Nacre gives the pearl its luster and gem-like sheen. While all mollusks can technically make pearls, only some groups make them of nacre. With commercially cultured pearls, an external irritant is ...

(PRESS RELEASE) CARLSBAD, CA — GIA (Gemological Institute of America) is introducing an expanded approach to evaluating nacre on all pearl classification reports, providing an important update to the ...

Will they buy Chinese pearls if the roundest examples are nacre-coated shell beads instead? How will such new products be positioned in the market? Will anyone, including gem testing labs ...

“Only certain mollusk groups use a substance, called nacre, which gives gem-quality pearls their opalescent sheen,” said Chris Meyer, a marine invertebrate zoologist and curator of mollusks at ...

This creates a material called nacre, also known as mother-of-pearl, which encases the irritant and protects the mollusc from it. When pearls are cultured commercially an irritant is manually inserted ...