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Pearl Jewelry
History:
Throughout history, the Pearl has been one of the most highly prized and sought after gems. Numerous references to the pearl can be found in religions and mythology of many cultures from the earliest times.
Ancient Egyptians prized pearls so much they were buried with them. Cleopatra dissolved a single pearl in a glass of wine and drank it, in order to win a bet with Marc Antony that she could consume the wealth of an entire country in just one meal.
In ancient Rome, pearls were considered the ultimate symbol of wealth and social standing. The Greeks held the pearl in high esteem for both its beauty and associated it with love and marriage.
Pearls evolved into symbolic figures, and were presented as evocative gifts dating as far back as 2206 B.C. during the time of Confucius. Myth has it that the Polynesian God Oro (God of peace and fertility), came to earth on a rainbow to offer a pearl as a symbol of love to the princess of Bora Bora. The Roman and Greek legends of Venus/Aphrodite(Goddess of love, beauty and pleasure), is said to have come out of the sea with water droplets turning into pearls, offering her “charms” as the love goddess.
During the Dark Ages,women of nobility wore pearl necklaces and knights wore pearls onto the battlefield believing that pearls had magic powers and would protect them from harm.
Pearls were extremely popular among the Royal Courts during the Rennaisance Period. Since pearls were so highly regarded, a number of European countries passed laws forbidding the wearing of pearls by others outside of the nobility. Queen Elizabeth I was the most avid pearl lover in history, and the “Fairy Queen Portrait,” (1550s – 1603) depicts the queen adorned in one of her 300 gowns that were laden, set, and sewn with natural pearls.
During the European expansion into the New World, the discovery of pearls in Central American waters added significantly to the wealth of Europe. Greed and lust resulted in the depletion of virtually all the American pearl oyster populations by the 17th Century.
Until the early 1900’s, natural pearls were accessible to only the rich and famous. In 1916, famed French jeweler Jacques Cartier bought his landmark store on New York’s Fifth Avenue by trading two pearl necklaces for the property.
During the early 1900s the worldwide demand for natural pearls exceeded supply, leading to development of cultured pearls by Kokichi Mikimoto.
Famous designer Coco Chanel paved the way for the wide acceptance of cultured pearls by popularizing them as everyday wear. Chanel thereby defined Pearl's as classic women’s fashion. In 1955 Tiffany responded to growing consumer demand by showcasing Pearls. Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor also often dressed in sumptuous pearls.
Today, natural and cultered pearls share the same properties as both are grown in live oysters and are readily available and affordable.
Pearl Formation.
As mentioned, due to the growing popularity for high quality Pearls, supply of natural Pearls became insufficient to meet demand. Thus the cultured Pearl industry was born and developed.
Pearls are grown by live oysters far below the surface of the sea.
The process begins when a foreign object, such as a parasite or piece of sand, accidently lodges itself in the oyster’s soft inner body where it cannot be expelled.
In an effort to ease this irritant, the oyster’s body takes defensive action. The oyster begins to secrete a smooth, hard crystalline substance around the irritant in order to protect itself. This substance is called nacre. As long as the irritant remains within its body, the oyster will continue to secrete nacre around the irritant, layer upon layer. After a few years, the irritant will be totally encased by the silky crystalline coatings. The result is the gem called a Pearl.
Foreign object enters oyster and cannot be expelled.
Cells then secrete a a smooth and hard substance called nacre around the irritant.
The exact process by which pearls are formed from what an oyster regards as merely protection against irritation is one of nature’s mysterys. Nacre in addition to being a soothing substance is composed of microscopic crystals. Each crystal is aligned perfectly with each other so that light passing along the axis of one is reflected and refracted by the other to produce a rainbow of light and color. Cultured pearls are formed by oysters in almost an identical fashion. The only difference is that man surgically implants the irritant — a small piece of polished shell into the oyster rather than leaving it to chance, then allows the oyster to do it's work.
After several years of nacre "building" a beautiful Pearl is formed.
Cultered Pearl Farming.
Pearl cultivation intially depended entirely on wild oysters. Now Pearl cultivation is more selective. Japanese scientists were in the vanguard in isolating strains of oysters possessing superior pearl bearing qualities. These selectively bred oysters are capable of producing pearls of exceptional lustre and color clarity.
