This crown was made in 1846 and has 32 freshwater mussel pearls. After a drawing by Johannes Flinto
The river mussel
The river mussel is now protected. In the past, people caught river mussels to see if there were pearls inside. The hunt for pearls has wiped out the river mussel in many rivers. In the 18th century, the Queen of Copenhagen had exclusive rights to all pearls found in Norway.
It is very rare for pearls to be found in river mussels. We have to kill at least a thousand mussels to find one pearl, and out of a thousand pearls, only one is fine enough to be used in jewelry.
Protected species
The river mussel is protected. This means that it is not allowed to catch it.
If you see mussels in the river or stream, leave them alone. If you try to open a mussel to see what's inside, it will die.
In Norway, all wild animals are protected. Some are protected all the time. In that case we say they are completely protected. Other species are only allowed to be hunted, fished or captured at certain times.
The river mussel is protected all year round (totally protected), while the moose can be hunted in the fall.
