Pearls of wisdom – fascinating facts about pearls

No one can deny that pearls are beautiful and can be used in jewellery to make stunning creations. But how much do we actually know about them? Apparently there are as many as 17 different types of pearls and these fall into three main categories – natural, cultured and imitation.

Natural pearls are very rare these days due to over harvesting in the past. For them to be formed requires a unique set of circumstances. They are formed inside molluscs, moist commonly oysters and mussels. The process begins when an irritant gets inside the shell. This could be something as small as a tiny grain of sand or little stone. In order to protect the surface inside the mollusc a secretion known as nacre is secreted around the irritant. Layer upon layer of this lustrous substance builds up and so the pearl is formed. This rather amazingly can take up to seven or eight years. Although there is variation amongst the species as few as one in every thousand oysters or mussels might contain a pearl. And out of these only a few will be of the right quality and texture. In terms of quantity, around three tons of oysters might only produce 3 or 4 perfect pearls. The most valuable pearls are perfectly symmetrical, relatively large and produced naturally. They shine and shimmer and have an iridescence known as orient lustre. The main oyster beds lie in the Persian Gulf, along the coasts of India and Sri Lanka, and in the Red Sea. Chinese pearls come mainly from freshwater rivers and ponds, whereas Japanese pearls are found near the coast in salt water. Freshwater pearls also occur in the rivers of Scotland, Ireland, France, and Austria. The different locations and types of water where the molluscs are found produce local variations in colour, ranging from white, to those with a hint of colour, often pink, to brown or black. read more

CELEBRITIES IN PEARLS: Marilyn Monroe Only Loved to Wear Her Husband’s Pearls

Marilyn Monroe is forever an icon of style but an interesting fact that many of you may not know is that this fashion influencer had almost no interest in jewelry. There was one piece that she really treasured and that was a simple 16 inch string of pearls given to her by her husband, Joe DiMaggio, during their Japan honeymoon in January 1954.

Monroe and DiMaggio divorced later in the year (1954) allegedly due to DiMaggio’s constant requests for Marilyn to give up her career. During their divorce hearing, it turns out that she still had love for not only DiMaggio, but she also still had love for the Mikimoto pearl necklace he had given her because she wore it to court during their divorce hearing. read more