8 Things You Never Knew About Pearls
When is a birthstone not a stone? When it’s a pearl, the June birthstone. In fact, the pearl is remarkable for a number of reasons compared to other birthstones, not least because it comes from a living creature, a shelled mollusc, rather than through geological processes that take millions of years. Here is a look at the pearl, its variations and most famous examples.
Natural pearls are made in mussels
The most valuable pearls are often called natural pearls as they occur in the wild and at random. Cultured or farmed pearls are made from pearl oysters as well as freshwater mussels and make up the largest proportion of pearls currently available. Imitation pearls include those made with glass to look like the real thing, are far cheaper to buy and are popular in costume jewellery.
They are a defence mechanism by the mollusc
The pearl is created as part of a defence mechanism by the mollusc when it senses something inside it’s shell or an attack that injures its mantle tissue. To deal with the attack, it creates a pearl sac that seals off the cause of irritation. It then deposits layers of calcium carbonate and other minerals onto the sac to create a substance called nacre. This is the substance that makes mother-of-pearl as well as forming into natural pearls.
Pearls develop from something entering the pearl sac
To create a cultured pearl, a mother of pearl bead or other substance is introduced to the mollusc shell to stimulate creation of the pearl sac. It can be done in both freshwater or seawater molluscs and are taken from the shell fully formed with the lustre that pearls are renowned for.
Pearls were first mentioned 7500 years ago
Pearls have been known to mankind for thousands of years and the oldest reference to them comes from a grave in what is now the United Arab Emirates, dating back over 7,500 years. Natural pearls were harvested off the coast of Sri Lanka as well as from rivers in China and Europe. Christopher Columbus discovered pearls in South America.
The Chinese and Japanese created cultured pearls to make up for stock
The Chinese and Japanese came up with the idea of cultured pearls when natural stocks began to diminish.
They are found around the world
Currently, natural pearls are found in Australia, Central America, Japan, the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Manaar between India and Sri Lanka, off the coast of Madagascar as well as in the South Pacific Islands, South America and South-east Asia. River pearls come from Asia, Europe and North America. Cultured pearls are found across south-east Asia, Australia, China, the Pacific Islands and Japan.
Colour and lustre help choose the quality
If you are in the position to pick a natural or cultured pearl for jewellery, then the factors defining quality are similar to that of other gemstones. Firstly, the colour of the pearl – they come in a variety of colours including white, pink, silver, gold, green, blue and even black. Others have an iridescence that is called ‘orient’.
The lustre of a pearl comes from the quality of the nacre. Ideal pearls have a shiny lustre with sharp and bright reflections showing in the surface. They should be smooth and free of any blemishes. Shape of pearls includes round, oval, pearl and mis-shaped, called baroque pearls. Sizes typically range from 2mm through to 16mm.
Famous pearl jewellery
Pearl jewellery has become synonymous with class and quality over the decades and some of the most expensive and famous pearl jewellery further reinforced this image. However, the most valuable pearl is much too big to be made into jewellery. The Beauty of Ocean Pearl weighs a staggering six tonnes and is composed of fluorite. It took three years to form and was found in Mongolia. If you wanted to add it to your collection, it would set you back a mere $139 million.
At a more manageable size is the second on the list, La Peregrina, formerly known as the Philip II pearl. It has a perfect pear shape and brilliant white colour while its setting with rubies and diamonds probably helps it achieve its $11.8 million sale price when sold at auction in 2011.
The two strand Baroda pearl necklace is made from 68 perfectly matching natural pearls and was originally part of a seven strand necklace known as Saath Iahda. It was owned by the Maharajas of India and sold in 2007 for $7.1 million after a diamond clasp was added by Cartier.
The Abernathy Pearl is said to be the most perfect pearl every found. It was discovered in the River Tay in Scotland in 1967 and with 44 grains is the best natural pearl found. It lived in a jewellery store in Cairncross for 30 years until it was sold in 1992.
The Big Pink Pearl sits in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest natural abalone pearl ever found, now valued at $4.7 million. It was found by Wesley Rankin in Salt Point State Park, Petaluma, California in 1990.
The Hope Pearl weights 1800 grains or 450 carats and is a white drop shaped blister pearl that has a greenish gold shade at one end and white at the other. It is in the British Museum of Natural History and was once owned by Henry Philip Hope, the owner of the Hope Diamond.
