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Originally Posted by anthony
My question is: Is it a fact, do we really know, that the "pearlmakingprocess" begins because the mollusk is irritated?
Maybe the mollusk likes it when something becomes lodged!
Like a child or a dog plays with a ball...
because it is fun, not because it is irritating.
Who will ask the oyster?  And if we are not sure it is irritation, can we change the story? Making pearls a bestseller again. |
Hello Corine,
In natural pearl formation, it is quite possible that some highly playful and extremely athletic mollusks may find survival a bit on the boring side. Perhaps this is the way a mollusks relaxes and meditates on life in between dodging predators, finding shelter, avoiding being crushed by the surf into rocks, feeding and mating. Not to mention trying to breathe in some nice quality water without choking on cancer causing pollutants.
If we take cultured pearls as an example, I highly doubt that sticking MOP beads into mollusks does them any favours. Lots of them die because of this, so I don't think they look forward to any kind of game of ball. Sure, the resulting pearls are beautiful (I still find Kasumis to be so), but what mollusk wants a plaything shoved into their mantle? Or gonads? Yes, gonads. Just think how one of us would feel with a tennis-ball-like object stuck in our gonads while trying to go through daily life. A bit of a bother, really.
Ask an oyster? I think that up to 50% mortality rates for scallops in akoya production should be answer enough. Asking a mollusk with a natural pearl in it would be quite difficult since they are now extremely rare due to decimation of habitat, pollution and collection restictions.
Slraep