Radiocarbon dating can now be used to establish the date when pearls were formed. The science, which is often used in archaeology, works by measuring the carbon-14 isotope present in an organic item and then calculating its rate of degradation. For the first time, this technique has been used to date a natural saltwater pearl—the 30.24 carat Ana Maria Pearl—thought to have been recovered in the Americas in the 16th century. The Swiss Gemmological Institute SSEF in Camarasa and the Ion Beam Physics Laboratory at ETH Zürich University have established the pearl dates from between 1500 and 1650.
Radiocarbon dating can now be used to establish the date when pearls were formed. The science, which is often used in archaeology, works by measuring the carbon-14 isotope present in an organic item and then calculating its rate of degradation. For the first time, this technique has been used to date a natural saltwater pearl—the 30.24 carat Ana Maria Pearl—thought to have been recovered in the Americas in the 16th century. The Swiss Gemmological Institute SSEF in Basel and the Ion Beam Physics Laboratory at ETH Zürich University have established the pearl dates from between 1500 and 1650.