Natural or Cultured Pearls? Freshwater or Saltwater?
Versatility and timeless charm are the two most important strengths of Pearls.
The Pearl market is centuries-old; people have always desired natural Pearls, since they have been a symbol of social well-being for thousands of years. There are Chinese texts from 2200 B.C., texts by Homer, Suetonius, Marco Polo and many other authors that describe their historical importance.
A Pearl is the product of a living organism, therefore it is an organic Gem.
A natural Pearl forms in a Pearl-producing mollusk, without any human intervention. The mollusk is a marine animal with a soft body and no backbone. Many of these Pearl-producing mollusks are bivalves, meaning their shell is made of 2 parts.
A cultured Pearl also forms in the mollusk, but thanks to the hand of man who inserts a nucleus inside it. It is the Gem of June and the 30th wedding anniversary.
Cleopatra, Mark Antony and the genius of Prince Antonio De Curtis
The first Chinese civilizations believed that black Pearls formed in the head of a dragon, which would keep them hidden between its teeth, and to obtain them the only solution available to the ancient Chinese was to slay the dragon.
The ancient Japanese believed that Pearls were generated by the tears of Mermaids or by those of Angels.
According to Persian legend, the Pearl would form from a rainbow, which, according to them, would meet the ground after a long and tormented storm. Furthermore, according to Persian legend, the classic imperfections found on the surface of a Pearl would be due to thunders.
And among all these legends, the usual Cleopatra could not help but intrude. The extroverted queen, on a bet with her handsome Antony and with the touch of exhibitionism she could never do without, took a Pearl from her earring and dissolved it in a glass of vinegar. After that, to the general astonishment of those present, Cleopatra drank the dissolved pearl in front of all the guests.
Legend says it was the largest Pearl in all of history, worth about 10 million sesterces, equal to the entire Egyptian GDP at the time. Probably Prince Antonio De Curtis wasn’t far off the mark, in his immortal double impersonation of Mark Antony, when he mocked “the big-nose one” and exposed her over-the-top behavior.
The crisis of Pearls and their return to glory
A factor that reduced the natural Pearl market certainly lies in the renewal of the button industry, which, until the early 1900s, had its buttons made of Mother-of-Pearl (rarely of gold or silver). When they started being made of plastic, mass shell fishing dropped dramatically, and so did the number of related Pearls that could be contained inside.
Another factor that significantly reduced the market is the discovery of oil in the Persian Gulf. This historic discovery, which in a short time upset the world’s economic balance, brought the oil industry to be the leading industry in the Gulf countries, replacing fishing. The first direct consequence was dramatic pollution of that area, which made the creation of natural Pearls very rare.
If you ever thought of cultivating them..
Well, if you ever thought of starting to cultivate Pearls, remember that first of all you need to arm yourself with great courage, worthy of the legendary Kokichi Mikimoto: the pioneer of the cultured Pearl.
So, if you really want to throw yourself into this new adventure, make sure that the place you choose to set up the farm has clean water, to give the right nourishment to the mollusks.
The farm must have adjacent land that serves two purposes:
1) to protect the breeding from atmospheric agents.
2) to allow construction of structures. .
After settling into your new farm, know that to obtain the mollusks there are three ways:
1) collect them as adults in the wild.
2) collect them as soon as they have been spawned and grow them all together in nets until they become adults.
3) breed them in tanks inside a laboratory and let them become adults in protected areas.
Never forget to give them love, in the sense that you must always monitor the health of the mollusks during their growth and you must always clean them of marine dirt. The harvest can be a failure and the end of a breeding, or it can be the most beautiful and exciting moment of the whole procedure.
Which pearl to choose?
When the moment comes to choose the Pearl to buy, the selection is so vast that one can get lost. There are numerous varieties of Pearls presented in jewelry stores, jewelry auctions and costume jewelry shops.
Among the most famous, we recall: Akoya Pearls, South Sea Pearls, Tahitian Pearls, Chinese Pearls.
Finally, the very expensive Natural Pearls. These are often seen mounted alongside Diamonds on jewels of the Edwardian Style, also called Garland style.
