Pearl

- Shop
- Valentine's Gift Guide
- NEW
- New Mexico Minerals
- Sale
- Minerals
- Fossils
- Energy Tools
- Jewelry
- Gems & Cabs
- Home Decor
- Books & Games
- Sets & Kits
- Decorative Carvings & Shapes
- Gift Cards
- Blog
- Info Pages
- Birthstones
- Chakras
- Crystallography
- Crystal Habits
- Crystal Systems
- Geologic Time Scale
- Mohs Scale of Mineral Hardness
- Newsletter Archives
- Southwest Gem/ Mineral/ Rock Clubs
- Taos Rockers' Gem Safari
- Size Chart
- About
- Actinolite
- Adamite
- Agate
- Alabaster
- Albite
- Altaite
- Amazonite
- Amber (fossil)
- Amethyst
- Ametrine
- Ammonite (fossil)
- Andradite Garnet
- Angel Aura Quartz
- Angelite
- Apatite
- Apophyllite
- Aqua Aura Quartz
- Aquamarine
- Aurichalcite
- Australian Opals
- Austinite
- Aventurine
- Azurite
- Baker Geodes
- Bahia Amethyst
- Banded Amethyst
- Baltic Amber (fossil)
- Barite
- Beryl
- Black Kyanite
- Black Moonstone
- Black Onyx
- Black Opal
- Black Tourmaline (Schorl)
- Bloodstone
- Blue Fluorite
- Blue Lace Agate
- Blue Topaz
- Blue Tourmaline (Indicolite)
- Boulder Opal
- Botswana Agate
- Bronzite
- Bumblebee Jasper
- Cactus/Spirit/Faerie Quartz
- Calcite
- Carnelian
- Cassiterite
- Celestite
- Cerussite
- Chabazite
- Chalcedony
- Charoite
- Chevron Amethyst
- Chiastolite
- Chrome Diopside
- Chrysocolla
- Citrine
- Clear Quartz
- Cobaltoan Calcite
- Conichalcite
- Copper
- Coral
- Coral (fossil)
- Covellite
- Columbite
- Crazy Lace Agate
- Crocoite
- Cuprite
- Cuprian Austinite
- Dalmatian Jasper
- Danburite
- Demantoid Garnet
- Dendritic Agate
- Descloisite
- Diamond
- Dinosaur Bone (fossil)
- Dioptase
- Dogtooth Calcite
- Dolomite
- Dolostone
- Dragonsblood Jasper
- Emerald
- Epidote
- Ethiopian Emerald
- Ethiopian Opal
- Feldspar
- Flower Agate
- Fluorapatite
- Fluorite
- Fulgurite (Lechatelierite)
- Galena
- The Garnet Group
- Gaspeite
- Geodes
- Goethite
- Goldstone
- Green Apophyllite
- Green Aventurine
- Green Fluorite
- Green Moonstone
- Green Onyx
- Green Opal
- Green Tourmaline (Verdelite)
- Grossular Garnet
- Gypsum
- Gypsum - desert rose
- Hematite
- Hemimorphite
- Herkimer "diamond"
- Hessonite Garnet
- Heulandite
- Himalayan Salt
- Hydroxyl-Clinohumite
- Iceland Spar Calcite Rhombus
- Idocrase
- Imperial Topaz
- Inclusion Quartz
- Indigo Gabbro
- Iolite
- Jacare Amethyst
- Jade, Nephrite, and Jadeite
- Jasper
- Jet
- K2 Jasper
- Kambaba Jasper
- Kiwi Jasper
- Kyanite
- Labradorite
- Lapis Lazuli
- Larimar
- Leaf (fossil)
- Lemurian quartz
- Lepidolite
- Lithium Quartz
- Lybian Desert Glass
- Malachite
- Magnetite
- Mangano Calcite
- Mesolite
- Meteorite
- Mexican Fire Opal
- Mimetite
- Moldavite
- Montana Sapphire
- Mookaite Jasper
- Moonstone
- Mordenite
- Morganite
- Moss Agate
- Mother-of-Pearl
- Mottramite
- Moqui Balls
- Mystic
- Obsidian - sheen
- Ocean Jasper
- Onyx
- Opal
- Opalina
- Opalite
- Orgonite
- Orpheus Agate
- Orpiment
- Orthoclase
- Peach Moonstone
- Pearl
- Petrified Wood (fossil)
- Peridot
- Phlogopite
- Pietersite
- Pink Moonstone
- Pink Opal
- Pinolith
- Porphyry
- Poppy Jasper
- Prasiolite (green Amethyst)
- Prehnite
- Puddingstone
- Purple Fluorite
- Pyrite
- Quartz
- Rainbow Moonstone
- Red Flower Jasper
- Red Jasper
- Red Selenite
- Red Tiger Eye
- Ricardite
- Rhodochrocite
- Rhodonite
- Rosasite
- Rose Quartz
- Ruby
- Ruby in Fuchite
- Ruby in Kyanite
- Ruby in Zoisite (Anyolite)
- Rutilated Quartz
- Sapphire
- Sand Dollar (fossil)
- Sandstone
- Sardonyx
- Schorl (Black Tourmaline)
- Sea Urchin (fossil)
- Sedona Jasper
- Sedona Sunrise
- Selenite
- Seraphinite
- Serpentine
- Septarian Calcite
- Shadow Amethyst
- Sheen Obsidian
