Bead Nucleated Pearl teaching aids for students

Bead nucleated pearls are a form of cultured Pearl which is formed around a bead or other foreign body.

A natural Pearl consists of layer after layer of Nacre over the last, growing larger. If cut in half, a natural pearl will have rings and layers.

A bead nucleated Pearl consists of a foreign body, like a bead, which has been inserted into an oyster and left to be covered in a layer or two of Nacre.

These pieces have been cut open, which clearly shows the foreign body inside the pearl - visualising this and seeing how thin the layer of nacre can be is quite valuable to students.

We sell them in 5 gram packets, which average around 20-30 pearls. In some cases, the packets may contain a pearl or two that has not been cut/ground open - you can do this quite easily with a file as a demonstration.