Author
Junko Yazaki, Pearl Science Laboratory
Keywords
Pearl, pigment, interference
Abstract
Pearls have the same chemical composition and crystal structure as shells, because they are produced in the shellfish’s body by the cells of the mantle, which has the function of building the shell. The colors of pearls are complex because they are a combination of the color of the shell’s unique pigment and the interference colors caused by layered structure of the pearl shell. The spectrometers are possible tools to identify shell species that produced the pearls and to judge whether pearls have been treated with bleaching, coloring etc.