Cultured freshwater pearls

Current and historic industry

• Pearls gathered in the wild from the Holarctic saltwater.
• Scotland was a major source of pearls for modern jewelry.
• The pearl mussel, a source of pearls, is now endangered in most areas.
• Japan was the first country to cultivate whole freshwater pearls in Lake Biwa.
• The Japanese freshwater pearl industry has nearly ceased to exist.

Grafting

• The grafting process involves choosing a suitable donor mussel.
• A strip of tissue is cut from the mantle and divided into small squares.
• Technicians perform the grafting operation by making incisions and inserting the tissue.
• Chinese freshwater mussels were once grafted up to 50 times per shell.
• The triangle shell mussel produced better quality pearls with fewer grafts.

Processing

• Freshwater pearl harvests are bought while still in the shell.
• Pearls are cleaned and sorted by size and shape in the first-stage factory.
• Pre-treatment involves using warm and cold chemical solutions and bleaching.
• Pearls with strong coloration skip bleaching or dyeing.
• After treatment, pearls are drilled, polished, and matched into temporary strands and hanks.

Related Topics

• Cultured pearl.
• Fishing industry in China.
• Agriculture in China.
• Medieval Goldsmiths by John Cherry.
• Aquaculture in China - Freshwater Pearl Culture.

References

• Pearl Grading Pearl-Guide.com provides information on cultured freshwater pearls.
• Medieval Goldsmiths by John Cherry discusses pearls.
• World Aquaculture Society has abstract data on freshwater pearl culture.
• Aquaculture in China - Freshwater Pearl Culture provides information on the industry.
• Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cultured_freshwater_pearls&oldid=1192808360.

Cultured freshwater pearls Data Sources