Natural freshwater pearls occur in mussels for the same reason that saltwater pearls occur in oysters. Foreign material, usually a sharp object or parasite, enters a mussel and cannot be expelled.

Chinese pearls came mainly from freshwater rivers and ponds, whereas Japanese pearls were found near the coast in salt water. Nearly all the pearls in commerce originated from those few sources.

Tiffany & Co. has debuted the new designs from the Tiffany Titan by Pharrell Williams collection with the addition of ...

Saltwater pearls come from oysters, while freshwater pearls like the Abernathy are found in freshwater mussels. Although the sale of this pearl known as "Little Willie" is now making headlines ...