Freshwater Pearl Production in the United States (Part One) |
Native Americans of the Atlantic Coastal areas and the Mississippi River
Basin were the first to collect and use U.S. freshwater mussel pearls and shells. Pearl
pendants and ear pendants were worn by both sexes and both pearl and shell were used for
decorative purposes on articles of clothing. Some of the tribes used pearls as tributes;
reportedly, Powhattan (Pocahontas' father) had large stores of pearls received as tribute.
Additionally, armlets, pendants, and gaming pieces were made from mussel shell.
It is said that the first American pearl was discovered by a cobbler named David
Howell in 1857 in New Jersey. Howell collected a number of mussels from the banks of
the Notch Brook River near Paterson. He then prepared his favorite mussel dish which
came with a most welcome surprise. He bit down on a 26-gram pearl which he later found
out would have been worth some $25,000 had it not been damaged by cooking and his
teeth marks.
Natural freshwater pearls are rarely perfectly round or
even nearly round, more often than not they are baroque, slugs, or wings.
(see Freshwater Pearls: The Shapes)
Many pearls, both natural and cultured, have beautiful color and luster.
Freshwater pearls are noted for their wide range of color, they can be found
in white, silvery white, pink, salmon, red, copper, bronze, brown, lavender,
purple, green, blue, cream, and yellow.
White is the most common color, the most desirable are the pastel pinks,
roses, lavenders, and purples. The different colors are a function of the
mussel species, genetics, water
quality, and the position of the pearl in the shell. Generally, pearls assume
the color of the shell in which they form. Problems can arise in putting
together matched strands because of the wide range of pastel colors.
The shape of the nucleus and its position in the mussel determines the shape of the cultured pearl.
The shapes recovered include rounds, pears, eggs, drops, buttons, dome, and baroques. In turn, the
baroques include many recognized shapes such as, nuggets, dogtooth, wings, hammers, twins, barrels
round-a-circle, and rosebuds. The baroques are becoming popular for use in the manufacture of rings,
earrings, and pendants. Cultured pearls come in all of the same colors as natural pearls.
Freshwater shell and pearl mussels are from the family Unionidae,
from which about 20 different species are commercially harvested. The common names
of the most prolific species include the ebony, washboard, heelsplitter, pimple back,
elephant ear, mapleleaf, three-ridge pigtoe, pistol grip, and butterfly. Peak commercial
fishing is from April through September, when hundreds of independent divers operate
in the rivers, streams, and lakes of the Eastern, Southern, and Central United States.
The two species most frequently used in the culturing process are commonly referred to as the Washboard and Pigtoe varieties.
No other country in the world equals the United States in freshwater mussel variety.
While all of Europe supports only 12 species, nearly 300 kinds
live here, mostly within the vast watershed of the Mississippi River.
Unfortunately, these animals may be the most troubled natural resources in this country.
It's estimated that 70% of our freshwater mussels are extinct,
endangered, or in need of special protection. Many of their problems stem from how they
live and changes that have occurred to their habitat during the past 200 years.
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