Cultured pearl, organic substances?

[Blue-Island]

Hi everyone,

for my personal studies, I would like to ask the community here wheter or not the cultured pearl has some organic substances?

 

[shnitz]

Yes, a cultured pearl is all organic. It still comes from an oyster, "cultured" just means that a farmer grew the oyster and caused it to make a pearl, instead of the pearl doing so as a response to stimuli at the bottom of the ocean. So, a cultured pearl is chemically identical to a natural pearl. The same is true for gems, by the way. A lab created diamond is chemically identical to a natural diamond; it was just created in a lab instead of the ground.

 

[Blue-Island]

Thank you shnitz for your short and complete answer, your analysis of the cultured pearl and the diamond is really interesting and I would really like to go deeper into that subject with you. Do you have a proof for what you are saying?

For my homework I need reliable source on the internet and/or books for that. Could you give me some source?

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Read this forum-- it is full of information.

 

[Caitlin]

Dear newby,
Please use the many thousands of posts on this forum to research your own answers. The work has been done. It is all here and I think it is an enjoyable way to learn. Start reading threads. search for what you are interested in. Enjoy diving in!

 

[Lagoon Island Pearls]

It's hardly welcoming to suggest a new member search for terms they don't know or understand. Other than Ca2 and CaCO3, I searched the keywords and they don't exist on this board, no less in any context.

Calcium carbonate, bicarbonate, polysaccharide and glycoprotein.

 

[Caitlin]

There is a basic forum info article on natural pearls that explains that they are organic gems. The lead article, no less. Please click on "Natural pearls at the top of the page. And we make references to both calcium carbonate and that proteinaceous glue, that both layer themselves to make a pearl- aragonite and conchilion, right?

Off site, I googled organic pearl and this was the lead articcle: http://nature.berkeley.edu/classes/eps2//wisc/Lect17.html

I think this place is a tremendous resource. It is all over this forum that pearls are the only organic gemstone, because they grow in the bodies of mollusks. it is also the only gemstone that does not need processing to make it a gemstone.

Dave, I sent you a PM, but I also wonder why you didn't mention aragonite and conchilion and jumped straight to the chemistry?

Most of the time people don't consider is unwelcoming to encourage reading the forum, so I apologize if that was the impression. Usually people LOVE to search the forum when they find it!

 

[Lagoon Island Pearls]

Aragonite is a derivative of calcium carbonate.

Conchiolin is a combination of polysaccharide and glycoprotein.

The OP asked a scientific question and got a scientific answer.

 

[Caitlin]

He asked a question that could be answered by saying ,"yes". And, he got a range of answers -all correct. Are not forums wonderful?

 

[Blue-Island]

He asked a question that could be answered by saying ,"yes". And, he got a range of answers -all correct. Are not forums wonderful?

Thank you for your answers. I'm sorry if my questions weren't clear but I needed scientific sources in order to defend the fact that the cultured pearls are composed of organic substances.

 

[newberry]

It's hardly welcoming to suggest a new member search for terms they don't know or understand. Other than Ca2 and CaCO3, I searched the keywords and they don't exist on this board, no less in any context.

Calcium carbonate, bicarbonate, polysaccharide and glycoprotein.

Great answer Dave. Even just a pearl wearer like me could understand the process with the diagram.