Pearl
A mixture of two or more distinct mineral species
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About Pearl
Colour:
white, black, yellow, orange, purple
Lustre:
Pearly
Name:
From https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pearl :
"From Middle English perle, from Old French perle of uncertain etymology. Probably via unattested Medieval Latin pernula, from Latin perna (“haunch; a marine bivalve shaped like a leg of lamb”) but also derived from Medieval Latin perla, from Latin perula (“little bag”)."
"From Middle English perle, from Old French perle of uncertain etymology. Probably via unattested Medieval Latin pernula, from Latin perna (“haunch; a marine bivalve shaped like a leg of lamb”) but also derived from Medieval Latin perla, from Latin perula (“little bag”)."
A pearl is an organic mineral mixture formed with the soft living tissue of a shelled mollusk. Chemically pearls are made of calcium carbonate, either the mineral aragonite or a mixture of aragonite and calcite, sometimes also with minor vaterite.
Pearls are used as gemstones but are not regarded as true minerals due to their organic origin. They can be cultured by inserting a seed into the mollusk.
A dense spherical calcareous concretion, usually white or light-colored, consisting of predominant nacrous layers of aragonite (or rarely calcite) and occasional layers of conchiolin; deposited concentrically about a foreign particle within or beneath the mantle of various marine and freshwater mollusks; occurs either free from or attached to the shell.
Visit gemdat.org for gemological information about Pearl.
Pearls are used as gemstones but are not regarded as true minerals due to their organic origin. They can be cultured by inserting a seed into the mollusk.
A dense spherical calcareous concretion, usually white or light-colored, consisting of predominant nacrous layers of aragonite (or rarely calcite) and occasional layers of conchiolin; deposited concentrically about a foreign particle within or beneath the mantle of various marine and freshwater mollusks; occurs either free from or attached to the shell.
Visit gemdat.org for gemological information about Pearl.Unique Identifiers
Mindat ID:
42674
Long-form identifier:
mindat:1:1:42674:5
Physical Properties of Pearl
Pearly
Transparency:
Translucent
Colour:
White, black, yellow, orange, purple
Comment:
Transition of conjugated polyenes is intrinsically responsible for the colour of pearls.
Other Information
Health Risks:
No information on health risks for this material has been entered into the database. You should always treat mineral specimens with care.
Internet Links for Pearl
mindat.org URL:
https://www.mindat.org/min-42674.html
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References for Pearl
Reference List:
Karampelas, S., Fritsch, E., Sklavounos, S., Soldatos, T. (2007) IDENTIFICATION OF TREATED-COLOR FRESHWATER CULTURED PEARLS. Bulletin of the Geological Society of Greece, 40 (2) 794 doi:10.12681/bgsg.16720
Karampelas, Stefanos, Fritsch, Emmanuel, Mevellec, Jean-Yves Sklavounos, Soldatos, Triantafyllos (2009) Role of polyenes in the coloration of cultured freshwater pearls. European Journal of Mineralogy, 21 (1) 85-97 doi:10.1127/0935-1221/2009/0021-1897
Krzemnicki, Michael S., Friess, Sebastian D., Chalus, Pascal, Hänni, Henry A., Karampelas, Stefanos (2010) X-Ray Computed Microtomography: Distinguishing Natural Pearls from Beaded and Non-Beaded Cultured Pearls. Gems & Gemology, 46 (2) 128-134 doi:10.5741/gems.46.2.128
Karampelas, Stefanos; Lombard, Aurore (2013) Gemological Characteristics of Saltwater Cultured Pearls Produced After Xenotransplantation. Gems & Gemology, 49 (1). 36-41 doi:10.5741/gems.49.1.36
Karampelas, Stefanos, Fritsch, Emmanuel, Makhlooq, Fatema, Mohamed, Fatima, Al‐Alawi, Abeer (2020) Raman spectroscopy of natural and cultured pearls and pearl producing mollusc shells. Journal of Raman Spectroscopy, 51 (9) 1813-1821 doi:10.1002/jrs.5670
Chen, Chaoyang, Yu, Jing, Zhang, Chuting, Ye, Xu, Shen, Andy H. (2023) Nature of Pigments in Orange and Purple Coloured Chinese Freshwater Cultured Pearls: Insights from Experimental Raman Spectroscopy and DFT Calculations. Minerals, 13 (7) doi:10.3390/min13070959
Cuif, Jean-Pierre, Dauphin, Yannicke, Gèze, Marc, Lo, Cedrik, Nemeth, Gergely, Sandt, Christophe (2024) Increasing Structural Diversity of the Early Growth Stages in Polynesian Pearls Reveals Biological Stress Suffered by the Grafts. Minerals, 14 (12). doi:10.3390/min14121198
Localities for Pearl
Showing 5 localities.
symbol to view information about a locality.
The Locality List
- This locality has map coordinates listed.
- This locality has estimated coordinates.
ⓘ - Click for references and further information on this occurrence.
? - Indicates mineral may be doubtful at this locality.
- Good crystals or important locality for species.
- World class for species or very significant.
(TL) - Type Locality for a valid mineral species.
(FRL) - First Recorded Locality for everything else (eg varieties).
All localities listed without proper references should be considered as questionable.
Australia | |
| gemexplorer.org (n.d.) |
France | |
| gemexplorer.org (n.d.) |
| Cuif et al. (2024) | |
Persian Gulf | |
Philippines | |
| gemexplorer.org (n.d.) |
Zhuji Co., Shaoxing, Zhejiang, China