Different Types of Pearls
A popular old Arab myth says that pearls are formed when dew drops fall into the ocean in moonlight and the oysters swallow them. Though this is a splendid and majestic way of explaining the formation of a pearl, it's not the scientific elucidation. However, it does reveal the magnificence and glamor that pearls possess. Formation of a pearl is actually a defending process by the mollusk, when a foreign particle enters its shell. The mollusks covers the foreign particle by a chemical substance, until it forms a smooth round pearl.
One may not know that there are millions of types of pearls, depending on factors like, the water in which these pearls are cultivated, and the method of cultivation. Let us have a look at the various types of pearls:
Natural Pearls
Natural pearls are the ones that are formed by a natural process. When a foreign particle enters the shell of a mollusk, its presence irritates the inner surface of the shell of mollusk. Thus, in order to get rid of this irritation, the mollusk produces a chemical substance: calcium carbonate and conchiolin, to covers this foreign particle with these chemical substances. The gradual secretion and cementing of the chemicals on the particle, results in the formation of pearl. Natural pearls can take any shape and perfect round shapes are seldom seen.
Cultured Pearls
Cultured pearls are those pearls that are formed by cultivating the oysters and placing the foreign particles in the shells of mollusks. The foreign particles that are used are beads. These beads are placed in the shell and the pearl that is formed takes the shape of the bead. Cultured pearls can be differentiated from other types of pearls by X-rays. An X-ray reveals the bead that was placed before the formation of the pearl. Thus, cultured pearls are formed in a natural way, the only difference being the purposeful placement of the beads. Cultured pearls are the most common type of pearls used these days.
Freshwater Pearls
Freshwater pearls, as the name suggests, are pearls that are cultivated by mollusks that live in freshwater, like river, lakes and ponds. 20 or more than 20 pearls are formed from one freshwater mollusks that take 6 months to 2 years to completely take the form of a pearl. The irritants that are used to form freshwater pearls are small in size. These pearls are very irregular in shape and are rarely round. Freshwater pearls are more durable and are highly resistant as compared to saltwater pearls.
Saltwater Pearls
Saltwater pearls are the pearls that are cultivated in mollusks, which live in saltwater, like oceans, bays, seas and gulfs. Only one pearl per oyster is produced and it may take more than two years for the pearl to form completely. The shape of the pearls formed from saltwater oysters are almost round and are rarely irregular. They are less durable as compared to freshwater pearls. Saltwater pearls are very expensive, as their cultivation is costlier than that of freshwater pearls.
The pearls discussed above, are the basic categories of pearls. Pearls can also be classified further depending upon the type of oyster and the water resource that cultivates these pearls. The table given below will give a brief information on these different types of oysters and their respective pearl types.
| Name of the Pearl | Type of Pearl | Name of the Mollusk/ Water Resource |
| Akoya Pearls | Cultured Pearl | Akoya Oyster |
| Biwa Pearls | Freshwater Pearl | Lake Biwa, Japan |
| Black Pearls | Saltwater Pearl | Black-lip oyster, Pacific Ocean |
| Blue Pearls | Cultured Pearl | Silver-lipped oysters, Abalone (type of snail) |
| Kasumiga Pearls | Freshwater Pearl | Lake Kaumiga, North Tokyo |
| Mabe Pearls | Cultured Pearl | Plastic dome is placed in the oyster shell |
| South Sea Pearls | Cultured Pearl | Australia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Myanmar and Thailand |
| Conch Pearls | Cultured Pearl | The Great Conch (a marine snail found in the Caribbean) |
| Melo Pearls | Natural Pearl | Sea Snails |
No wonder pearl is a very precious and beautiful object that is formed after a long process and thus, we use pearls with reference to metaphors for something that is very rare, highly precious, extremely pleasing and exceedingly adorable.
