Name: NOVA
Genre: Documentary

NOVA Episode 25.20 The Perfect Pearl

NOVA Episode 25.20 The Perfect Pearl

Episode Premiere

December 29, 1998

Genre

Documentary

Production Company

GBH

Official Site

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/

Information

Episode Premiere

December 29, 1998

Genre

Documentary

Period

1974 -

Production Co

GBH

Distributor

PBS

Official Site

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/

Synopsis

For centuries, man has risked both life and life savings to possess the pearl's beauty. Pure and perfect, glowing and dazzling, a pearl is actually a mistake formed when an oyster reacts to an irritant lodged in its shell. Go back to the late 18th century to meet Kokichi Mikimoto, who developed a technique for culturing pearls that's still used today. Travel to a Japanese oyster hatchery to see how technology is advancing pearl cultivation. Watch divers search for the immense pearls found in the world's largest oyster, the Pinctada maxima. See a strand of South Sea perfect pearls worth $2.3 million. And discover little-known facts as authors, zoologists, scientists and pearl experts reveal the pearl's wondrous history.