Pearls are
a beautiful organic gemstone which is formed in a variety of colors and
shapes.Pearls form inside of mollusk
shells such as oysters and mussels.This
unique gemstone is made of primarily the mineral aragonite.Aragonite is the mineral that lines the
inside of the mollusk shell.An organic
substance, called conchiolin, is also known to line the inside of the
shell.When shell linings are made of
aragonite and conchiolin together, it is called mother-of-pearl.
To
form the gemstone pearl, a grain of sand must get trapped inside the mollusk
shell.The aragonite forms in circles
around the sand grain.It can take
between 2 and 8 years for a large pearl to be formed.Fairly soft, pearls are a 3 on the Mohs
hardness scale and have a white streak.The luster, “pearly,” is often used to describe the look of other
minerals with similar outward appearance.Pearls can form in both freshwater and salt water and can be round and
smooth to oblong and uneven.Common
colors of pearls include white, cream and black; however, other colors such as
blue, yellow, gray, green, light purple and mauve can also be found.
Pearls are
a beautiful organic gemstone which is formed in a variety of colors and
shapes. Pearls form inside of mollusk
shells such as oysters and mussels. This
unique gemstone is made of primarily the mineral aragonite. Aragonite is the mineral that lines the
inside of the mollusk shell. An organic
substance, called conchiolin, is also known to line the inside of the
shell. When shell linings are made of
aragonite and conchiolin together, it is called mother-of-pearl.