Pearls

Most modern freshwater pearls are cultured which means that with human assistance, the mussel goes through a process called nucleation where a small glass bead or shell fragment is inserted and left for six months to 6 years. During this time the bead is encased in a luminous and hard substance known as nacre. The longer the pearl stays in the shell and the more nacre that builds up, the higher it is in value. This process does not harm the mussel and can be repeated throughout the natural life-cycle of the mollusk. Freshwater pearls are naturally beige, pink or cream colored though many are irradiated through a laser process to produce permanent color changes to the nacre. This process produces amazing jewel toned hues but pearls can also be bleached or dyed to produce lighter colors.The difference between a saltwater pearl and a cultured freshwater is that the saltwater pearl is grown in an oyster and the freshwater pearls are grown in a freshwater mussel, though all cultured pearls have been formed around an implanted substance. Saltwater pearls are more temperamental to grow than freshwater pearls no one has been able to grow saltwater pearls in a tank where freshwater pearls can be grown indoors or a in more controlled environments. Pearls are unique in the gemstone world being they are the only jewel that is produced solely by a living organism and requires no polishing, cutting or drilling by humans to increase its value. Pearl is the birthstone for June and has been heralded throughout the ages as a mysterious symbol of love and commitment. The earliest recorded history of pearls is in China, around 2300 B.C. but these gems of the deep are mentioned in all manner of history from Hebrew scripture to ancient Roman records and throughout eastern religious texts. The metaphor of the pearl symbolizes love and devotion as a grain of sand is turned into a rare gem over time. As the official birthstone for June and the gemstone for both of the Sun Signs Gemini and Cancer, pearls are also a traditional gift for the first wedding anniversary. These wonders of nature are also typical as a sweet gift 16 and are a current must have for brides and wedding jewelry. Today, freshwater pearls are readily available in all manner of shapes and sizes which can be found in fair quality by the strand from under $10.00 to exceptional quality strands ranging from $50.00-$200.00. Nothing beats the classic look of pearls, whether they are kept simple in a Princess length strand (18 inches), doubled around the neck (Opera length) or all mixed up with in a chunky multi strand necklace, the pearl holds a unique place in the design world as well as the gemstone world.

Pearls have been found in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Hormuz (now the Persian Gulf) for the last 6,000 years. These two bodies of water lie on either side of Arabia and have provided pearls to both Europe and Asia. Other ancient sources of pearls are the gulf of Mannar between the Island of Sri Lanka and India, the warm waters of southeast Asia, and most of Polynesia. Pearls were sought after by rich and powerful people throughout the Far East. Arabia was a major source of small baroque (uneven or oddly shaped) pearls, most of which were traded to Europe or India, but Pearls were not generally popular on the Arabian peninsula.One pearl necklace found in China comes from a royal tomb and dates to 608 A.D. This is a rare find. Most of the pearl jewelry we know of from this period comes from royal portraits and very few of these have survived. Pearls were most popular from the17th century to the end of the 19th century. The Manchu dynasty was especially fond of pearls and believed the finest ones came from the fresh water mussels of Manchuria, their ancestral homeland. One portrait shows a Manchu lady wearing an elaborate headdress with strands of pearls hanging down from the sides. The communist revolution at the beginning of the 20th century made jewelry unfashionable in China, but that is changing since the death of Mao and the easing of communist rule. The story is a little different in India where pearls appear in paintings in abundance. These paintings, "Persian Miniatures" are finely detailed and were used as official records of the participants at many royal ceremonies. Each shows a small but very accurate portrait (including clothing) of each person at a particular ceremony.These miniatures were most popular beginning in the 1600s, during the Mogul period, and many pieces of jewelry from this period survive in private collections and in museums. One of the most popular styles of pearl jewelry was long strands of matched pearls with ruby and emerald accents. Pearls and precious stones were worn by both men and women in the Mogul Court. In fact India was both a source and a trading center for pearls and gems. The lavish use of pearls was both an ornament and a statement of power. Pearls and colored stones were worn as jewelry, sewn onto clothing, mounted into sword belts and armor, and added to nearly every decorative item you could imagine. Indians considered the pearl to represent the moon as a symbol of perfection. The only gem more popular was the diamond. While the Mogul court no longer exists, pearls continue to be popular throughout India and southeast Asia.

Bibliography

American Museum of Natural History on the webHandbook of Gem Identification by Richard T. Liddicoat, Jr.Jewelry 7,000 Years by Hugh TaitThe History of Beads from 30,000 B.C. to the Present by Lois Sherr Dubin

