cultured pearl

American  

Or culture pearl

noun

1. a pearl induced to form by placement of a grain of sand or another irritating object within the shell of a pearl oyster or mussel.

---

cultured pearl British  

noun

1. a pearl induced to grow in the shell of an oyster or clam, by the insertion of a small object around which layers of nacre are deposited

---

Etymology

Origin of cultured pearl

First recorded in 1920–25

Example Sentences

Cultured South Sea pearls are the most valuable type of cultured pearl on the market today.

From BBC

The cultured pearl set cufflinks come with the mystery inscriptions: WUS, SIL, UDH and NUF.

From BBC

Tahiti is well known for its cultured pearl production, but Mo’orea is a small island with a population of around 17,000 people, but I swear there must be 100 pearl shops on the island.

From Washington Post

But he says the end product – an Australian south sea cultured pearl, the heart of a $60m industry – is worth the rather fishy beginnings.

From The Guardian

Labor and work of all kinds is a recurring theme, whether we watch a gravestone of cast-concrete being made in Steve McQueen’s excellent video “Ashes”; enter into the strange world of Mika Rottenberg’s video installation “NoNoseKnows,” a mordant meditation on the rituals of cultured pearl production and utilitarian sneezing, or whiz past a big banner by Gulf Labor, a human rights collective organized to protect migrant workers in the United Arab Emirates.

From New York Times