American Natural River Pearls

Natural Freshwater Pearls, harvested from the rivers and lakes of North America have been valued for their individuality and beauty for centuries and are of wonderful interest for the collector. The Native Americans were the first to discover freshwater Pearls in the rivers and streams of the Mississippi Delta, Tennessee and Ohio and when they arrived in the New World in the early 16th century, English and French explorers found Native Americans wearing and using Pearls which they valued highly. These freshwater Pearls were found in Mussels native to the river basins of Ohio, Mississippi and Tennessee rivers and their tributaries.

‘Daniel Coxe is quoted as saying in 1722 that he saw many of “a sort of shellfish between a mussel and a Pearl oyster, wherein are found an abundance of Pearls and many of an unusual magnitude” in places visited by Spanish explorers. These Pearls seem to have been a by-product of catching clams for food and most such Pearls were ruined by being broiled over a fire until fit to eat, “the large Pearls they find in them, which by the heat are tarnished and lose their natural lustre”. Despite this the Indians put some value on them, but not so much as the coloured beads we bring them.’

Pearls at that time being the most prized of all gems in Europe (Diamonds had not yet been appreciated as cutting techniques were still primitive) so very many were exported to Europe that the New World became known as the "Land of Pearls."


The freshwater American Pearl mussel or 'clam' in local parlance, Megalonaias Nervosa (commonly known as the Washboard Mussel) requires clean, fast flowing streams and rivers, where it lives partly buried in clean fine gravel and coarse sand, at depths of between 0.5 and 2 metres. Capable of living for up to 130 years, the mussel grows very slowly, and takes 10 to 15 years to reach maturity followed by a reproductive period of about 75 years. Pearls are formed when a parasite inside the shell is coated with nacre excreted by the mussel, and a hundred or so of these long maturing shells could be opened without finding a Pearl.

In the intervening years, with the discovery of Diamonds and Emeralds in Brazil and Opals in Australia, these Pearls were almost forgotten and it was not until the mid 19th century that the existence of commercially viable pearls in the United States was recognized.

(I was pleased to see this lovely article about natural USA river pearls to have a link to my site. Thank you!)

SOURCE: https://www.fetheray.com/blogs/news/american-natural-river-pearls