Pearls are one of the jewelry accessories that are sold under the name of elegance and purchasing power statute. Nevertheless, the practice of pearl farming is not cruelty free and in fact, there is a lot of controversy surrounding its use.
They may look very stylized in accessories like chokers, bracelets and earrings, but the story behind such elegance is full of cruelty. Pearls are not precious stones that come from geological processes. Actually, these small stonescome from an animal called an oyster.
How are pearls formed?
Pearls are stones created by two types of mollusks: saltwater oysters and freshwater mussels. When an irritant, such as a parasite, small rock, or sand dust, gets inside an oyster or mussel, they react in defense. The stress generated by the intrusion of a foreign agent into their shells makes these molluskss secrete a crystalline and iridescent liquid called nacre which is made from aragonite. A) Yes, they coat the intruder with thousands of layers of mother-of-pearl until a pearl is formed.
Of course, it is a very lengthy process that does not take place overnight, without saying that during all this time the animal suffers stress. a late pearl between two and four years in forming inside the oysters, at which time the collectors extract it to later sell them. However, as it is an extremely long process and also does not occur in all the others (only in 1 in 10 thousand), the collectors have devised a process to obtain pearls in a massive way; pearl farming. That it is nothing more than the exploitation of these molluscs in a massive way and less expensive than the collection.
How is the cultivation of pearls?
Pearl farming involves surgically opening each oyster shell in order to insert an irritant inside them. According to PETA, freshwater pearls are grown by inserting the mantle tissue of another mussel. While in saltwater oysters, beads with inserted oyster tissue are introduced. Growers stress these small aquatic animals even more, constantly changing the water temperature, to generate more mother-of-pearl. Once the pearls are extracted, a third of the oysters are ‘recycled’ and are once again subjected to the process of introducing intrusive agents. The rest are killed and discarded.
Millions of shellfish lives are lost for the banal satisfaction of hanging a pearl accessory on their bodies. Today it is easier to find cruelty-free alternative ways to wear elegant accessories. So the use of pearls can no longer be justified under the name of elegance, the decision is yours.
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