Study on the Influence of Porosity of the Nacre Layer on the Luster and Surface Roughness of Chinese Large Freshwater Nucleated Pearl

The Chinese large freshwater nucleated pearl has become popular for its unique appearance throughout the international jewelry market in recent years. However, its quality evaluation mostly depends on appearance observations, and the influence of the nacre layer’s internal microstructure on the gems...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Crystals (Basel) 2022-02, Vol.12 (2), p.234
Main Authors: Zhou, Danyi, Lu, Taijin, Sun, Ruoduan, Zhang, Jian
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Computed tomography
Conflicts of interest
freshwater
Gems
Investigations
Jewelry
Lasers
Light
luster
Nacre
nacre layer
nucleated
Parameters
pearl
Pearls
Porosity
Quality assessment
Reflectance
Software
Surface roughness
Tomography
Unevenness
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Summary:The Chinese large freshwater nucleated pearl has become popular for its unique appearance throughout the international jewelry market in recent years. However, its quality evaluation mostly depends on appearance observations, and the influence of the nacre layer’s internal microstructure on the gemstone’s appearance needs further investigation. In this study, light reflectivity, surface height unevenness parameters and porosity of the nacre layer were measured by chroma meter, laser scanning confocal microscope and X-ray computed tomography (μ-CT), which quantitatively described the characteristics of luster, surface roughness and structure compactness of the nacre layer. It was found that the porosity of the nacre layer had a significant influence on appearance features, with an increase of porosity showing more surface blemishes (higher surface roughness parameters) and weaker luster (lower reflectivity). Related results can provide reference for the scientific and quantitative evaluation of pearl quality.
ISSN:2073-4352
2073-4352
DOI:10.3390/cryst12020234