The Elusive Concho Pearl: the most wondrous of gems nestled in the mollusks of West Texas… pink, purple and lavender pearls.
In praise of the Concho Pearl
for at least 400 years, the waterways of West Texas have produced the coveted pink to purple colored concho pearls. The pearls are found in freshwater mussel shells which live in the area lakes and rivers of San Angelo.
The Mystique of the Concho Pearl and the mystery shrouding the pearl's birth has intrigued civilizations for millennia, fortifying its reputation as the sovereign emblem of beauty, purity and wealth.
In nature, a pearl is formed when a foreign object enters the mussel shell and cannot be expelled. As protection against the irritant, the mussel coats the object with layers of fine crystalline substance called "nacre."
The San Angelo area is one of the few places in the world that produces NATURAL pearls… much less in hues of pink, peach, purple and green!
Legend has it that several items from the Spanish Crown Jewels contain some of the earliest known examples of the beautifully colored concho pearls.
For over 30 years, these rare pearls have been fished from the local lakes and rivers by "pearlers" who search for the magical mussel shells which produce these pearls.
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No two Concho Pearls are alike.
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