# data[].attributes.body
Pearls are produced within the soft tissue of oysters in the sea. After an irritating microscopic object – wrongly thought by some to be a grain of sand – has got under its shell, the oyster produces a substance to seal off the irritation, which results in coating after coating of nacre, or mother-of-pearl, which is strong, resilient and shiny. There is evidence that the Chinese carried out extensive fishing of pearls, which are the most beautiful of gems, in the South China Sea 2000 years ago

# data[].attributes.body
For centuries, fine quality pearls have been seen as exquisite objects and, because of their perceived beauty, they were used in many societies to make jewellery, where a pearl was set as a centrepiece in rings, earrings, bracelets and necklaces. Art from around the world, particularly from Europe, shows that pearls were used to adorn clothing for both men and women. Pearl fishing brought deserved wealth to those who engaged in it, such as the people of the Pandyan Dynasty in India, who controlled pearl fishing along the South Indian coast for several centuries

# data[].attributes.body
Pearls feature in several religions, further emphasising their importance. In the Christian Bible, holy things are compared to pearls, and in the Qur’an good deeds are associated with the wearing of pearls. Some Indian mythology describes how powdered pearls can be used for medicinal purposes such as, for example, an aid to good digestion or a cure for mental illnesses.

# data[].attributes.body
Before the twentieth century, the only way of obtaining pearls was for a diver to gather oysters from the sea, and then open them to see if they contained pearls. This was a very difficult process as hundreds of oysters were needed to obtain perhaps only three or four pearls; this is the reason why pearls fetched such extraordinary prices in the past. In order to find enough oysters, divers were often forced to descend to great depths, sometimes to over 30 metres, on a single breath; this meant that, in order to survive, they had to grease their bodies to conserve heat and close their nostrils with clips. Divers faced the danger of being attacked by hostile creatures – off some South American coasts, for example, pearl fishing took place in shark-infested waters. Many divers lost consciousness and drowned because they held their breath for too long underwater.

# data[].attributes.body
In modern times, the vast majority of pearls produced worldwide are cultured pearls, which are formed when natural processes are aided by human intervention. Oysters are kept in farms with the intention of obtaining pearls from them. The system which produces cultured pearls imitates nature; a bead is deliberately introduced as an irritant under each oyster’s shell. It responds by coating the irritant in nacre, and a pearl is formed. The introduction of Cultured pearls hit the pearl fishing industry hard, with some critics claiming that cultured pearls were not authentic. Nevertheless, cultured pearl farming took off, mainly in Japan, because high quality pearls can be produced with no risk to human life. Moreover, they can be produced much more quickly than natural pearls, in fact in as little as six months. Since every oyster produces a pearl, there is no unnecessary killing of hundreds of oysters. This is good news for conservation groups who argue that such killing is cruel.

# data[].attributes.body
The advances in the production of cultured pearls mean that coloured pearls can be produced by inserting a natural dye under an oyster’s shell; for example, cobalt chloride ensures a pink pearl. Purists would argue that cultured pearls can often be distinguished from natural pearls through the use of x-rays, but most people appreciate the fact that most of the chance and guesswork has been taken out of pearl production. This enables the industry to be a stable form of employment to very many people.

# data[].attributes.body
Cultured pearls are produced more efficiently and in greater numbers, and so they are very much cheaper in price than naturally produced ones. This means that owning and wearing pearls is no longer limited to the rich.