The shell beads inserted into the oysters for pearl culturing – where are they from?
The standard shell beads used in the pearl industry are obtained from a freshwater mussel species fished from the Mississippi River in the United States. The shell is collected by divers, washed and cut into thin stripes and further cut into shell cubes, then polished by machines into spherical beads. Major polishing/production centres of shell beads are Japan and Hong Kong. These Mississippi shell beads are ideal for pearl culturing because the density, hardness and thermal expansion coefficient are compatible to pearl nacre. Why are freshwater pearls so much more affordable than other pearls? Each freshwater mussel can grow 20 or more pearls, while marine oysters can bear only one big or maximum three small pearls each time. The production of freshwater pearls are relatively large and are therefore usually sold at more affordable prices than marine pearls which are cultivated in smaller quantity. Production costs, a major part of pearl prices, also vary from country to country. The c
