10 interesting facts about pearls
1. Pearls are the only jewels created by a living animal. 2. A natural pearl of value is found in less than 1 in every 10,000 wild oysters. 3. All pearl oysters are born male and transform into females at around three years of age. 4. The oldest pearl jewelry ever discovered was found in the sarcophagus of a Persian Princess who died in 520 BC. 5. Periculture is the term usually referred for cultured pearl farming. Pearls are made mainly of calcium carbonate. 6. The development of cultured pearls ruined the economy of Kuwait, which was heavily dependent on pearl fishing before oil was discovered there. 7. The word pearl derives from a Latin word for the thigh-bone, which had been given to a thigh-shaped mollusc. 8. Pearls come in eight shapes: round, semi-round, button, drop, pear, oval, baroque and circled. 9. Virtually all pearls (about 95%) harvested today are cultured or cultivated pearls, meaning mollusks are artificially implanted with small seeds and tende...
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