Pearls Trivia

1. What are mussel larvae called?

From Quiz Freshwater Pearls

Answer: Glochidia

Glochidia attach themselves to the gills of fish until they are large enough to survive on their own. They then fall off to continue maturing. Many pearl farms in China are self-sufficient. Food is grown in the fields that is fed to the fish that glochidia rely on. In turn, discarded mussel shells are ground up and used for fertilizer for the fields. The families that run the farm feed on other products from the fields as well as fish from the lakes and ponds.

From Quiz General Pearl Knowledge

Answer: Nacre

A mollusk will coat any irritant that it cannot eject with nacre for as long as the irritant remains inside the mollusk. The longer the irritant remains, the more the mollusk coats it, the larger the pearl!

From Quiz Perfectly Pretty Precious Pearl

Answer: Gemini and Cancer

The pearl is the birthstone for June. If your birthday is in June your zodiac is either a Gemini (May 21 to June 20) or a Cancer (June 21 to July 22).

From Quiz Like a Queen in her Radiance: the Pearl

Answer: Empress Eugenie

Alexandra was invariably photographed with pearl dog-collar necklace and multiple long ropes, but she loved pastel colors and preferred white pearls. During most of Victoria's long period of mourning, she spurned pearls. Napoleon sported the Regent diamond in the hilt of his sword but is not known to have favored pearls for himself.

From Quiz Freshwater Pearls

Answer: China

China produces more than ten times what the rest of the world produces. Most of the farming is centered around Shanghai. From Shanghai, the pearls are brought to Hong Kong which has become the freshwater pearl capital of the world.

From Quiz Perfectly Pretty Precious Pearl

Answer: It is the only gemstone that is produced from living mollusks/oysters.

A pearl is one hundred percent natural. It is harvested from the insides of a living organism (mollusks/oysters), not mined from the earth. Not all pearls are kept, some are discarded for various reasons, but the pearls that are kept are often ready to be worn.

From Quiz To Assist the Goddess: the Cultured Pearl

Answer: The insertion of tissue from another mollusk to stimulate production of nacre

Pearls are cultured in fresh river and lake water as well as the ocean, although pollution is a threat to them in any environment. Nuclei have been shaped into many forms, and are not used at all in some techniques. Several species of mollusk are important in commercial pearl production. The genus Ostraceae are not among them; they are popular as food but produce lusterless and unattractive pearls.

From Quiz General Pearl Knowledge

Answer: Overfishing

Pollution has been responsible for the destruction other pearl beds, like Lake Biwa in Japan and red tide is a constant threat to all pearling areas. The largest pearl-producing countries now have regulations to avoid overfishing, thus protecting their exportable, natural treasures.

From Quiz Perfectly Pretty Precious Pearl

Answer: A natural pearl is made without the help of man and a cultured pearl requires help.

A pearl begins forming when a irritant enters the shell (a grain of sand), the irritant is covered in layers and over time becomes a pearl. When the irritant is introduced by man into the shell the resulting pearl is a cultured pearl.

From Quiz To Assist the Goddess: the Cultured Pearl

Answer: A variable proportion of a cultured pearl's weight represents the nonprecious nucleus

Specific gravity ranges have been described for both ocean and freshwater pearls. Although not originally a metric unit, the carat has been standardized at 200 milligrams. The weight of the nucleus depends on its size, while the amount of nacre can vary widely. Cultured pearls as a bulk commodity are sometimes sold by weight, using the Japanese unit "momme." However, this system is not applicable to single pearls or to pieces of pearl jewelry.

From Quiz Like a Queen in her Radiance: the Pearl

Answer: Museums and vaults keep pearls in a silica-gel-lined wrapper to keep them as dry as possible. This prevents fungus damage.

Excessive dryness in the air is harmful to pearls. Some experts recommend wrapping pearls in a barely-dampened linen cloth if they are to be stored unworn for long periods.

From Quiz General Pearl Knowledge

Answer: Kokichi Mikimoto

Mikimoto placed a lot of energy getting cultured pearls recognized as real pearls and was tireless in marketing them. To gain publicity in the US market he had a model of the White House built of pearls!

From Quiz Perfectly Pretty Precious Pearl

Answer: La Peregrina

La Peregrina is also known as "The Wanderer" and it has over a 400 year history. The pearl was originally found by a slave, and by finding the pearl the slave earned his freedom. In 1570, the pearl was sent to King Philip II of Spain, and after him it was given to Mary I of England. After her, it exchanged hands and became the possession of Prince Louis Napoleon of France. Prince Louis then sold it to a British Marquis. After the Marquis, the pearl disappeared and didn't resurface until 1969. The next person to purchase this pearl was Richard Burton.

From Quiz To Assist the Goddess: the Cultured Pearl

Answer: Almost all are grown in bivalve or double-shelled mollusks.

