Pearls are the beautiful result of an irritant in an oyster. Before the days of cultured pearls, when oysters lay on the sea bed calmly taking nutrients from the constant flow of water through them, a tiny crustacean or some other small particle would get stuck in the oyster's flesh. This would irritate the oyster, which would then begin to coat layer upon layer of nacre (mother-of-pearl) over the hapless creature and, over time, those layers of nacre would become a pearl.
With cultured pearls, the process for the oyster is the same, except a human hand has implanted the irritant in the form of a bead nucleus which is then coated with nacre.
Cultured pearls are "natural" pearls in the sense that they are the product of a natural creature - the oyster. Truly natural pearls, those that have formed without human aid in wild oysters are rare and always have been.
To see some beautiful cultured pearls ready to wear, visit www.pearlsmelba.com
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