The Pearls

Because we were booked as a tour group, we had to go to two Government outlets. The first one was the Pearl outlet. I have never felt more materialistic than standing in the People's Republic of China Pearl outlet. They were incredible - the most beautiful necklaces and other jewelry that I have ever seen. I hadn't seen pearls of such colours.

I learned two facts about pearls:

1. If you want to know if pearls are fake, rub them together. If they are just covered in ground pearl, it will come off as powder.

2. Freshwater pearls are less valuable because the oyster yields about 20 pearls at a time, whereas saltwater oysters only yield 1.

Okay, I thought of a number 3. The minerals in the environment around the oyster influence the colour of the pearl.

At the entrance, they have a small pool, full of the triangular freshwater oysters. The guide opened one and gave us all a baby pearl. I am going to have mine made into a tiny charm for Rachel.