- Shells (fossil)
- Shiva Lingham
- Shungite
- Silver Leaf Jasper
- Smithsonite
- Smoky Amethyst
- Smoky Quartz
- Snowflake Obsidian
- Sodalite
- Sonoran Sunrise
- Spencer Opal
- Spessartine Garnet
- Sphalerite
- Star Garnet
- Star Ruby
- Starfish (fossil)
- Staurolite Cross
- Stibnite
- Stilbite
- Stromatolite (fossil)
- Sunstone
- Super 7
- Tangerine Quartz
- Tanzanite
- Teeth (fossil)
- Tigers Eye
- Tiffany Stone
- Titanium Vapor Coated
- Trilobite (fossil)
- Tourmaline
- Tourmalinated Quartz
- Turquoise
- Umba Sapphire
- Unakite Jasper
- Uvarovite Garnet
- Variscite
- Vera Cruz Amethyst
- Vesuvianite
- Volborthite
- Water Agate
- Watermelon Tourmaline
- Willow Creek Jasper
- Wulfenite
- Zandrite
- Zebra Jasper
- Zeolites
- Zoisite
Click HERE to shop pearls, or scroll to the bottom of the article.
Pearl is the traditional and ayurvedic birthstone for the month of June as well as the ayurvedic birthstone for the month of November.
Pearls are one of the classic "gemstones," found in nearly every jewelry store in the world. Pearls are not, however, true gemstones or minerals. By definition, minerals are formed by inorganic processes, and pearls are formed within the soft living tissue of a shelled mollusk.
To read about working with the energy of pearl, click HERE.
Chemically pearls are made of calcium carbonate, either the mineral aragonite or a mixture of aragonite and calcite, sometimes with minor vaterite. The shell contains small amounts of conchiolin, a hornlike organic substance; together with traces of aragonite, these are called nacre, or mother-of-pearl. A beautifully iridescent and durable substance, mother-of-pearl has been used for millennia for utensils, and for ornamentation such as buttons and inlays. The finest pearls are those produced by mollusks whose shells are lined with mother-of-pearl; such mollusks are limited to certain species of saltwater oysters and freshwater clams.
The shell-secreting cells are located in a layer of the mollusk's body called the mantle. When a foreign particle enters the mantle, the cells build up more or less concentric layers of pearl around the foreign particle. Baroque pearls are irregularly shaped pearls that have grown in muscular tissue; blister pearls are those that grow adjacent to the shell and are flat on one side.
Pearls are valued by their translucence, luster, play of surface color, and shape. The most valuable are spherical or droplike, with a deep luster and good color play. In the jewelry industry, saltwater pearls are commonly referred to as Oriental pearls; those produced by freshwater mollusks are called freshwater pearls.
Cultured pearls are those that have been grown on a pearl farm. A tiny sphere of mother-of-pearl is implanted in the mantle of the nacre-producing mollusk, which is then placed in the waters of the farm. The oyster forms a pearl around the tiny sphere, which is then harvested up to two years later. The first steps toward pearl culturing occurred hundreds of years ago in China, and Japanese pioneers successfully produced whole cultured pearls around the beginning of the twentieth century. These became commercially important in the 1920s (about the same time natural pearl production began to decline). From the 1930s through the 1980s, pearl culturing diversified and spread to various countries around the world.
The color of pearls varies with the mollusk and its environment. A pearl can be any delicate shade from black to white, cream, gray, blue, yellow, green, lavender, and mauve. Pearls vary from the size of tiny seeds--called seed pearls--to one large baroque pearl that weighed 3 oz!
