irregular
shape called "baroque" pearls. The orientals approach more nearly to
the globular and hemispherical form of true pearls, having frequently
the lumpy rotundity of a snowball and sometimes sections which are
smooth and round. The fresh-water baroques are usually very irregular,
often fantastically so. Many resemble the incisor teeth of man or
distorted grains of corn. Slender pieces similar to the wing of a bird
and therefore called "wing" pearls, or "hinge" pearls because they are
found near the hinge of the shell, are common. Some are shaped like a
flat spike nail. Unlike oriental baroques, the surface of a large
proportion of the fresh-waters is grooved or indented and some show a
beautiful iridescence. Large button baroques of fine luster and
iridescent, especially when they have a decided tinge of pink, have
come to be known of late as "rose" pearls. Another variety of pink
baroques having a, fairly regular shape with a lustrous and finely
irregular pimply surface are known as "strawberry" pearls. These terms
are applied indiscriminately to the two varieties however. Another
nacreous formation found in the
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