Pearls are nature’s gift to mankind. It is our passion for this gift that has made us start this blog. We are fascinated with this gemstone and we want to share our stories with you. Please keep visiting us to know more about the 'Wonders world of Pearls'.
Pearls are the only gemstones grown inside of a living organism. Pearls are formed within oysters when a foreign substance invades the shell of the Oyster and enters the soft mantle tissue. In response to the irritation, the oyster secretes a crystalline substance called nacre, which builds up in layers around the irritant, forming a pearl.
Pearls have been prized for their beauty purity and rarity for more than five thousand years. From ancient China, India, and Egypt, to Imperial Rome, to the Arab world, to Native American tribes, cultures from around the world and throughout recorded history have valued pearls longer than any other gem. The very first pearls are said to have been discovered approximately 5000 years ago in what are now the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea.
Throughout history, we can find many fantastic episodes involving pearls. Cleopatra is said to have dissolved pearls in vinegar, believing that imbibing the resulting concoction would preserve her beauty. The first Emperor of the Shin kingdom of China put great effort into searching for pearls, believing that they could prevent aging. The famous Chinese beauty, Yang Kuei-fei, is said to have ground pearls into powder for daily consumption. Pearls also make several appearances in the 1,001 tales of Arabian Nights.
In a completely natural state, only a very small percentage of Oysters will ever produce a pearl and only a few of them will develop a desirable size, shape, and color; only a small fraction of those will be harvested by humans. It is commonly assumed that one in ten thousand mollusks naturally produce gem quality pearls. Obviously, if we relied only on nature, ownership of pearls would still be relegated to the wealthiest and pearl producing mollusks would be on the brink of extinction due to over-harvest. As pearls have been prized for thousands of years, this need has led to the development of cultured pearls.
Cultured Pearls
In the early part of the 20th century, Japanese researchers discovered a method of producing pearls artificially. The method involves inserting a foreign substance, or nucleus, into the tissue of the oyster or mollusk, then returning it to the sea, allowing a cultured pearl to develop naturally.
In the early part of the 20th century, Japanese researchers discovered a method of producing pearls artificially. The method involves inserting a foreign substance, or nucleus, into the tissue of the oyster or mollusk, then returning it to the sea, allowing a cultured pearl to develop naturally.
Kokichi Mikimoto is credited with perfecting the technique for artificially stimulating the development of round pearls in akoya mollusks, receiving a patent for this technique in 1916. Although patented in 1916 this technique has since been improved upon and used extensively throughout the pearling world - no longer simply used to cultured akoya pearls, but freshwater, South Sea and Tahitian pearls as well.
Mikimoto opened the door to a greatly expanded pearl industry in which pearls could be farmed like an agricultural crop. These cultured pearls could now be produced in sufficient quantities to make them available to virtually anyone.
The cultured pearl industry has now far surpassed that of the natural pearl industry. Although a market still exists for pearls gifted to us by nature, these pearls are becoming more and more difficult to find, with rare full strands being auctioned for hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Come back next week to read up on the fascinating journey of Pearls throughout history.
Please do leave comments on what you would like to see in future blogs on the world of Pearls.
Pearls are the only gemstones grown inside of a living organism. Pearls are formed within oysters when a foreign substance invades the shell of the Oyster and enters the soft mantle tissue. In response to the irritation, the oyster secretes a crystalline substance called nacre, which builds up in layers around the irritant, forming a pearl.
Pearls have been prized for their beauty purity and rarity for more than five thousand years. From ancient China, India, and Egypt, to Imperial Rome, to the Arab world, to Native American tribes, cultures from around the world and throughout recorded history have valued pearls longer than any other gem. The very first pearls are said to have been discovered approximately 5000 years ago in what are now the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea.
Throughout history, we can find many fantastic episodes involving pearls. Cleopatra is said to have dissolved pearls in vinegar, believing that imbibing the resulting concoction would preserve her beauty. The first Emperor of the Shin kingdom of China put great effort into searching for pearls, believing that they could prevent aging. The famous Chinese beauty, Yang Kuei-fei, is said to have ground pearls into powder for daily consumption. Pearls also make several appearances in the 1,001 tales of Arabian Nights.
In a completely natural state, only a very small percentage of Oysters will ever produce a pearl and only a few of them will develop a desirable size, shape, and color; only a small fraction of those will be harvested by humans. It is commonly assumed that one in ten thousand mollusks naturally produce gem quality pearls. Obviously, if we relied only on nature, ownership of pearls would still be relegated to the wealthiest and pearl producing mollusks would be on the brink of extinction due to over-harvest. As pearls have been prized for thousands of years, this need has led to the development of cultured pearls.
Cultured Pearls
In the early part of the 20th century, Japanese researchers discovered a method of producing pearls artificially. The method involves inserting a foreign substance, or nucleus, into the tissue of the oyster or mollusk, then returning it to the sea, allowing a cultured pearl to develop naturally.
In the early part of the 20th century, Japanese researchers discovered a method of producing pearls artificially. The method involves inserting a foreign substance, or nucleus, into the tissue of the oyster or mollusk, then returning it to the sea, allowing a cultured pearl to develop naturally.
Kokichi Mikimoto is credited with perfecting the technique for artificially stimulating the development of round pearls in akoya mollusks, receiving a patent for this technique in 1916. Although patented in 1916 this technique has since been improved upon and used extensively throughout the pearling world - no longer simply used to cultured akoya pearls, but freshwater, South Sea and Tahitian pearls as well.
Mikimoto opened the door to a greatly expanded pearl industry in which pearls could be farmed like an agricultural crop. These cultured pearls could now be produced in sufficient quantities to make them available to virtually anyone.
The cultured pearl industry has now far surpassed that of the natural pearl industry. Although a market still exists for pearls gifted to us by nature, these pearls are becoming more and more difficult to find, with rare full strands being auctioned for hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Come back next week to read up on the fascinating journey of Pearls throughout history.
Please do leave comments on what you would like to see in future blogs on the world of Pearls.
