Nature has a lot to offer to humans. Most precious jewelry is made from metals and stones buried deep within the Earth’s surface but the discovery of these rare jewels is not just limited to land. The ...

“Pearls, the most flawless and highly prized of them, are perhaps the most perfectly spherical macroscopic bodies in the biological world. How are they so round?” So begin Julyan Cartwright at the ...

• Natural pearls: Formed without human interference, these are incredibly rare. • Cultured pearls: The process is natural, but guided by farmers who carefully place a nucleus inside the mollusc to ...

A perfect pearl, formed not in an oyster but in a coconut, was exhibitedlast week in Florida by Botanist David Fairchild. One of a dozen foundin 9,000,000 East Indian coconuts, the pearl began ...