Some of the finest pearls are found in the Persian Gulf from Oman to Qatar, the waters between India and Sri Lanka, and the islands of the South Pacific. The Gulf of California, the Gulf of Mexico, and the waters of the Pacific coast of Mexico produce dark-hued pearls with a metallic sheen, as well as good quality white pearls. During Christopher Columbus’s third (1498) and fourth (1502) voyages to the New World, he repeatedly encountered native people adorned with natural pearls. His discovery of natural pearl sources in the waters of present-day Venezuela and Panama intensified demand in Europe. However, within a hundred years, these natural pearl sources had declined due to overfishing, pearl culturing, plastic buttons, and oil drilling. Freshwater pearling has been known in China since before 1000 BC, and there is a pearl industry in the streams of Bavaria. Freshwater pearls have also been recovered from the Mississippi River and several rivers in England and Ireland.
Collection
- Shop
- Valentine's Gift Guide
- NEW
- New Mexico Minerals
- Sale
- Minerals
- Fossils
- Energy Tools
- Jewelry
- Gems & Cabs
- Home Decor
- Books & Games
- Sets & Kits
- Decorative Carvings & Shapes
- Gift Cards
- Blog
- Info Pages
- Birthstones
- Chakras
- Crystallography
- Crystal Habits
- Crystal Systems
- Geologic Time Scale
- Mohs Scale of Mineral Hardness
- Newsletter Archives
- Southwest Gem/ Mineral/ Rock Clubs
- Taos Rockers' Gem Safari
- Size Chart
- About
- Actinolite
- Adamite
- Agate
- Alabaster
- Albite
- Altaite
- Amazonite
- Amber (fossil)
- Amethyst
- Ametrine
- Ammonite (fossil)
- Andradite Garnet
- Angel Aura Quartz
- Angelite
- Apatite
- Apophyllite
- Aqua Aura Quartz
- Aquamarine
- Aurichalcite
- Australian Opals
- Austinite
- Aventurine
- Azurite
- Baker Geodes
- Bahia Amethyst
- Banded Amethyst
- Baltic Amber (fossil)
- Barite
- Beryl
- Black Kyanite
- Black Moonstone
- Black Onyx
- Black Opal
- Black Tourmaline (Schorl)
- Bloodstone
- Blue Fluorite
- Blue Lace Agate
- Blue Topaz
- Blue Tourmaline (Indicolite)
- Boulder Opal
- Botswana Agate
- Bronzite
- Bumblebee Jasper
- Cactus/Spirit/Faerie Quartz
- Calcite
- Carnelian
- Cassiterite
- Celestite
- Cerussite
- Chabazite
- Chalcedony
- Charoite
- Chevron Amethyst
- Chiastolite
- Chrome Diopside
- Chrysocolla
- Citrine
- Clear Quartz
- Cobaltoan Calcite
- Conichalcite
- Copper
- Coral
- Coral (fossil)
- Covellite
- Columbite
- Crazy Lace Agate
- Crocoite
- Cuprite
- Cuprian Austinite
- Dalmatian Jasper
- Danburite
- Demantoid Garnet
- Dendritic Agate
- Descloisite
- Diamond
- Dinosaur Bone (fossil)
- Dioptase
- Dogtooth Calcite
- Dolomite
- Dolostone
- Dragonsblood Jasper
- Emerald
- Epidote
- Ethiopian Emerald
- Ethiopian Opal
- Feldspar
- Flower Agate
- Fluorapatite
- Fluorite
- Fulgurite (Lechatelierite)
- Galena
- The Garnet Group
- Gaspeite
- Geodes
- Goethite
- Goldstone
- Green Apophyllite
- Green Aventurine
- Green Fluorite
- Green Moonstone
- Green Onyx
- Green Opal
- Green Tourmaline (Verdelite)
- Grossular Garnet
- Gypsum
- Gypsum - desert rose
- Hematite
- Hemimorphite
- Herkimer "diamond"
- Hessonite Garnet
- Heulandite
- Himalayan Salt
- Hydroxyl-Clinohumite
- Iceland Spar Calcite Rhombus
- Idocrase
- Imperial Topaz
