The Crossword Solver found 20 answers to “Gem from an oyster”, 5 letters crossword clue. The Crossword Solver finds answers to American-style crosswords, British-style crosswords, general knowledge crosswords and cryptic crossword puzzles.
Answer : PEARLS
Oysters are bivalves, which means that its shell is made of two parts, or valves. The shell’s valves are held together by an elastic ligament. This ligament is positioned where the valves come together, and usually keeps the valves open so the oyster can eat.
As the oyster grows in size, its shell must also grow. The mantle is an organ that produces the oyster’s shell, using minerals from the oyster’s food. The material created by the mantle is called nacre. Nacre lines the inside of the shell.
The formation of a natural pearl begins when a foreign substance slips into the oyster between the mantle and the shell, which irritates the mantle. It’s kind of like the oyster getting a splinter. The oyster’s natural reaction is to cover up that irritant to protect itself. The mantle covers the irritant with layers of the same nacre substance that is used to create the shell. This eventually forms a pearl.
So a pearl is a foreign substance covered with layers of nacre. Most pearls that we see in jewelry stores are nicely rounded objects, which are the most valuable ones. Not all pearls turn out so well. Some pearls form in an uneven shape — these are called baroque pearls. Pearls, as you’ve probably noticed, come in a variety of various colors, including white, black, gray, red, blue and green. Most pearls can be found all over the world, but black pearls are indigenous to the South Pacific.
More Clues
- PEARLS Gems from an oyster
- OPAL Gem from an Australian mine
- AGATE Stone from an entrance?
- RAG Take a muffin from an urchin, just to tease
- NACRE Can turn concerning something from an oyster
- AMETHYST Precious stone from boundaries of tiny Thames resort
- ONYX Precious stone from Buffalo – entertaining US city
- OPALS Iridescent gems from Australia
- LOOTS Takes treasure from
- HEIST What’s in cache is treasure from a robbery
- FACET Any one of the light-reflecting flat surfaces of a cut gemstone from which its “sparkle” derives
- WALES Volunteers have begun an attempt to move a three-ton stone from here to Stonehenge
- FLINT Stone from North Wales town
- EARTH Jimi Hendrix’s “third stone from the sun”
- FRANCIS DRAKE Explorer who sailed from England circling the globe from 1577 to 1580 and capturing treasure from Spanish ships: 2 wds.
- YOGIISM Gem from a quotable catcher
- JADE Gem from China
- EMERALD Gem from a city in Oz?
- SAPPHIRE A gem from his paper