Pearl Jewelry Buying Guide-Part One-Pearl History
by Richard Larochelle

Pearls have been a treasured gem for centuries. The modern pearl buyer has relatively little information, knowledge, and guidance about these precious gems. There are so many varieties and qualities that the modern pearl buyer is bewildered about the purchase of pearl jewelry. My objective in this series of articles is helping the reader become a more informed consumer about Pearls and pearl jewelry. Armed with this information, a pearl buyer will feel more comfortable making buying decisions, and will know where to look for more information and assistance. Before you begin shopping for pearls, inform yourself about the market. Accurate information is your best bet to help select a piece of fine jewelry that is right for you. Start by learning the basics about pearls.

The first person to open an oyster and see a perfectly round, lustrous pearl thousands and thousands of years ago, was most likely an ancient fish-eating tribe, having discovered the gems while opening oysters for food. Pearls were one of the first stones to be valued by people because it was, and still is, one of the only gemstones that require no cutting or polishing. Its beauty is evident the moment it’s removed from the shell.

Pearls were considered one of the most precious gems in earlier centuries. For most of recent history, pearls were considered priceless, rivaling rubies, emeralds, and even diamonds in value. Matched pearl necklaces were one of the most expensive and valued gems in the world. Pearl jewelry has been discovered in tombs of princesses dating back to B.C. Since being discovered, pearls have been a symbol of purity, perfection and elegance, the pearl is associated with the moon, and some cultures even attribute healing properties to the gems, believing they can cure ailments ranging from gastrointestinal problems to mental illness. One of the largest freshwater pearls ever discovered is The Hope Pearl. Measuring two inches long and between 3¼ and 4½ inches around, the single gem was last offered for sale for $200,000!

Born in 1858 in Japan, Kokichi Mikimoto has been credited with perfecting pearl culturing techniques and making pearls available to the masses. Until the 20th century, however, all pearls were natural pearls, pearls that were found in oysters growing naturally without human intervention. Mikimoto figured out how to make oysters create pearls on demand by inserting a piece of oyster epithelial membrane with a nucleus of shell or metal into an oyster's body or mantle. This “culturing” caused the tissue to form a pearl sack. The sack secretes nacre to coat the nucleus, creating a pearl.

Pearls were found mainly in the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea, and the Gulf of Mannar, which is located between India and what is now Sri Lanka. The United States was a large producer of freshwater pearls, when they were discovered in abundance in the Ohio, Mississippi and Tennessee Rivers. These pearls are known as freshwater pearls, as opposed to saltwater pearls, since they are found in freshwaters. American Indians wore pearls for years, but early settlers harvested the gems and sold them to the Europeans, who were eager to obtain these gems. Europe has also produced quality pearls. Pearls have also been found in Germany, France, Norway, Sweden, Austria and Russia.

The Middle East is thought to have valued pearls before most other civilizations. In ancient times, societies held pearls in high esteem. Pearls were an important status symbol. The passion for pearls spread from the Middle East to the rest of the world. The Chinese have prized pearls since the beginning of history. The Arabs, from whom we get the legend of the pearl and the moon, have coveted pearls more than any other culture. Indeed, pearls are referenced throughout the Koran. The Philippines have harvested large pearls for centuries. Australians and Polynesians revered mother-of-pearl more than pearls, and used the substance in decorative work. Because the demand for pearls has risen dramatically, these countries have focused on the pearl itself. In many cultures, pearls have been a symbol of rank and status reserved for a select few.

Pearls were so valued that people went to great lengths to obtain them. Pearl harvesting required a dive of over 10 feet, and, with obstacles such as sharks, eels and decompression sickness, was so dangerous that slaves were forced to become pearl divers. The pearl craze came to America in the 20th century. Pearls today are associated with birthdays (June), weddings, and anniversaries. Pearls are associated with class and elegance, but are also showing up with less formal attire at less formal occasions. Pearls are enjoying popularity thanks to young buyers. Matched pearl studs, bracelets, and necklaces are still wildly popular for weddings, anniversaries, and other occasions.

Pearls form in two families of mollusks, a soft-bodied marine animal that has one or two shells, Oysters and Mussels. Mussels live in lakes, rivers and streams, while oysters live in the ocean. Pearls form when an irritant enters the mollusk’s shell. To protect itself, the mollusk forms nacre, a coating it produces, to coat the irritant. The result is a pearl. Natural pearls are formed in nature, and though very rare and very valuable today, still occur. However, most pearls are cultured, which means humans introduce an irritant into the oyster’s shell to make it produce nacre to form a pearl. There are two types of Cultured pearls –saltwater and freshwater. Saltwater pearls include the Akoya, Tahitian and South Sea varieties. Freshwater cultured pearls are the most varied in color and are produced primarily in China.

Thanks to Mikimoto, within a span of less than 50 years at the beginning of the 20th century, pearls which had historically been the exclusive possessions of royalty and aristocracy, have become available to virtually anyone on the planet. Rather than pearl divers hunting, often in vain, for the elusive, naturally formed pearls, pearl farmers can now cultivate thousands upon thousands of pearls in virtually the same way as a wheat or corn farmer grows his own crop.

Keywords: Pearls, Pearl Jewery, Pearl Necklace, Pearl earring, Pearl Pendant, Pearl Buying Guide

About the Author
Richard Larochelle, Hartland, Maine, USA
thaipearl@aol.com
http://www.thaipearl.7p.com
Richard C. Larochelle, and his wife and business partner Sirikorn, travel extensively throughout Asia. They own a retail and wholesale Cultured Pearl business based in the US and Thailand. They specialize in selecting and marketing Akoya Cultured Pearls grown in pearl farms located in Southern Thailand, to provide their customers with high quality pearls at wholesale prices.