Organic
Freshwater pearl
- Mohs
- 2.5 – 4
- Colour
- White
- Every day
- With care
Organic — nacre over a shell bead or a mantle graft
Freshwater pearl
A pearl is not a mineral — it is layers of nacre laid down by an animal, and it behaves like it. Freshwater pearls are grown in mussels rather than oysters, which is why they come in shapes rather than spheres and why they cost what they cost. I buy them loose, on strings, and sort them at the bench.
The facts
- Family
- Organic — nacre over a shell bead or a mantle graft
- Hardness
- 2.5 – 4 on the Mohs scale
- Colour
- White, cream, dove grey, peach, occasionally lavender
- Where hers come from
- Farmed in China, mostly Zhejiang and Jiangsu
- What she pays
- £1 – £12 a pearl, depending on size and how round
- Everyday wear
- With care
What will damage it
Anything acidic, and that includes perfume, hairspray, hand sanitiser and sweat left on overnight. A silver dip will strip the nacre outright and there is no repairing it.
In a ring you wear daily
With care