless beauty.