Most gems are stones, but a few like Pearl, Amber, Jet, and Coral, are classified as Organic gems, meaning they came from living things.
Pearls are formed inside bivalves (similar to oysters), which coat any foreign substance that gets inside their shell with a smooth layer of pearly nacre to reduce the irritation.
The Chinese cultured in the 12thor 13thcentury, but the Japanese developed it into an industry in the 1890s, inserting mother-of-pearl beads as the basis of their cultured Pearls.
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