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A pearl is hard, lustrous, roundish object produced within the soft tissue of a living shelled mollusk and is valued as a gem. It consist almost entirely of nacre, which is the substance forming the inner layers of the mollusk shells. Nacre or more known as mother of pearl is primarily made up of aragonite crystals. Pearls is a result of irritants invading the body of a mollusk and becomes trapped within the mollusk’s mantle folds. Both marine and freshwater mollusks can produce pearls but not all are considered to be gems, the most valuable varieties originate in the pearl oyster of the Persian Gulf.

Highly prized pearls are spherical, ideally they should be perfectly round and smooth. They also come in variety of colors but the most valuable ones are in shades of white, black, rose and cream. Pearls are cultivated and harvested primarily for jewelry use however pearls have also been used in cosmetics, medicines, production of lavish clothes and paint formulations.