Pearls through the ages

Known as the “Queen of Gems”, pearls have been coveted for centuries. It is known that they have been worn as a form of adornment for millennia thanks to a fragment of pearl jewellery found in the sarcophagus of a Persian princess that dates back to 420 BC, which is now on display at the Louvre in Paris. Pearls were presented as gifts to Chinese royalty as early as 2300 BC, while in ancient Rome, pearl jewellery was considered the ultimate status symbol. So precious were the spherical gems that in the 1st century BC, Julius Caesar passed a law limiting the wearing of pearls only to the ruling classes. The abundance of natural oyster beds in the Persian Gulf meant that pearls also carried great importance in Arab cultures, where legend stated that pearls were formed from dewdrops that were swallowed by oysters when they fell into the sea. Before the advent of cultured pearls, the Persian Gulf was at the centre of the pearl trade and it was a source of wealth in the region long before the discovery of oil.

Over time, the pearl became shrouded in myth and legend. In ancient China, pearl jewellery was said to symbolise the purity of the wearer while, in the Dark Ages, knights often wore pearls on the battlefield, believing that the precious gemstones would keep them safe. According to legend, Cleopatra crushed a pearl into a glass of wine to prove to Marc Antony that she could give the most expensive dinner in history.

Pearls have been an important trade commodity since Roman times, and the discovery of pearls in Central and South America in the 15th and 16th century led to the so-called Pearl Age. With the escalating demand for pearls in Western Europe, where ladies of nobility and royalty wore elaborate pearl necklaces, earrings, pearl bracelets and brooches, by the 19th century, demand for pearl jewellery became so high that oyster supplies began to dwindle.

Types of Pearl & Pearl Origin

Unlike gemstones that are mined from the earth, a living organism produces a pearl. A pearl is formed when an irritant, such as a parasite or piece of shell, becomes accidentally lodged in an oyster's soft inner body, causing it to secrete a crystalline substance called nacre, which builds up around the irritant in layers until a pearl is formed.

Today, natural pearls are among the rarest of gems and their almost entirely depleted supply means that they are found very infrequently only in the seas off Bahrain and Australia.

Unlike the shatterproof diamond, the formation of natural pearls is dependent on clean seas and stable temperatures, both of which have been thrown into disarray by pollution and global warming. Almost all pearl jewellery on the market today is made using pearls that have been cultivated and farmed.

There are different types of pearls. Cultured freshwater pearls are produced mainly in China and, due to their abundance, they are more affordable than their saltwater cousins. Saltwater pearls include Japenese as well as Tahitian pearls, which originate from Tahiti and other islands in French Polynesia. South Sea pearls hail from Australia, Indonesia and the Philippines. The latter is the largest of all the pearl varieties and come in white, cream or golden hues with sizes ranging from 9mm to 20mm. A Tahitian pearl is also known as a black pearl, although its colour spectrum also includes grey, blue, green and purple. In recent years, a new generation of fashion-conscious consumers embracing jewellery featuring coloured pearls as an edgier alternative to the traditional white pearl necklace.

Pearl Jewellery

As with gemstones, the quality of a pearl is determined by several criteria including its size, shape, colour and lustre. An important factor to look out for is the thickness of the nacre as this determines not only the pearl's lustre but also how long it will last. Pearl jewellery should always be stored separately from diamonds to ensure the harder stone does not scratch their surface. We would recommend putting pearl jewels into a cloth bag before placing them in the jewellery box. Acidic elements such as perfume and even perspiration can dull a pearl's lustre, so never spray scent directly onto them and wipe the pearls before putting them away. In the case of pearl necklaces, it is a good idea to take them to a jewellery every five years to check whether they need re-stringing.

We encourage you to familiarize yourself with the offer of pearl jewellery in the Oro Project Jewellery Store in Gdynia.