New World of Pearls
When Columbus had stumbled upon, the English colonizers on North America's Atlantic coast and French explorers to the north and west found native Americans wearing pearls.
Both countries discovered freshwater pearls in the Ohio, Mississippi, Tennessee River basins Florida and Mexico, Texas, California. Also Spain discovered pearls on Central and South America and the Caribbean and make forced Indians dive for pearls.
As the result, plenty gems were shipped back to European that the New World became famous "Land of pearls," where call now the United States.
North America set a new standard for large freshwater pearls.
However, overfishing pearl supplies in Central American waters and in North American, continued into the 1800s until streams depleted stocks.
America exported mother-of-pearl buttons all over the world until World War 2, when newly invented plastic almost drove quality buttons out of the market. Next page -> Mikimoto .