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The History of Pearls
No one will ever know who were the earliest people to
collect and wear Pearls. George Frederick Kunz a
gemologist in his 1908
masterpiece - The Book of the Pearl, states his belief
that an ancient fish-eating tribe, perhaps along the
coast of India, initially appreciated the shape and
luster of saltwater Pearls, which they discovered while
opening oysters for food. No matter the origin, a
reverence for Pearls spread throughout the world over
the ensuing millennia. India's sacred books and epic
tales abound with Pearl references.
Popular with Beliefs and Legends
One legend has the Hindu god
Krishna discovering Pearls when he plucks the first one
from the sea and presents it to his daughter Pandaļa on
her wedding day. China's long recorded history also
provides ample evidence of the importance of Pearls. In
the Shu King, a 23rd-century B.C. book, the scribe
sniffs that as tribute, a lesser king sent "strings of
Pearls not quite round." In Egypt, decorative
mother-of-Pearl was used at least as far back as 4200
B.C., but the use of Pearls themselves seems to have
been later, perhaps related to the Persian conquest in
the fifth century B.C. Rome's Pearl craze reached its
zenith during the first century B.C. Roman women
upholstered couches with Pearls and sewed so many into
their gowns that they actually walked on their
Pearl-encrusted hems. Caligula, having made his horse a
consul, decorated it with a Pearl necklace.
Favorite Across World Cultures
Throughout history, certain cultures have placed little
or no value on Pearls and have focused instead on
luminescent mother-of-Pearl from mollusk shells. Before
the 19th century, Japanese shell divers who found Pearls
apparently did not bother to keep them. Polynesian
children are said at one time to have used Pearls as
marbles. These and other peoples harvested Pearl oysters
for their shells, using the mother-of-Pearl for
decoration. Abalone was also popular with many groups,
including those in the Americas: people ate the flesh of
the mollusks and used pieces of colorful abalone shell
as inlay on carved objects made of wood, ivory and bone.
In Religious Scriptures..
The Arabs have shown the greatest love for Pearls. The
depth of their affection for Pearls is enshrined in the
Koran, especially within its description of Paradise,
which says: "The stones are Pearls and jacinths; the
fruits of the trees are Pearls and emeralds; and each
person admitted to the delights of the celestial kingdom
is provided with a tent of Pearls, jacinths, and
emeralds; is crowned with Pearls of incomparable luster,
and is attended by beautiful maidens resembling hidden
Pearls."
Symbol of the Wealthy and Powerful
Throughout history, Pearls have held a unique presence
within the wealthy and powerful. For instance:
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The Pearl was the favored gem of the wealthy during the Roman
Empire. This gift from the sea had been brought back from the orient
by the Roman conquests.
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Roman women wore Pearls to bed so they could be reminded of their
wealth immediately upon waking up.
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Before jewelers learned to cut gems, the Pearl was of greater value
than the diamond. In the Orient, Pearls were ground into powders to
cure anything from heart disease to epilepsy, with possible
aphrodisiac uses as well.
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Pearls were once considered an exclusive privilege for royalty. A
law in 1612 drawn up by the Duke of Saxony prohibited the wearing of
Pearls by nobility, professors, doctors or their wives in an effort
to further distinguish royal appearance.
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American Indians also used freshwater Pearls from the Mississippi
River as decorations and jewelry.
Natural Pearls
A natural Pearl is a Pearl that forms in nature with no
human intervention. Natural Pearls, What is a Natural
Pearl Natural Pearls are grown in wild oysters. The
process begins when an irritant, such as a grain of sand
or a piece of shell, gets inside an oyster's shell...
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Freshwater Pearls
Freshwater Pearls are a kind of Pearl that comes from
freshwater mussels. They are produced in Japan and the
United States on a limited scale, but are now almost
exclusive to China The U.S. Federal Trade Commission
requires that freshwater Pearls are referred to as..
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Biwa Pearls
Biwa Pearl is a freshwater Pearl cultivated in a mollusk
only in Japan's Lake Biwa. Biwa Pearls are produced at
lake Biwa, Japan using freshwater clams. They are
irregular in shape but have good color and luster.
Instead of a bead a small square of mother of...
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Saltwater Pearls
Although freshwater Pearls can be grown in mussels and
other mollusks, saltwater Pearls are always grown in
oysters. Most saltwater Pearls are harvested in the Red
Sea, the Persian Gulf, and the coastal waters of India
and Japan. Generally, saltwater Pearls...
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Cultured Pearls
Cultured Pearls are those in which humans take a helping
hand. By actually inserting a foreign object into the
tissue of an oyster or mollusk, Pearl farmers can induce
the creation of a Pearl. The same natural process of
Pearl creation takes place...
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South Sea Pearls
South Sea Pearls is a generic name for the
Pearls, usually 9mm-16mm in size, produced by the two groups of large
Pearl producing oysters. These oysters can grow to 25-30 cm in size, and
are much rarer than their Akoya counterparts....
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Tahiti Cultured Pearls
Tahiti cultured Pearls are Pearl concretions
that are secreted inside the black-lipped Pinctada Margaritifera species
of Pearl oysters cultivated mainly in the lagoons of French Polynesia.
They consist of thick Pearly layers containing organic substances..
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Akoya Pearls
Akoya Pearls are found only in Japan, China,
and Vietnam. Japanese Akoya Pearl farms are shifting towards the warmer
Chinese waters, where these Pearls take only half as long to grow.
Overtone colors of Akoya Pearls include white, cream, rose, silver, and
green...
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Keshi Pearls
Tiny Pearls, some a little bigger than a grain
of sand, which form naturally in many cultured Pearl oysters. Keshi is a
Japanese word for "poppy seed". Thus, keshi is also called the seed
Pearl deriving the name from its size. Keshi Pearls are irregularly
shaped...
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The Pearl Myths
There are many myths
about Pearls that have continued through the centuries.
"Pearls of Wisdom", is a common saying and even
shares the title of some books in areas such as
medicine, country living, inspiration and wisdom
collections and Oriental teachings...
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Back to 'All About Pearls' Summary
Ever since the ancient Egyptians first started creating
jewelry, Pearls have become one of the highest regarded gemstones. Even
today Pearls still hold their value due to the rarity of "mother nature"
creating this form of jewelry. Pearls are created from a core. The core
of a natural Pearl is simply a fragment of shell or fishbone, or a grain
of sand that strays into the unsuspecting Pearl oyster's shell. To
protect itself from this irritant the oyster secretes multiple layers of
nacre, forming a Pearl...
Read more...
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History of Pearls
