The farmer then makes a small, half-inch incision into the body of the oyster and inserts the prepared particle into it.

Oysters are suspended in a water cage, which contains the perfect balance of water and food, and kept at around 75 degrees. Once the particle has been inserted into the oyster, it starts to secrete a substance called nacre, which. Depending upon the type of oyster being farmed and the type of pearl desired- either freshwater or salt-water, a piece or particle of a foreign material (usually a small piece of shell) is inserted into the oyster.

The farms raise baby oysters, which are artificially bred in a hatchery of sorts, or naturally, in their usual freshwater or saltwater environment. That's just not the christie anymore. Now, mankind has figured out how to produce pearls naturally on oyster farms. The baby oyster is grown in these ideal conditions until it reaches 2-3 years of age...and then it gets put to work. It used to be that pearls were very rare and possessing jewelry made from them usually meant that you were royalty or very, very rich.

It then takes the tiny patient at least six weeks to recuperate from the shock.

The beginnings of a pearl starts to form in the next 6-10 days.