Pearl jewelry has always brought to mind the essence of the sea. One imagines giant clams, or beds of oysters and pearl divers swimming down to grab what they can while holding their breath. The image of the tropic seas, palm trees and white beaches falls away on a full investigation. Uncultivated pink pearls are beautiful. Pearls jewelry using these pink beads is lovely and surprising. It's surprising because these unusual pearls are are from the Miami River in Ohio.
The Ohio valley offered up a tremendous number of fresh water pearls and was a booming business towards the end of the 19th century. Pearls pulled from the river had a range of colors including; creamy white, alabaster, blue, green, pink and rose colored. These pearls continue to be produced and are sought after because they are naturally grown.
While harvesting pearls by diving is how they were brought to the market in the past, most pearls today are the product of domestic farming. Pearls are created byinjecting foreign material into a mollusk. The mollusk covers the irritant like it would in the wild, with aragonite and conchiolin, and overtime the pearls are removed. Thepearl trade is made up of mostly cultivated and synthetic pearls. This creates a valuable niche for natural pearls and the pearls from the Ohio Valley.
Long before boys were digging in the mud with their toes looking for mollusks that might contain a pearl, the Native Americans of the Ohio Valley were gathering them. Artifacts have been found in the mounds that suggest a wealth of pearls. They were once thought to be part of a trading route with coastal tribes, but as the abundance of local pearls became apparent, archeologists believe them to be from the Ohio and Mississippi Valleys. These pearls were made into jewelry and sometimes flattened then attached to clothes. They could also be found set into metals like copper. Fresh water pearls, like marine pearls are created in many shapes and sizes. In truth, it is unusual to get a perfectly round pearl. Under 1% of fresh water natural pearls are round. The majority are oblong or thin and long like rice. Pearls are considered organic gemstones, and both Tennessee and Kentucky have listed the fresh water pearl the state gem. During thelate 1800's many people had fun wadding in the river pearling, digging through the mud and looking for the odd shaped pearls.
Fresh water pearlsare less abundant today because of habitat destruction. Fresh water pearls require moving water and mud flats. The damming of many of the rivers in Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee has changed the flow of the river and altered the habitat that the clams thrived on. They can still be found today, but not in as abundant proportions as years ago. The fortunately fresh water pearls can produce more then one pearl at a time, unlike their marine counter parts. While the shapes may be pear like, oblong or like a piece of rice, they are naturally produced and come in a wide variety of colors making them cherished adornments.
The Ohio valley offered up a tremendous number of fresh water pearls and was a booming business towards the end of the 19th century. Pearls pulled from the river had a range of colors including; creamy white, alabaster, blue, green, pink and rose colored. These pearls continue to be produced and are sought after because they are naturally grown.
While harvesting pearls by diving is how they were brought to the market in the past, most pearls today are the product of domestic farming. Pearls are created byinjecting foreign material into a mollusk. The mollusk covers the irritant like it would in the wild, with aragonite and conchiolin, and overtime the pearls are removed. Thepearl trade is made up of mostly cultivated and synthetic pearls. This creates a valuable niche for natural pearls and the pearls from the Ohio Valley.
Long before boys were digging in the mud with their toes looking for mollusks that might contain a pearl, the Native Americans of the Ohio Valley were gathering them. Artifacts have been found in the mounds that suggest a wealth of pearls. They were once thought to be part of a trading route with coastal tribes, but as the abundance of local pearls became apparent, archeologists believe them to be from the Ohio and Mississippi Valleys. These pearls were made into jewelry and sometimes flattened then attached to clothes. They could also be found set into metals like copper. Fresh water pearls, like marine pearls are created in many shapes and sizes. In truth, it is unusual to get a perfectly round pearl. Under 1% of fresh water natural pearls are round. The majority are oblong or thin and long like rice. Pearls are considered organic gemstones, and both Tennessee and Kentucky have listed the fresh water pearl the state gem. During thelate 1800's many people had fun wadding in the river pearling, digging through the mud and looking for the odd shaped pearls.
Fresh water pearlsare less abundant today because of habitat destruction. Fresh water pearls require moving water and mud flats. The damming of many of the rivers in Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee has changed the flow of the river and altered the habitat that the clams thrived on. They can still be found today, but not in as abundant proportions as years ago. The fortunately fresh water pearls can produce more then one pearl at a time, unlike their marine counter parts. While the shapes may be pear like, oblong or like a piece of rice, they are naturally produced and come in a wide variety of colors making them cherished adornments.
About the Author:
Connor R. Sullivan recently purchased some pearl jewelry for his wife as an anniversary gift. He also purchased some pearls jewelry for his daughter's birthday.