While natural pearls formed by some univalves (snails) such as conch or abalone can be very rare and beautiful gems, efforts to culture these pearls have had only limited success. Some blister pearls suitable for assembling into jewels have been cultured in the abalone, but as of 2003 production is very modest in size and not of commercial importance.

From Quiz General Pearl Knowledge

Answer: The mollusk that created it

The Akoya, South Sea and Tahitian oysters all live in saltwater. Freshwater pearls come from a freshwater mussel.

From Quiz To Assist the Goddess: the Cultured Pearl

Answer: A distinct boundary between nucleus and nacre layer indicates a cultured pearl.

Prior to today's use of X-rays, a test was used which involved threading a tiny endoscope with 2 mirrors through the hole in a pearl and reflecting a strong light beam off them. This could test only one pearl at a time and was not helpful for assessing undrilled pearls.

From Quiz General Pearl Knowledge

Answer: China

Lead images of Buddha were slipped into a freshwater mussel between the animals mantle and the shell. The mussel coated the image with nacre and created a pearl Buddha.

From Quiz To Assist the Goddess: the Cultured Pearl

Answer: An irregular empty space in the center of the pearl means it was cultured.

Although natural pearls usually form around a soft-tissued parasite, these tiny organisms will not leave large, prominent spaces visible on X-ray.

From Quiz Like a Queen in her Radiance: the Pearl

Answer: cat's paw

Pretty much self-explanatory! These pearl shapes resemble parts of other animals, but are shaped by the river mussel. Snail pearls are less common; these result when actual small snails become trapped inside the mussel. They look like tiny sculptures in pearl!

From Quiz Perfectly Pretty Precious Pearl

Answer: Minnie Pearl

Minnie Pearl passed away on March 4, 1996. During her lifetime she became a famous comedian appearing on the Grand Ole Opry as well as on the television show "Hee Haw". Her famous tag line, which she always screamed at the audience, was "Howdeeee! I'm jest so proud to be here."

From Quiz To Assist the Goddess: the Cultured Pearl

Answer: Cultured pearls have no concentric growth rings

It is very difficult to tell a cultured pearl from a natural one without X-ray equipment. X-rays shows that the structure of the pearl follows the shape of the bead at its centre rather than forming the concentric rings of the natural pearl.

From Quiz Like a Queen in her Radiance: the Pearl

Answer: Islam

Muslims believe that the pearl is given by God to humanity as a special blessing. Cultured pearls, which formed by human intervention, are not so considered. Muslim nations forbid their import.

From Quiz Freshwater Pearls

Answer: They can attain larger sizes than all saltwater varieties

Freshwater pearls suffer from the stigma of inferiority due to their affordability. This comes from the amount of pearls one mussel can produce at a time (up to 40 or more) as opposed to the saltwater varieties that usually only produce one pearl at a time. Economics 101: the higher the supply, the lower the cost.

From Quiz Perfectly Pretty Precious Pearl

Answer: Kokichi Mikimoto

In the early 1900s, Kokichi Mikimoto, Tasuhei Mise and Tokichi Nishikawa each independently discovered the secret to making cultured pearls. Mise and Nishikawa developed a "grafting needle" for introducing the irritant into the shell. Mikimoto patented the cultured pearl itself. Mikimoto bought out the rights of the other two and his company (Mikomoto and Company) was established. After Mikimoto's death, he was awarded the "Order of the Sacred Treasure".

From Quiz To Assist the Goddess: the Cultured Pearl

Answer: A pearl blister or hollow dome, cut free from its shell and cemented onto a mother-of pearl mounting

Mabe, often garnished with an accent mark, is pronounced "mah-BAY" by producers and sellers of the product.

From Quiz Like a Queen in her Radiance: the Pearl

Answer: New Jersey

As a result, pearl prospectors overwhelmed the local rivers and eventually destroyed the supply. All four of these states have produced first-rate pearls. The American Pearl Company in Tennessee is now a leading producer of mother-of-pearl spheres used for saltwater pearl culturing. They also sell fine cultured river pearls and natural river pearls.

From Quiz General Pearl Knowledge

Answer: Mother of pearl

Mother of pearl is made of the same substance (nacre) as a pearl. Mother of pearl has been used to make buttons, pistol and knife handles, inlays for guitars and watch faces.

From Quiz Perfectly Pretty Precious Pearl

Answer: Inferior pearls that are discarded are ground into a powder and used as an ingredient for calcium supplements.

Pearls are calcium carbonate, which is why the powdered pearl can be used in high quality calcium supplements. Most of the ancient cultures used to routinely use pearls for medication. Pearls were swallowed whole, ground up so that they could be added to potions or salves and they were even tucked into the belly button to cure stomach problems.

From Quiz To Assist the Goddess: the Cultured Pearl

Answer: Chinese freshwater cultured pearls

The first Chinese cultured pearls to be imported were elongated and deeply wrinkled, reminding buyers of the breakfast cereal. As culturing techniques became more precise, rounded smoother ones were produced which were shaped like potatoes or like plump kernels of corn on the cob.

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