- Inclusion Quartz
- Indigo Gabbro
- Iolite
- Jacare Amethyst
- Jade, Nephrite, and Jadeite
- Jasper
- Jet
- K2 Jasper
- Kambaba Jasper
- Kiwi Jasper
- Kyanite
- Labradorite
- Lapis Lazuli
- Larimar
- Leaf (fossil)
- Lemurian quartz
- Lepidolite
- Lithium Quartz
- Lybian Desert Glass
- Malachite
- Magnetite
- Mangano Calcite
- Mesolite
- Meteorite
- Mexican Fire Opal
- Mimetite
- Moldavite
- Montana Sapphire
- Mookaite Jasper
- Moonstone
- Mordenite
- Morganite
- Moss Agate
- Mother-of-Pearl
- Mottramite
- Moqui Balls
- Mystic
- Obsidian - sheen
- Ocean Jasper
- Onyx
- Opal
- Opalina
- Opalite
- Orgonite
- Orpheus Agate
- Orpiment
- Orthoclase
- Peach Moonstone
- Pearl
- Petrified Wood (fossil)
- Peridot
- Phlogopite
- Pietersite
- Pink Moonstone
- Pink Opal
- Pinolith
- Porphyry
- Poppy Jasper
- Prasiolite (green Amethyst)
- Prehnite
- Puddingstone
- Purple Fluorite
- Pyrite
- Quartz
- Rainbow Moonstone
- Red Flower Jasper
- Red Jasper
- Red Selenite
- Red Tiger Eye
- Ricardite
- Rhodochrocite
- Rhodonite
- Rosasite
- Rose Quartz
- Ruby
- Ruby in Fuchite
- Ruby in Kyanite
- Ruby in Zoisite (Anyolite)
- Rutilated Quartz
- Sapphire
- Sand Dollar (fossil)
- Sandstone
- Sardonyx
- Schorl (Black Tourmaline)
- Sea Urchin (fossil)
- Sedona Jasper
- Sedona Sunrise
- Selenite
- Seraphinite
- Serpentine
- Septarian Calcite
- Shadow Amethyst
- Sheen Obsidian
- Shells (fossil)
- Shiva Lingham
- Shungite
- Silver Leaf Jasper
- Smithsonite
- Smoky Amethyst
- Smoky Quartz
- Snowflake Obsidian
- Sodalite
- Sonoran Sunrise
- Spencer Opal
- Spessartine Garnet
- Sphalerite
- Star Garnet
- Star Ruby
- Starfish (fossil)
- Staurolite Cross
- Stibnite
- Stilbite
- Stromatolite (fossil)
- Sunstone
- Super 7
- Tangerine Quartz
- Tanzanite
- Teeth (fossil)
- Tigers Eye
- Tiffany Stone
- Titanium Vapor Coated
- Trilobite (fossil)
- Tourmaline
- Tourmalinated Quartz
- Turquoise
- Umba Sapphire
- Unakite Jasper
- Uvarovite Garnet
- Variscite
- Vera Cruz Amethyst
- Vesuvianite
- Volborthite
- Water Agate
- Watermelon Tourmaline
- Willow Creek Jasper
- Wulfenite
- Zandrite
- Zebra Jasper
- Zeolites
- Zoisite
Refine

- Shop
- Valentine's Gift Guide
- NEW
- New Mexico Minerals
- Sale
- Minerals
- Fossils
- Energy Tools
- Jewelry
- Gems & Cabs
- Home Decor
- Books & Games
- Sets & Kits
- Decorative Carvings & Shapes
- Gift Cards
- Blog
- Info Pages
- Birthstones
- Chakras
- Crystallography
- Crystal Habits
- Crystal Systems
- Geologic Time Scale
- Mohs Scale of Mineral Hardness
- Newsletter Archives
- Southwest Gem/ Mineral/ Rock Clubs
- Taos Rockers' Gem Safari
- Size Chart
- About
- Actinolite
- Adamite
- Agate
- Alabaster
- Albite
- Altaite
- Amazonite
- Amber (fossil)
- Amethyst
- Ametrine
- Ammonite (fossil)
- Andradite Garnet
- Angel Aura Quartz
- Angelite
- Apatite
- Apophyllite
- Aqua Aura Quartz
- Aquamarine
- Aurichalcite
- Australian Opals
- Austinite
- Aventurine
- Azurite
- Baker Geodes
- Bahia Amethyst
- Banded Amethyst
- Baltic Amber (fossil)
- Barite
- Beryl
- Black Kyanite
- Black Moonstone
- Black Onyx
- Black Opal
- Black Tourmaline (Schorl)
- Bloodstone
- Blue Fluorite
- Blue Lace Agate
- Blue Topaz
- Blue Tourmaline (Indicolite)
- Boulder Opal
- Botswana Agate
- Bronzite
- Bumblebee Jasper
