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After a bead is inserted into the oyster, it secretes a few layers of nacre around the bead; the resulting cultured pearl can then be harvested in as few as twelve to eighteen months. When a cultured pearl with a bead nucleus is X-rayed, it reveals a different structure to that of a natural pearl.
Keshi pearls consist of solid nacre, and tend to have high luster as a result. All nacre colors typical of the mollusc under cultivation may be represented among keshi pearls harvested from the same, but in the case of Akoya pearls a larger portion of keshi is usually grey than of bead-nucleated pearls.
The iridescent nacre inside a nautilus shell Nacreous shell worked into a decorative object. Nacre (/ ˈ n eɪ k ər / NAY-kər, also / ˈ n æ k r ə / NAK-rə), [1] also known as mother-of-pearl, is an organic–inorganic composite material produced by some molluscs as an inner shell layer. It is also the material of which pearls are composed.
White pearl necklace. A pearl nucleus or a bead for cultured pearl is a sphere (usually) or other shape (occasionally) formed only by cutting and polishing a nacreous shell used to accommodate the nacre secreted from a graft of mantle tissue, that eventually forms the centre of a beaded cultured pearl. [2]
Although these are a variety of cultured saltwater pearls, the amount of time that the pearls are cultured dramatically increases the depth of the nacre, and the likelihood of producing a baroque pearl. Most Tahitian pearl farm harvests, which, for example, produce more than 40 percent baroque and semi-baroque pearls.
Majorica imitation pearls are man-made on solid balls, likely made of glass, that are coated with a proprietary coating that is made in part from fish scales. [1] The coated nuclei are then dried and polished, and then dipped in a chemical (possibly cellulose acetate and cellulose nitrate) to harden the surface and guard against discoloration, chipping, and peeling.
Other materials such as metals, seeds of a lotus and pearls are also used to make the beads. [34] While using the prayer beads, one bead is moved at a time until arriving to the terminal bead. Once the terminal bead is touched, the prayer beads are reversed and counted in the opposite direction.
A selection of glass beads Merovingian bead Trade beads, 18th century Trade beads, 18th century. A bead is a small, decorative object that is formed in a variety of shapes and sizes of a material such as stone, bone, shell, glass, plastic, wood, or pearl and with a small hole for threading or stringing. Beads range in size from under 1 ...