Ever found a freshwater pearl? Last time I was visiting my mother at my childhood home in Echo, Minnesota, I told an old friend about this website that I'm making and how I love pearls. She surprised me by saying that her mother has a ring with two natural pearls from the Minnesota River in it. One pearl is white, the other lavender. I have yet to see and photograph that ring....but I was amazed that right behind my parents' farm pearls were found in the river.
Natural Lake Pepin Pearls
These gorgeous beauties in this photo are from Minnesota also. They were found in Lake Pepin which is a widening of the Mississippi River.
Have you found a pearl? Many countries in the world have pearls in the freshwater mollusks. Here is one found in India.
I invite you to upload a photo or video of your pearl and tell us how you found it and anything else you'd like to share about it.
Do you have a great story about finding a natural freshwater pearl? Share it!
My young friends who live along the Mississippi River found three pearls one day when gathering a few mussels for fish bait.
Misshapen freshwater pearls used to be called slugs....but today, we are much more appreciative of these natural beauties and even if they are not perfectly round, they are still treasures.
If they are perfectly round, then you have a valuable pearl for sure.
I invite you to share your story of finding a natural freshwater pearl and don't forget to add a photo!
Click below to see contributions from other visitors to this page...
I think I have a freshwater pearl
We live on the San Antonio River in Texas and kayaked up the river a few months ago. We found a mussel shell, opened and "empty", and brought it home ...
Pearls of the Mississippi
As a child my brother and I would visit our Great Aunts who lived in Le Claire, Iowa right along the Mississippi. We would go down to the river and look ...
What is this shell doing here?
About twenty years ago, when I was just eight years old, I was playing in the backyard of our new home when I found a few shells scattered around. I dug ...
Freshwater Pearl Found on Vacation
I was on vacation with my mom and dad and I was snorkeling around this island where my parents had found two fresh water pearls a few years ago, and as ...
A Treasure in the Rough
One day I was cat fishing in my home town creek. Suddenly, I saw a few clams siting in the water as a fish swam by. I decided to pick the clams up. They ...
Virgilio Luib Pearl
The pearl on the center is a Natural Saltwater 12mm golden white pearl. It was found in the waters of Nonoc Island in Dinagat, Surigao del Norte, Philippines....
Arkansas freshwater pearl
These pearls have also been found in Arkansas in the Arkansas River. I know because my grandfather once found one while fishing.
I just found a pearl today
The pearl is quite nice, white, bigger than your average jewelry pearl and perfectly round...
I found it on the shore of Orman Dam here in South Dakota,...
The Cache Creek Pearl
At 63 grams or 314 carats-we are claiming it to be the largest pearl found in the state of Oklahoma, possibly the largest found in the continental Americas,...
Muscatine Pearl Slugs at Pearl Button Museum
Anyone crazy about pearls will love seeing these Mississippi River pearl slugs. They are on display at our local museum which is just two blocks away ...
Muscatine Button Museum Pearl Ring
This lovely pearl ring is on display at our local Pearl Button Museum, which has recently been revamped into a top-of-the-line historical museum.
The ...
Ann Moody Pearls
As I was visiting my friend, Ann Moody, in her delightful shop, AnnsArts, on mainstreet in Muscatine one day she told me about her Muscatine pearls that ...
Freshwater Blister Pearl
One Large pearl weight 48.18 carats and 30mm wide is unusual in size and a natural blister pearl obtained in the fresh water mussel. Color is pinkish ...