Pearl (Sino-Vietnamese: 珍珠, pearl) is a hard, spherical object created by some animals, mainly mollusks like oyster. Pearls are used for jewelry and are also powdered for use in cosmetics. Pearls are considered to be a gemstone and are raised and harvested for jewelry making. Eastern medicine industry said that pearls have a slightly sweet taste, can coordinate to treat seizures, sedation, detoxify, dissolve the brown clouds around the eyes, obstacles circulating tears, tinnitus , dizzy…

The process of forming a pearl can be summarized as follows: When small or very small foreign objects enter the body of a oysters, mussel, etc. The friction of that objects creates damage inside of that oyster. Instinctively, these living organisms will reflect to heal the wound itself, by releasing calcium carbonate (CaCO3) that wraps the foreign object. It is held together by an organic compound like the keratin called Conchiolin.

The combination of Calcium Carbonate and Conchiolin is called Nacre. Calcium carbonate accounts for over 90%, the rest is water and organic compounds that create life for the gem. The nacre layer structure is made up of thousands of thin calcium carbonate crystal layers with a thickness of about 0.3 mm. This structure influences the color, luster, sustainability and elasticity of pearls.

The outer layer of the pearl is closely connected between metal elements such as magnesium, aluminum, ions, copper, platinum … All of which will give birth to shimmering, colorful pearls.

Normally, it takes many years for a pearl to be large and it is really rare for a pearl to be completely round. That’s why perfect round pearls are very expensive.

Reference: Wiki và Khoa học Trái đất channel