PEARLS

PEARLS. Freshwater pearls are the product of mussels that LIVE IN freshwater lakes and rivers. If freshwater pearls were the largest, roundest most lustrous pearls in the world, they could be worth as much as saltwater. Freshwater pearls can be round or irregular in their shapes and exhibit unusual colors. Supply and demand contribute to the value of pearls. There is an abundance of freshwater pearls available each year—unlike saltwater pearls whose perfectly round shapes and mirror-like luster make them the most valuable. This makes freshwater pearls affordable. (1)

Native Americans of the Upper Mississippi River Valley were wearing pearls in necklaces and other ornaments when the early French explorers arrived. The pearls came from freshwater mussels or clams found in the Mississippi and other rivers and streams. (2)

The shape of a pearl is determined by its location in a shell. Those along the lip are round and are the most valuable. Wing-shaped pearls form along the back of the shell. Irregular pearls form in the heels of shells. Blister pearls, where the pearl is attached to the shell, are the most common. A good-sized irregular pearl can be found in about one in 100 clams. However, a good-sized, natural, round pearl occurs only once in every 10,000 clams. (3)

In July 1910 Nick Schutter found a clam above the EAGLE POINT BRIDGE. The size of a large pea, perfect in shape with a pink tint, the pearl was sold to a person from Guttenberg for $475.00 (4)

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Source:

1. "American Pearl," Online: http://www.americanpearl.com/cultfresh.html

2. Nissen, Ruth. "Along the Mississippi River. Mussels, Clams Produce River Pearls" Online: http://www.greatriver.com/pearls.htm#clams

3. "River Mussels (Clams) Produce Pearls. Online: http://www.greatriver.com/pearls.htm#shape

4. "$475-Pearl Found by a Dubuquer," Telegraph Herald, July 11, 1910, p. 3

See: CLAM HUNTING

See: CLAM HUNTING