Exceptional Natural Freshwater Pearl
At the AGTA show, we visited Gina Latendresse at the American Pearl Company of Tennessee booth to find out about anything new in the pearl industry. We were excited to learn that an exceptional pearl, both in size and quality, was discovered last year in the Cumberland River (figure 1). The pearl was found by a fisherman along the bank of the river in a “Pistol Grip” (Tritogonia verrucosa) mussel (figure 2). This 28.38 ct white pearl with natural color measured 16.23 mm in diameter and was near round with good luster. This was the first pearl of such size and quality found in the Tennessee region since the 1970s. The pearl is so unusual that Ms. Latendresse described it as either a collector specimen or suitable for museum display.
For context, the eastern portion of the United States was a source of many natural freshwater pearls to native Americans as evidenced by John Smith’s 1608 writings noting the “many chains of great pearls about his [Chief Powhatan of the Powhatan Confederacy near present day Richmond, Virginia, also the father of Pocahontas] neck” (P.L. Barbour, Ed., The Complete Works of John Smith (1580–1631), Vol. 1, University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, 1983, p. 53). Two and a half centuries later, a pearl rush started with the discovery of pearls of notable size and quality by fishermen in New Jersey, which resulted in people searching streams and rivers throughout the country. In 1857, David Howell found a near-round 100 ct pearl in a fried mussel he fished from Notch Brook in New Jersey (which unfortunately had its luster destroyed by the frying process). Shortly thereafter, Jacob Quackenbush discovered a 23.34 ct pink baroque pearl of fine luster, later named the “Queen Pearl,” that he sold to Charles Tiffany for $1,500. Good-quality pearls were found in the Cumberland, Tennessee, and Clinch Rivers in the state of Tennessee for many years thereafter (G.F. Kunz and C.H. Stevenson, The Book of the Pearl: The History, Art, Science, and Industry of the Queen of Gems, The Century Co., New York, 1908).
The recent discovery of such an extraordinary pearl proves that it is prudent to check the inside of mollusks known to produce pearls before consuming them!
