The picture of one of the necklaces Dr Bari shared with the audience.
DOHA: Dr Hubert Bari of Qatar Pearl and Jewellery Museum at Qatar Museums Authority (QMA) presented a fascinating talk on pearls and their “hidden stories” during the first monthly meeting of Qatar Natural History Group.
One of his most surprising pearl stories was about the formation of pearls. Contrary to popular myth, they do not develop from a grain of sand or a drop of dew snuggled inside an oyster shell with a ray of moonshine.
Pearls are created as a result of a defensive response of a shell to an unwelcome invasion by, mostly, the larvae of tapeworm excreted by sea or freshwater fishes, rays, or sharks.
The attacked shell produces mother-of-pearl to fight the intruder, which is then literally “pearlified” inside it.
Pearls come in many shapes, sizes and colours, but the main types are nacreous (mother-of-pearl) and less common, non-nacreous and porcelaneous pearls.
Although both are highly valued in jewellery making, the former are iridescent while the latter are characterised by a fire-like pattern and come in the same colours as can be found in the inside of the animal’s shell where they were formed.
Dr Bari shared photographs of exquisite pieces of jewellery and samples of natural pearls of stunning beauty and value, with the audience.
He is a graduate of the University of Strasbourg, where he specialised in mineralogy.
For 25 years, he lectured at National Museum of Natural History in Paris, where he designed and organised exhibitions.
Since 2003, he has directed several exhibitions in Qatar, including the famous ‘Pearls’ expo in 2010. Dr Bari has published a book on diamonds and another on pearls. The Peninsula
