The beauty and durability on which nacre thickness of nucleated cultured pearls influence, and how it relates to the nacre volume ratio

Abstract

Nacre thickness is an important quality factor in nucleated cultured pearl. In general, pearls with thin nacre thickness are less beautiful. However, pearls with extremely thin nacre are recognizable at first glance but appearance and the numerical value of nacre thickness are not always coincident in case of pearls with certain nacre thickness. In addition, when we consider the durability of nucleated cultured pearl, the nacre thickness is important. In fact, the damages such as breakage, crack and peeling can be seen often on pearls with thin nacre thickness. Based on the above, I measured the nacre thickness of pearls looked like thin nacre or damaged, then investigated a relationship between nacre thickness with beauty and durability. Furthermore, I considered how it relates to the nacre volume ratio which was a newly proposed parameter for nacre thickness taking pearl diameter and nucleus size into account.