Japan's akoya oysters have been preëminent among cultured pearls ever since Kokichi Mikimoto first established the industry in the early part of this century. But since 1994, something has been ...

Oysters are the primary producers of pearls, clams and mussels can also create pearls, though this is much less common. Most pearls come from oysters, which thrive in both freshwater and saltwater ...

Pistol is implying that he will use violent means to find his fortune, much like breaking open an oyster to seize its pearl. But the expression’s meaning has evolved over the years and has come ...

Pearls are made by marine oysters and freshwater mussels as a natural defence against an irritant such as a parasite entering their shell or damage to their fragile body. The oyster or mussel slowly ...

while Rihanna's pope-inspired outfit was encrusted in pearls. At the 2019 Grammys, Cardi B was basically dressed like an oyster. The most expensive pearl ever sold was Marie Antoinette's pendant.

Watch Andreia Salvador, Curator of Marine Mollusca, take a look at one of the Museum's most extraordinary and precious pearls. Among the millions of bivalve molluscs in the Museum's collections, one ...