PEARLS AND IMITATION PEARLS 103 



known for the quality and quantity of pearls pro- 

 duced are those of the Persian Gulf, Ceylon, Vene- 

 zuela, Panama, Mexico, and Malaysia. Those known 

 especially for their mother-of-pearl but which also 

 yield pearls of value include those of the Aus- 

 tralian, Society, and Philippine islands, the trochus 

 shell fisheries of New Caledonia, and the abalone 

 fisheries of California and Japan. 



Cultured Pearls 



One of the greatest triumphs of modern science 

 has been the discovery of methods of making arti- 

 ficial gems. An artificial gem is not an imitation but 

 is the genuine article made by a process controlled 

 by man. Artificial rubies, emeralds, and sapphires 

 are the result of marvelous inventions by chemists, 

 whereas the biologists have discovered how to pro- 

 duce cultured pearls. This is not surprising, since 

 the pearl is a biological product. 



Cultured pearls have been produced since 1894, 

 and cannot be distinguished from natural or acci- 

 dental pearls except by an examination of the 

 center or nucleus. Ever since cultured pearls ap- 

 peared on the market, there has been much discussion 

 as to whether they should be considered true pearls 

 or not. Recently the French courts have decided that 

 for legal purposes a cultured pearl is a pearl. This 

 decision should be of considerable aid to the cultured 

 pearl industry. 



The method of causing pearl oj^sters to grow 

 pearls was discovered by Japanese biologists; one 

 Kokichi Mikimoto began the commercial cultivation 



