[pearlescence]

Here are the photos. I would welcome comments and information on what is visible/going on with them.
The first is an 8mm roundish white pearl, which has split around the middle leaving a small nobble right in the middle - is this the nucleus? You can see lots of concentric circles of nacre
photo two is of a bright pink pearl, also split down the middle and the black pearl simply popped two tiers concentrically off (shown alongside)
Then there is a blue comet or tail pearl which split down the middle like a piece of mica - a complex internal arrangement going on there I thought
Finally there is a black sea pearl with very little nacre and lots of bead. definitely a pearl plated bead, but much more expensive than freshwaters.
I keep these tucked away for when I need to explain about how pearls are made.

[jerin]

Hi Wendy,

it does looke like freshwater pearls without nucleus, 100% nacre, the yello/brownisch/yellowish colour is probably conchiolin and the only pearl with a nucleus is, as you pointed out, the black pearl. I think the "nobble" is just an more uneven layer of the platelets.

Why is the price higher? You cant implant several mantle tissues + nucelus in the Pinctada Margaritifera, which produces the black pearls, but you can implant freshwater mussels with many mantle tissue only (up to 25 on each side).

Then you have the job with cleaning that you don´t have with the mussels in the same way.
The nucleus costs money as well and finally there is a marketing cost as well for these "Tahitian pearls".

[The Pearl Outlet]

The first fw pearl looks like two growths fused together.

The last black pearl is a dyed Akoya.