Think, mothered. That's the theme this week. One of the things that makes pearls so special is the tender way it has grown and been nurtured by the organs of its "mother".

Because Mother's Day is this Sunday, May 8th, I wanted to take a moment to give you another and very compelling reason to love your pearls.

When I think of how the gonad of an oyster accepts the implant of a nucleus into its organ, I remember how tenderly the oyster starts wrapping this intruder with layers of shimmering nacre. The oyster continues to wrap layer on layer of thin conchiolin to create an amazing specimen of beauty.

Okay. This may be a bit of a stretch, but it does make you stop and think about the amazing effort an oyster exudes, much the same as a mother's body takes care of the germination that will become a beautiful human being.