Pearl Jewellery Origins

The sparkling beauty of a strand of pearls has held the attention of brides for millennia. The ancient Greeks believed that wearing pearls would promote marital bliss and prevent newlywed women from crying. Julius Caesar banned women below a certain rank from wearing Pearls as they were considered the prized emblems of nobility. Moslems are told in the Koran that the trees of paradise are hung with Pearls. During the Crusades in the Middle Ages, pearls were the gift of choice for a knight to give to his lady. During the 14th and 15th centuries, royal wedding scenes closely resembled a sea of pearls, with everyone from the bride down to her male guests adorned with impressive arrays of pearl Jewellery.

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In modern times, cultured pearls have graced such 20th century brides as Queen Elizabeth II, the late Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Elizabeth Taylor. You may see the term "cultured" preceding the word pearls in our jewellery store. Cultured pearls are pearls that are nudged to life when a worker surgically implants a tiny bead into the oyster (that's the shellfish in which pearls grow). The host oyster is then lowered back into the water and, if all goes well, it deposits layer upon layer of a substance called nacre around the bead, eventually forming a pearl large enough to harvest. Of course, some oysters continue to produce pearls without any help, forming nacre around a natural irritant that gets inside their shells, they are rare however. Culturing produces far more pearls than nature could alone.

Lustre is to a pearl what fire is to a diamond. Pearls are judged on their lustre. The best produce an almost mirror-like reflection on the surface when looked at in normal light. You should avoid cultured pearls that look dull and chalky. The surface of a cultured pearl should be relatively clear of blemishes, pockmarks and pits. Since cultured pearls are grown inside an oyster, it's very rare to find a completely blemish-free pearl. But the fewer the blemishes, the greater the value of the pearl. Sometimes if these imperfections are near the drill hole of the cultured pearl, they will be less noticeable in a necklace.

Colour in pearls is a preference often based upon geographical location or skin tones. In the U.S., white pearls with a slightly pink overtone tend to be the most popular, although pearls with a golden tone are gaining popularity.

Size is another factor best left to personal preference. Some people like smaller, more delicate cultured pearls, from 3.0 mm to 5.0 mm, while others like larger pearls, 6mm and up. Size does affect price; usually the larger the pearl, the more valuable it is. Factors such as lustre, however, also have an effect on price - a smaller pearl with better lustre can sometimes equal the cost of a larger, less lustrous pearl.

Freshwater pearls are formed in freshwater mussels (Unionidae), which live in lakes, rivers, ponds and other bodies of fresh water. Most freshwater cultured pearls sold today come from China. Saltwater pearls grow in pearl oysters (Pteriidae) that live in the tropical oceans. Saltwater pearl mussels are usually cultivated in protected lagoons. The three main types of saltwater pearls are Akoya, South Sea and Tahitian. Freshwater pearls include Biwa and Boroque.

Pearls come in eight basic shapes: round, semi-round, button, drop, pear, oval, baroque, and circled. Perfectly round pearls are the rarest and most valuable shape. Semi-rounds are also used in necklaces or in pieces where the shape of the pearl can be disguised to look like it is a perfectly round pearl. Button pearls are like a slightly flattened round pearl and can also make a necklace.

Baroque pearls have a different appeal to them than more standard shapes because they are often highly irregular and make unique and interesting shapes. They are also commonly seen in necklaces.