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Pearls are truly unique, unlike gemstones which are formed beneath the Earth's surface, they are created by live animals called mollusks. Naturally, only about one in 10,000 mollusks produces a pearl, but modern techniques in creating cultured pearls have greatly increased these odds.

They are actually usually formed by wayward food particles that get inside a mollusk shell, as opposed to the popular belief that wayward grains of sand are the culprits. The animal coats these particles in aragonite and conchiolin, the same materials they use to make their shells.

When mollusks secrete these substances, they often don't cover the pearl completely, which makes natural pearls imperfect in shape. This is the best way to tell a cultured one from a genuine one, when you rub a real one across your teeth it will feel bumpy and gritty whereas a cultured one will feel smooth and even.

They come in a wide array of colors, including white, gold, purple, and black. Their color depends on the species of mollusk and the environment it lives in.

The luster is one of the most desired qualities about it, it seems to glow from within because light not only reflects off of the surface, but off of the concentric layers as well. These are the alternating layers of aragonite and conchiolin that the mollusk sectretes.

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