Animal Crossing: New Horizons: Pearls - How To Get More Pearls

Although the ability wasn't present at launch, Animal Crossing: New Horizons players are now free to swim and dive in the waters around their islands — which brings forth a whole host of new sea creatures and crafting materials to collect.

The rarest of these novel collectables are pearls, which are as stunning as they are scarce. However, if you find yourself a bit lost at sea when it comes to collecting and using pearls, we've got all of the information you need to know down below.

Tips and Tricks for Finding Pearls in Animal Crossing: New Horizons

What are pearls?

Pearls are a new crafting material introduced to New Horizons with the most recent July update. They can be found either while swimming and diving in the ocean, or occasionally acquired through trading scallops to Pascal.

Pearls are used specifically to craft the Mermaid series of furniture - though not all recipes require them (which is probably a good thing, considering their rarity).

Where and when can you get pearls?

As of now, pearls can only be acquired one of two ways:

• Found on the ocean floor via diving
  • Shadow size: small; does not move when approached
  • A few bubbles will float up in a straight line
    
  • Extremely rare
• Traded with Pascal in exchange for scallops
  • Pascal only appears the first time you find a scallop each day
  • He may also trade you Mermaid Series recipes and clothing instead of pearls

There is one final way to farm pearls, of course - if you're partial to utilising time travel or additional save files in the game (from which each individual player can interact with Pascal once per day, for a grand total of up to eight).

What can you do with pearls?

Currently, there are only a couple of things you can do with pearls - which, considering their scarcity, is perfectly fine with us:

• Use as crafting materials in recipes for the new Mermaid Series of furniture
• Sell for 10,000 Bells to Timmy and Tommy
  • Not recommended, as - similar to gold - they are highly rare, and worth more as a crafting material
• Decorate your home or island with them to add a little flair or show off a bit
  • Note: as a crafting material, anyone visiting your island will be able to snatch them up - don't leave them out with guests you can't trust!

And there you have it. Have you found any pearls yet, or crafted with them? Let us know down below!

This article is part of our Animal Crossing: New Horizons walkthrough, which includes a Complete Fish List, Complete Bug List and Complete Sea Creatures List. If you're looking for specific fish or bug, we can tell you how to catch the elusive Coelacanth, Mahi-Mahi, Giant Trevally, Stringfish, Golden Trout and all the Sharks and Beetles, along with a full list of Critters leaving at the end of the month. We've also compiled a Complete Villager List and a Complete List of K.K. Slider Songs, as well as the Best Custom Design Codes and Islands we've found so far, and the best islands to visit using Dream Address Codes.

We can also help with How to Spot Redd's Fake Paintings and Statues, How to Make Bells Fast, How to Breed Flowers, How to Get more DIY Recipes, How to Upgrade Nook's Cranny, where and when to find special characters like Gulliver, Sable, Label, Wisp, Celeste, Pirate Gulliver and Jack, plus tips on using the Star Wand, Tool Ring, Rock Trick, Cutting Down and Moving Trees, using amiibo on Harv's Island, How to Back Up Your Island Data, How to Time Travel, How to Get a 5-Star Island Rating and a whole lot more.

And finally Where to Buy Animal Crossing: New Horizons on Nintendo Switch if for some reason you haven't yet picked up the game.