European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - September 14, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                September 14, 1985 the stars and stripes Page 17 the rare Inch Long la Peregrine Pearl pasted through the hands of european rulers until Richard Burton bought it for Elizabeth Taylor in 1969 for $37,000. Japan s cultured pearls Are american at heart National geographic sitting in a hat Bottom boat in the chocolate color Tennessee River. Joh Latendresse smoked a cigarette sipped his third diet Coke of the morning an observed i Don t suppose this looks too much like Pearl  ironically it is. In today s cultured Pearl business which Japan conceived controls and still tightly guards As a National secret the very heart of cultured Saltwater pearls is a purely american product author photographer Fred Ward writes in the August National geographic. The Shell Bead nuclei surgically inserted into oysters growing in japanese Waters come from the shells of mussels Lound in the Muddy Bottoms of the Tennessee and Mississippi River valleys. It is nuclei along with live tissue that stimulate oysters to produce nacre the coating that gives pearls their color Luster and appearance. Laten dese president of both the Tennessee Shell co. Inc., and american Pearl farms Sells 60 to 65 percent of All shells used for culturing. At least half of these Are from washboard mussels which can be nearly an Inch thick near the hinge. No others in the world have such composition and thickness up to 20 High Quality nuclei can be carved from each Shell. It s Kinda satisfying walking anywhere in the world looking at a woman and knowing that most of the necklace she s wearing came from fight Here Latendresse told Ward. Most of a cultured Pearl is the Mussel Shell inside. Once More precious than diamonds pearls religious Symbol of Wisdom and wealth were coveted by history s Queens inspired roman invasions and still help  Iran s currency As part of the state jewels. Among la Lyril gym to adorn Mankind pearls have never been More popular than they Are today especially in the United states which buys about half of All Japan s pearls three times As Many As any other country. Pearls Are plentiful and affordable a single average Pearl in a necklace retails for less than $18. And. Ward writes 1980s free form fashions encourage wearing them at any hour with any clothes in modern times pearls were never higher prize or priced than during the 1920s, the last years before the natural ones were almost entirely replaced on the world Market by the cultured Type. Completely the creation of the Oyster natural pearls were rare and for thousands of years came mostly from the persian Gulf. Cartier acquired its filth Avenue Headquarters after world War i by trading two strands of naturals priced then at More than $1 million for a Matron s town , Pearl Ever reached its height among ancient romans who spent astronomical sums on these coveted gems. The roman general Al tallies paid for an entire Campaign by Selling just one of his Mother s earrings according to the historian Suetonius. By the first Century b.c., pearls were first in value among All precious things. Pliny the elder wrote. Cleopatra is said to have wagered Marc Antony that she could give the most expensive dinner in history. The Queen removed one of her huge matched Pearl earrings crushed and dissolved it in a Goblet of wine or vinegar and drank. When she offered Antony the other earring the bet was declared won. Pliny wrote that those pearls then were Worth 60 million Esterces or More than 1.8 million ounces of line Silver. Pearls retained their value above All gems until the Early 19th Century when diamonds surpassed them. Then Early in the 20th Century. Kikichi Rikimoto son of a Noodle Vendor was granted a japanese Patent for the world s first cultured round Pearl. His cultured Pearl business at its Peak had More than 12 million oysters and produced 75 percent of the world s pearls. Rikimoto who attributed his Long life 96 years to two pearls he swallowed every morning kept oysters implanted with nuclei in the water for More than three years Lor maximum thickness of the nacre the substance that also lines the Oyster Shell As Mother of Pearl. Although most japanese Pearl operators vigorously deny that Quality is diminishing today. Ward who interviewed More than 100 representatives of the Pearl Trade Lound that the majority of pearls Are too thinly coated nearly All Are bleached and dyed and that exporters often circumvent the japanese government Pearl inspection. Most cultured pearls May come from Japan but the grandest Are nurtured in South sea oysters which Are often Mote than a foot in diameter. The world s largest Pearl Oyster Pintada Maxima produces cultured pearls up to 20 Millimetres in diameter about double the size of the Normal japanese pearls. South sea White pearls come form Burma. Thailand the Philippines. Indonesia and Australia. Iridescent Peacock Hue Black pearls Are the exotic creations of Black lip oysters found in polynesia. So rare Are Large High Quality South sea pearls White or Black that they can sell Tor $4,000 to $40,000 each. Although Saltwater pearls have dominated the cultured Pearl Market Freshwater pearls which come from mussels Are becoming increasingly available. U rally less expensive Freshwater pearls Are As close to natural pearls As culturing can get. Instead of starting from a Shell nuclei these pearls Are seeded with pieces of Mantle tissue placed directly into the Mussel s own Fleshy Mantle. They Are solid Pearl. China recently exploded onto the Freshwater Pearl Market and today leads the world expecting to produce from 50 to 80 tons this year. But Latendresse of american Pearl farms predicts that the . Is the future of cultured Freshwater  in 1987 his firm plans to Start marketing Large round pearls cultured from up to 24 species of Tennessee Louisiana and Texas mussels. National goys Ptak photo fr9�hwot9r mrs can fac varied that of