- Cactus/Spirit/Faerie Quartz
- Calcite
- Carnelian
- Cassiterite
- Celestite
- Cerussite
- Chabazite
- Chalcedony
- Charoite
- Chevron Amethyst
- Chiastolite
- Chrome Diopside
- Chrysocolla
- Citrine
- Clear Quartz
- Cobaltoan Calcite
- Conichalcite
- Copper
- Coral
- Coral (fossil)
- Covellite
- Columbite
- Crazy Lace Agate
- Crocoite
- Cuprite
- Cuprian Austinite
- Dalmatian Jasper
- Danburite
- Demantoid Garnet
- Dendritic Agate
- Descloisite
- Diamond
- Dinosaur Bone (fossil)
- Dioptase
- Dogtooth Calcite
- Dolomite
- Dolostone
- Dragonsblood Jasper
- Emerald
- Epidote
- Ethiopian Emerald
- Ethiopian Opal
- Feldspar
- Flower Agate
- Fluorapatite
- Fluorite
- Fulgurite (Lechatelierite)
- Galena
- The Garnet Group
- Gaspeite
- Geodes
- Goethite
- Goldstone
- Green Apophyllite
- Green Aventurine
- Green Fluorite
- Green Moonstone
- Green Onyx
- Green Opal
- Green Tourmaline (Verdelite)
- Grossular Garnet
- Gypsum
- Gypsum - desert rose
- Hematite
- Hemimorphite
- Herkimer "diamond"
- Hessonite Garnet
- Heulandite
- Himalayan Salt
- Hydroxyl-Clinohumite
- Iceland Spar Calcite Rhombus
- Idocrase
- Imperial Topaz
- Inclusion Quartz
- Indigo Gabbro
- Iolite
- Jacare Amethyst
- Jade, Nephrite, and Jadeite
- Jasper
- Jet
- K2 Jasper
- Kambaba Jasper
- Kiwi Jasper
- Kyanite
- Labradorite
- Lapis Lazuli
- Larimar
- Leaf (fossil)
- Lemurian quartz
- Lepidolite
- Lithium Quartz
- Lybian Desert Glass
- Malachite
- Magnetite
- Mangano Calcite
- Mesolite
- Meteorite
- Mexican Fire Opal
- Mimetite
- Moldavite
- Montana Sapphire
- Mookaite Jasper
- Moonstone
- Mordenite
- Morganite
- Moss Agate
- Mother-of-Pearl
- Mottramite
- Moqui Balls
- Mystic
- Obsidian - sheen
- Ocean Jasper
- Onyx
- Opal
- Opalina
- Opalite
- Orgonite
- Orpheus Agate
- Orpiment
- Orthoclase
- Peach Moonstone
- Pearl
- Petrified Wood (fossil)
- Peridot
- Phlogopite
- Pietersite
- Pink Moonstone
- Pink Opal
- Pinolith
- Porphyry
- Poppy Jasper
- Prasiolite (green Amethyst)
- Prehnite
- Puddingstone
- Purple Fluorite
- Pyrite
- Quartz
- Rainbow Moonstone
- Red Flower Jasper
- Red Jasper
- Red Selenite
- Red Tiger Eye
- Ricardite
- Rhodochrocite
- Rhodonite
- Rosasite
- Rose Quartz
- Ruby
- Ruby in Fuchite
- Ruby in Kyanite
- Ruby in Zoisite (Anyolite)
- Rutilated Quartz
- Sapphire
- Sand Dollar (fossil)
- Sandstone
- Sardonyx
- Schorl (Black Tourmaline)
- Sea Urchin (fossil)
- Sedona Jasper
- Sedona Sunrise
- Selenite
- Seraphinite
- Serpentine
- Septarian Calcite
- Shadow Amethyst
- Sheen Obsidian
- Shells (fossil)
- Shiva Lingham
- Shungite
- Silver Leaf Jasper
- Smithsonite
- Smoky Amethyst
- Smoky Quartz
- Snowflake Obsidian
- Sodalite
- Sonoran Sunrise
- Spencer Opal
- Spessartine Garnet
- Sphalerite
- Star Garnet
- Star Ruby
- Starfish (fossil)
- Staurolite Cross
- Stibnite
- Stilbite
- Stromatolite (fossil)
- Sunstone
- Super 7
- Tangerine Quartz
- Tanzanite
- Teeth (fossil)
- Tigers Eye
- Tiffany Stone
- Titanium Vapor Coated
- Trilobite (fossil)
- Tourmaline
- Tourmalinated Quartz
- Turquoise
- Umba Sapphire
- Unakite Jasper
- Uvarovite Garnet
- Variscite
- Vera Cruz Amethyst
- Vesuvianite
- Volborthite
- Water Agate
- Watermelon Tourmaline
- Willow Creek Jasper
- Wulfenite
- Zandrite
- Zebra Jasper
- Zeolites
- Zoisite