Pearls are formed by a few species of mollusks (oysters, clams, mussels) and even a couple of snails. It starts when an irritant gets into the mollusk. If the irritant or parasite cannot be ejected it is slowly surrounded by a substance called nacre (pronounced NAY-ker). The nacre is produced by the mantle tissue which produces two substances a protein and aragonite a six sided flat crystal. Together these are called nacre. It coats the inside of the shell and any other foreign object in the shell. The nacre accumulates in layers and builds up over time. This is how the foreign object becomes a pearl.That is the readers digest version of pearl creation. Actually it’s a lot more complex. Sometimes the foreign object is a living parasite that kills the oyster before it can be ejected. Other times the object may attach to the inside of the shell and nacre formation cements it to the shell creating a 'blister or button pearl. Most mollusks will produce a concretion that does not contain nacre and that has no gem value, they are commonly dark brown or purplish.All in all the creation of a fine natural pearl is extremely rare. Only 1 in 10,000 oysters will produce a pearl. Most natural pearls are referred to as seed pearls due to their small size and irregular appearance. Truly fine large pearls are remarkably rare. They command enormous prices and were worth a hundred times their weight in rubies or diamonds before the advent of cultured pearls.The Chinese knew that pearls could be made by the 1300s but did not expand on this for commerce, rather they made the occasional pearl buddha. A small limestone carving of a buddha would be placed in an oyster and allowed to grow for several years. The oyster would then be harvested and the pearl buddha collected as a miracle. Cultured pearls were first developed for commercial purposes in Japan about 100 years ago by the Mikimoto Company. Kokichi Mikimoto spent many years developing the techniques beginning in 1893 and this became commercially viable by 1905. By 1912 European Pearl sellers asked the courts in London and Paris to ban the sale of Japanese cultured pearls, but scientist proved that their formation is essentially identical to natural pearls.Cultured pearls are given a helping hand. The oysters are raised on farms and after 5 or six years of growth they are removed from their beds. Skilled workers, mostly women, carefully open each oyster and insert a mother of pearl bead and a piece of mantle tissue into the shell. With luck one oyster in three will survive the procedure and produce a cultured pearl. Nacre accumulates quite slowly in Japanese waters and it takes about 3 years for a millimeters worth of nacre to accumulate and form a cultured pearl. Some pearl farms in the southern waters from Burma to Australia can boast of a faster nacre buildup, in some cases up to 3 millimeters a year. Freshwater pearls are produced by yet another method. Several species of mussels in Lake Biwa in Japan are farm raised. After a year’s growth they are notched in many places along the edges of the shell, a piece of mantle tissue is placed in each notch and the mussel is returned to the lake. The mantle tissue forms a 'pearl sac' and the resulting pearl is harvested in about 3 years. Each mussel produces many pearls. The mussel can also be harvested a second time 2 or 3 years later.Each species of oyster or mussel will create a characteristic form of pearl and the quality of the pearls depends on a variety of factors, most important of these are the cleanliness of the water and its temperature

Bibliography

American Museum of Natural History on the webHandbook of Gem Identification by Richard T. Liddicoat, Jr.Jewelry 7,000 Years by Hugh TaitThe History of Beads from 30,000 B.C. to the Present by Lois Sherr Dubin

Nearly every culture that has had access to the sea has valued pearls as both beautiful gems and as talismans of power. As early as 6,000 years ago, around the Gulf of Persia, ancient people were buried holding a pearl. Pearls were sought by the Sumerians and Persians. They were traded and given as tribute to the many rulers of Mesopotamia (the lands between the eastern Mediterranean and the Red Sea). In the Persian city of Susa, archaeologists have found a three strand pearl necklace that dates to 350 B.C. Another pearl necklace was found in Pasargardae that dates to 330 B.C. That these pearls have survived to the present is remarkable because pearls will dry out and deteriorate over time, these maybe the oldest pearls currently known.A gold oyster shell pendant survives from the 12th dynasty in Egypt, it is inscribed with the name of Senusert in a cartouche and dates to 1950 - 1800 B.C. long before Egypt fell to Caesar. One story tells how the last great queen of Egypt, Cleopatra was supposed to have dissolved a pearl in wine to prove to Mark Anthony that she could consume the entire value of nation in a single meal. Pearls don't dissolve in wine so this is just a story.The Greeks and Romans considered pearls to be the tears of water nymphs or angels and valued them above all other gems. Caesar was reported to have given a marvelous pearl (valued at over a million dollars today) to Servilia, the mother of Brutus. As the Roman Empire grew richer the use of pearls became more common. By 100 B.C. three pearl earring were a fashion necessity for roman matrons and the writer Seneca states that these matrons were wearing an inheritance on each ear.When Constantinople became the Eastern Roman capital in 330 A.D. pearls were still “Queen of Gems”. The Byzantine Empire was the direct descendant of the Roman Empire and the rulers called themselves “Holy Roman Emperors”. Constantinople has been sacked repeatedly by the Mongols, the Arabs, and the Crusaders. It’s treasures are dispersed and generally lost but the mosaics in Ravenna at the cathedral of San Vitale still show the Emperor Justinian and his Empress Theodora dressed in sumptuous court finery encrusted with pearls.By the Middle Ages about 800 - 1300 A.D., ornamentation and jewelry became religious in nature and was otherwise discouraged for the common folk. However medicine was making use of pulverized gems as remedies for many illnesses. Doctors were busily crushing pearls, mixing them with wine, and feeding them to their patients. The greater the value of the pearl the better the medicine. This is another reason why so few antique pearls are known today.During the 1500s Henry the Eighth and later his daughter Elizabeth the First made pearls fashionable once again. All the official portraits of these English monarchs show them in pearl encrusted hats and gowns. It was a not so subtle reminder the English sea power was the real source of their wealth and power.By the 1600s European scientists, then called natural historians, were discovering that oysters could be induced to make pearls by introducing an irritant like sand or seaweed into the oyster’s shell. This discovery was mostly ignored in Europe.

Bibliography

American Museum of Natural History on the webHandbook of Gem Identification by Richard T. Liddicoat, Jr. Jewelry 7,000 Years by Hugh TaitThe History of Beads from 30,000 B.C. to the Present by Lois Sherr DubinThe Oxford Illustrated History of the British Monarchy by John Cannon and Ralph Griffiths