Calcareous Concretions

[Marcus Wall]

What exactly are 'Calcareous Concretions'? Just a fancy work for pearls?

[jshepherd]

A calcareous concretion is a mass of mineral matter that is typically rounded and composed of many concentric layers around a nucleus.

This differs from nacre which is a calcium carbonate substance held together by conchiolin which is secreted by a mollusk.

Calcareous concretions produced in mollusks such as the 'Conch' are still considered pearls by most, but not by scientific definition. They are beautiful gems, especially with their flame structure. They have yet to really 'take off', however.

[purepearls]

Calcareous Concretions are produced by many shellfish. This is what most people find in edible oysters; They are not true pearls and are often found in a rainbow of colors such as pink, pale green, cream, white, or blue. Unfortunately, they often are not durable with color fading quickly and eventually deteriorating.

[Satine De La Courcel]

Is there anwher I may be able to find out more about these calcerous(sp) reations and waht types of Creatures "produce" them. all I know for certain is Squid "pearls" and Conch "pearls" wht about melo melo perls?? what are these clasified as??? Thank you in advance.

Ashby

[jshepherd]

Their are a couple of good online resources about those 'pearls'. I would suggest this Site (of course), but the informational sections on the home page. This Site does have a better-than-average overview of rare calcareous concretions.
You should also check out oasispearl.com, and www.net-pearls.com

[Satine De La Courcel]

I have already visited Pearl oasis..another wonderful pearl site! with lots of info I am looking for! I am off to check Net-pearls too. Thank you so much! Thanks to all the extremely knowledgeable and wonderful people on this site My eyes have been opened to more that I ever thought possible about pearls. I wasjust after the history of Pearls and how they were used between the years 600-1600 originally... Now I want to know as much as I can about all aspects of pearls! I am being sappy I know. I apologize. this Pearl Love/obsession thing really started out as a hobby to help my mom out with her GIA course several years ago...Now I am a Full fledged Pearl Convert... LOL Its wonderful!!!!

Thanks Again

Ash

[jshepherd]

Well we are very glad to have you Ash!

By the way, the Website I meant for you to check out was oasispearl.com, not pearloasis.com.