Pearls are made by marine oysters and freshwater mussels as a natural defence against an irritant such as a parasite entering their
The process of producing a pearl can range from 6 months to several years. Even before this, it takes about 3 years for the mollusk to reach a mature age in order to produce a pearl. A mollusk is only able to begin the pearl making process naturally or with the help of humans when it reaches this mature age.
While any oyster — and clams and mussels — can produce pearls, some species of oysters are more likely to produce pearls, while others may be harvested primarily to serve as food.
Today, natural pearls are extremely rare. Only 1 in about 10,000 wild oysters will yield a pearl and of those, only a small percentage achieve the size, shape and colour desirable to the jewellery industry.
Some oysters can produce two to three pearls over the course of their lifetime, but only an oyster with pearls of good quality will repeat the process of producing a pearl.
Over the course of 2 to 7 years, the mussels deposit layer upon layer of nacre around the growing gems, generally producing more than two dozen pearls clustered on the inside of each shell.
The Kimberley Region
The remote Kimberley coastline in the North-West of Australia is the perfect location for growing South Sea Pearls. The area is home to huge tidal variations of up to 12 metres (the second largest tides in the world).
Some pearls form naturally, but others, known as cultured pearls, are created by inserting a special irritant inside the shell. Some oysters are grown specifically for producing pearls, which can be removed without killing the oyster, and new irritants inserted to grow more.
Some pearl “farmers” will remove pearls from an oyster without killing them, keeping them alive to endure repeated insertions of foreign materials to continue making pearls. It is estimated that around a third to half of them are kept while the rest are killed.
There is no obvious sign that an oyster has a pearl inside. You have to open the shell to see if there's one inside. However, larger, older oysters are more likely to have pearls.
The Largest Pearl Ever Found: Discovery
The biggest recorded natural pearl in the world is the Pearl of Puerto. This pearl is often known as the Pearl of Puerto Princesa. A Filipino fisherman discovered it in the sea off the Philippine Islands. It weighs 75 pounds and is 2.2 feet long and wide.
Naturally colored blue pearls are the rarest pearl colors in the world (with one or two exceptions, which we will get to below). The color has existed in pearls for decades, but only recently have naturally colored blue pearls gained popularity in the modern pearl jewelry markets.
The oyster or mussel slowly secretes layers of aragonite and conchiolin, materials that also make up its shell. This creates a material called nacre, also known as mother-of-pearl, which encases the irritant and protects the mollusc from it.
No, pearls aren't vegan. Oysters and other mollusks only produce pearls as a response to a stressful environment, and it's speciesist to torment and kill an animal just because we think the end result is beautiful.
So, the simple answer of whether pearl farms kill the oyster is.. yes. The end goal of a pearl farm is to breed the mollusks, produce the pearl and ultimately kill the oyster. The mussel meat is then eaten and the shell is repurposed into mother of pearl inlay and other decorative accessories.
After the pearls are extracted from the oysters, one-third of oysters are “recycled” and put through the culturing process again. The others are killed and discarded.
The Australian pearl producing oyster is named Pinctada Maxima and is native to Far North Queensland, North Western Australia and The Northern Territory.
Extraordinarily rare, naturally beautiful, unmatched in size. Australian South Sea pearls are grown inside the largest and rarest pearl-producing oyster, the Pinctada Maxima. They are highly sought after as the pearls produced are amongst the world's largest and most valuable.
Pinctada maxima, the largest pearl producing oyster in the world, is native to the waters of North-West Australia and part of the reason the region's pearl farms are capable of growing the most valuable pearls in the world.
Freshwater pearls are cheaper because they are easier to extract, making sea pearls more valued. Why? Sea pearls are larger, more beautiful in shape, luster, smoother surface and, of course, much more expensive than freshwater pearls.
How Much Are Real Pearls Worth? A traditional strand of white pearls can range from $100 (Freshwater pearl necklace) to $10,000 (Akoya pearl necklace). A strand of large, flawless South Sea pearls could even be valued as high as $100,000+ .
Worn often and properly cared for, pearls can look as good in 50 years as they did the day they left the store. Pearls are not the most durable of gems. Most everyday items at home and in the office are tougher than pearls, so careless contact can cause damage them over time.