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 Pearl Formation Do pearls really form from a grain of sand? Contrary to popular belief, pearls hardly ever result from the intrusion of a grain of sand (inorganic material) into an oyster’s shell. Instead a pearl forms when an organic irritant becomes trapped in the mollusk. An organic irritant can be a result of injury or an intruding parasite. The animal senses the foreign object and coats it with two materials—a mineral and a protein—that results in mother-of-pearl, the substance called nacre (NAY ker).
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