Freshwater Pearls Freshwater pearls are farmed in freshwater and are grown in mussels. Freshwater pearls are grafted with a small piece of mantle tissue in lieu of a bead nucleus which is used in saltwater pearls, which results in a pearl with more nacre, or more pearl, and less core material. Freshwater pearls are typically less expensive than their saltwater counterparts because freshwater mussels are grafted in the large mantle muscle, which can accept up to 16 grafts per valve producing up to 32 pearls, whereas saltwater oysters are nucleated in the reproductive organ, which can only accept one to five implants depending on the type of oyster. Freshwater mussels produce a lot more pearls! Freshwater pearls also tend to be more off-round, as they have no bead core.