Technicians open the live pearl oysters carefully, then surgically implant a small polished shell bead and piece of mantle tissue in each. The shell bead serves as the nucleus around which the oyster secretes layer after layer of nacre.
Pearl Tecnician implanting shell into Oyster.
The nucleated oysters are then returned to the sea. There, in sheltered bays rich in natural nutrients, the oysters feed and grow, secreting layers of nacre around their nuclei. In winter, the oysters are moved south to warmer waters.
Pearl Culturing.
These nucleated oysters are then suspended from rafts in order to provide the best growing conditions. Pearl technicians check water temperatures and feeding conditions daily at various water depths and then move the oysters up or down to take advantage of the best growing conditions. Cleaning and health treatments are administered and anything that might interfere with feeding such as seaweed, barnacles, and parasites which are removed from the shells.
Cultured pearls cannot be a mass-produced factory-like product.
On the average, about fifty percent of the nucleated oysters do not survive the surgical procedure to bear pearls. Others may succumb to a variety of conditions such as disease, heavy rains which reduce necessary salinity, explosive and unchecked growth of plankton which decreases oxygen in the water, predators, and parasites. Twenty percent of the survivors will bear marketable pearls. The rest are too imperfect or flawed to be used commercially.
Above: Oysters positioned for growth.
Above: Beautiful Pearl result of the Culturing Process.
Types of Cultured Pearls.
There are five basic Cultured Pearls types:
1. Akoya
2. White South Sea
3. Tahitian
4. Freshwater
5. Mabe
Akoya 
Akoya pearls are the classic cultured pearls of Japan. They are the most lustrous of all pearls found anywhere in the world. In recent years, China has been successful in producing Akoya pearls within their own waters. However, at this time they are not on par quality wise compared to the Japanese Akoya pearls.
White South Sea
White South Sea cultured pearls are grown in large tropical or semi-tropical oysters in Australia, Myanmar, Indonesia and other Pacific countries. They generally range in size from 10mm to 20mm and command premium prices because of their relative rarity and large size.
Tahitian 
Tahitian cultured pearls are grown in a variety of large pearl oysters found primarily in French Polynesia. Their beautiful, unique colors (which can range from light grey to black, and green to purple) and large size can command very high prices.
Freshwater 
Freshwater pearls are found in bays and rivers throughout the world. They are easily cultivated from freshwater mollusks in China, Japan and the United States. They are less lustrous than salt water cultured pearls but their low price, unique shapes and colors have made them popular jewelry items in recent years.
Mabe 
are grown in Japan, Indonesia, French Polynesia, and Australia.
Mabe pearls are hemispherical and are grown against the inside shell of an oyster rather than within the oyster’s body. They are used in earrings or rings which conceal their flat backs.
Buying Pearls- What to Look For.
There are five very important characteristics and features of Pearls that you should focus on when you are in the market to make a purchase. They are:
1. Lustre
2. Surface
3. Shape
4. Color
5. Size
LUSTRE:
Lustre is the combination of surface brilliance and a deep seated glow. The lustre of a good quality pearl should be bright and you should be able to see your own reflection clearly on the surface of a pearl. Any pearl that appears too white, dull or chalky indicates low quality.
SURFACE:
refers to the absence of disfiguring spots, bumps or cracks on the surface of a pearl. The cleaner the surface of the pearl, the more valuable.
SHAPE:
The fact that cultured pearls are grown by oysters makes it very rare to find a perfectly round pearl. Therefore the rounder the pearl, the more valuable it is.
COLOR:
Pearls come in a variety of colors from rosé to black.
SIZE:
Cultured pearls are measured by their diameter in millimeters. Size can range from 1 millimeter to more than 20 millimeters. The larger the pearl the more expensive it will be. The average sized pearl sold today is between 7 and 7-1/2 millimeters.
Some beautiful examples of Pearl Jewelry.
Photo's and Graphics courtesy of www.exceldiamonds.com and The Pearl Information Center
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Comments
i want how the nest is made?
how long it takes?
what is the water temperature?
thanks
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Posted by: Anonymous on October 9, 2007 9:28 AM