Learning about the pearls history
Pearls have been known as the “Queen of Gems” since the ancient time, along with the diamond as the “King of Gems”. Throughout the world history, the natural pearls make their way to be one of the most expensive jewelry in the world. In the other hand, pearls also take their place in women jewelry collections in an affordable prices compare with the other gemstones.
Discovery of pearls
No one knows the first person to collect and use pearls in their daily life. According to “The Book of the Pearl” from George Frederick Kunz in 1908, he believe that the ancient fish-eating tribe was the first group of people who initially appreciated the shape and luster of the seawater pearls, when they open oysters shell for their food. In the legend of the Hindu god, Krishna was the first god who discovered pearl when he pulled the first pearl from the sea and made it as a gift for his daughter, Pandaia on her wedding day.
No matter who and when pearls were discovered, an admiration of pearl has spread throughout the world since the ancient time. In Egypt, the mother of pearl was used and recorded which can track back to 4200 B.C. Later the use of pearls has been transferred to the Persian conquest during the 5th century B.C. Then in the Roman period, the use of pearls had also been recorded. But the Arabs have shown the greatest love for pearls, as you can see their love of pearl reflect in the Koran. In their Paradise description, : “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 lustre, and is attended by beautiful maidens resembling hidden pearls”, you can definitely feel the love passion of the Arab to the pearls.
Pearls: the symbols of wealth and power
In the ancient world, pearls are natural product, purely made by nature. The perfect pearls were so rare and expensive which only the posh and very rich people can only have them. The pearls are the symbols of wealth and power people only. But for now, pearls seem to be not that expensive anymore. The natural pearls are quite expensive, but the cultured pearls are quite affordable for most people. The meaning of pearls recently is about elegant and pure love instead.
Where to find pearls?
In the past, oyster lay in the Persian Gulf, along the coasts of India and Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) and in the Red Sea. In Japan, pearls were also found near the coast in salt water while in China, the Chinese pearls were mainly come from fresh water; river and ponds.
When the Spanish invaded into Central and South America and the Caribbean, the pearls were discovered along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. In the same period, the English and French colonizer along North America’s Atlantic coast found the use of pearls from Native American people. They discovered freshwater pearls in the Ohio, Mississippi and Tennessee River basin. This is the origin of the new world for the “Land of Pearls”.
Culture pearls
The natural source of freshwater pearls is mainly from the United State, while the seawater pearls are from the coast of Panama and Venezuela, Bahrain, Mexico. These pearls supplies were continued into the mid of 18th century where water pollution from the industry has effected to the natural occurring pearls. It is the starting point of cultured pearls, from the isolated nation called Japan.
The idea to entice oysters to produce round pearl had begun by Kokichi Mikimoto and his wife, Ume. However, at the same time the government biologist, Tokichi Nishikawa and the carpenter, Tatsuhei Mise had also discovered the secret of pearl culturing. They know that by insertion of a piece of oyster epithelial membrane with a nucleus of shell or metal into oyster’s body, the pearls can be formed in a pearl sack. They were all working on the same technique and got the patent on their method of creation. However at the end, Mikimoto was the one who began to bring all these methods together, to start the world of the cultured pearls under his name. He bought all the rights of Mise-Niskikawa methods and leaves their names only for the history books. Based on his technique which inserted a round nuclei cut from U.S. mussel shells to generate pearls, this is the success basis for virtually all cultured saltwater pearls from over 90 years.
Mikimoto was the person who has made all the success of the cultured pearls to everybody in the world today. You can see peals in almost as jewelry accessories with their beauty and affordable price.
