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| A |
| A |
quality category that corresponds to the extremely smooth and nearly perfect pearl with a very high luster and with no surface flaws or very slight ones visible to the naked eye and confined to less than 10 % of its surface. |
| aragonite |
a form of calcium carbonate, which constitutes the nacre of the pearl. Carbonate calcium (CaCO3) entering the composition of the mollusc shells, and essential matter that composes the pearls. |
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| B |
| B |
quality category that corresponds to the pearl with a high or medium luster and with some flaws visible to the naked eye and spread over less than 30 % of its surface. |
| baroc |
pearl which has an irregular and asymmetrical shape. |
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| C |
| C |
quality category that corresponds to the pearl with a medium quality luster with flaws over 30 % of its surface. |
| circled |
pearl with some regular rings over more than 30% of its surface. |
| collector |
artificial or natural process (tree trunks, faggots of miki miki, lattice, nettings, etc.) that allows to fix the larvae swimmer of mother-of-pearl or the seed oysters. |
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| D |
| D |
quality category of pearl with a weak quality luster and with flaws over 60 % of its surface. |
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| G |
| gonad |
genital organia of the oyster |
| graft |
operation carried out by the man and consisting in introducing into the gonad of a mother-of-pearl, a nucleus and a graft, in order to make a pearl. |
| greffor |
expert on mother-of-pearl’s grafts. |
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| K |
| keishi |
tiny pearl with various baroque shapes. It is created naturally when the graft does not work, when the oyster rejects the nucleus and thus there is no more support.
(SYN : keshi)
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| L |
| luster |
the luster is the degree of reflection and refraction of light on the surface of the pearl. |
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| M |
| mabé |
brut product made in French Polynesia. It is a blister pearl which has been hollowed out and filled with a substance and backing. |
| mantle |
membranous tissue that secretes nacre and lines the inside of a shell. |
| mother-of-pearl |
The smooth inner lining of a mollusk' shell, composed of nacre. It is the same substance as nacre which forms pearls.
Note : As ones goes along the scracthing of the mother-of-pearl, the color of the pearl can be very different. Scratching is risky for the pearl but it is quite interesting to use this process to perform, with a little bit of luck, a pearl with an extraordinary color. All the steps represent a heavy and hard. The most beautiful mother-of-pearls are the one which have been cared as unique and original creations.
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| N |
| nucleus |
In the case of cultured sea pearls, a bead of shell, often from the Mississippi River in the USA.
Note: The nucleus is the little bead of shell that it is graft inside the mother-of-pearl to make the pearl. (SYN: Center)
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| O |
| orient |
play of light that appears on the surface of the pearl. The orient changes according to the layers of calcium carbonate (aragonite) settled on the surface of the pearl. |
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| P |
| perle |
nacreous growth inside a mollusk's shell, which forms around intruding irritants to protect the creature's delicate body. |
| poche perlière |
cyst of epithelium (mantle) tissue that surrounds an irritant inside a mollusk's shell and secretes nacre around it to form a pearl. |
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| R |
| round |
most sought-after pearl which looks like an almost-perfect sphere and whose diameter variation rate is less than 2 %. |
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| S |
| scion |
piece of the mother-of-pearl mantle that greffors put inside the gonad of the oyster. In the same time, greffors put the nucleus inside the oyster. |
| semi-baroque |
pearl which has some irregular shapes and which can be classified according to three categories: drop, button and oval. |
| semi-round |
pearl which looks like a slightly imperfect sphere and whose diameter variation rate is bounded by 2 % and 5 %. |
| spat |
Young shells as larvae swimmer (oyster, mother-of-pearl, mussle) before their fixation on ocean bottom. Little mother-of-pearl that pearl-divers fix on collector when larvae have end their life. |
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| T |
| top gem |
quality category that corresponds to the perfect pearl, with an excellent luster and which is extremely rare. |
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