Posts Tagged ‘birthstones’
Pearls – the June Birthstone
May 22nd, 2010 | 
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Remember when a strand of pearls stood for class and high society? Well the pearl is still a fashion statement indicating sophistication and taste. There are so many more designs now available in pearls that it is also now a statement for originality and femininity.
Pearls are one of the birthstones for June. They are gifts from the sea and the only birthstone or in fact gemstone that is made from a living organism. Quite unique.
Pearls are made within oysters – the type of oyster reflects the type of pearl that is produced.
There are a number of different types of pearl.
Freshwater pearls are pearls grown in a mollusc. These oysters can produce for more than one season and can generate up to 15 pearls at one time. The longer the pearls are left in the oyster the larger the pearl. The average time a pearl is left in the shell is three years making freshwater pearls a cost effective option.
About 80% of the world’s freshwater pearl output comes from a region in China known as Zhuji. Yu and Shanghai boast pearl markets that are amongst the world’s largest. Every year over 1,500 metric tons of freshwater pearls are produced! It is great fun to tour the pearl markets and see sacks of these gorgeous freshwater pearls piled one on top of another.
Cultured pearls are a little more expensive as they are deliberately grown by irritating the oyster by putting a special round shell into the oyster.The oyster produces a substance called nacre with which it coats the irritant. Layer on layer is added until such time as the oyster is harvested. Unlike the freshwater pearl, once the oyster is harvested it cannot be used again to produce an oyster, but the shell is often used for other purposes as it is the “Mother of Pearl”. The nacre coats the pearl shell too. Most freshwater pearls are harvested after two to four years and produce a single pearl.
The South Sea Pearl is considered to be one of the most expensive and beautiful of this type of pearl, with the Black Tahitian pearl being most sought after.
About 80% of all South Sea pearls are grown in Australia.
Although oyster shells are usually discarded many interesting by products come from the shell. Mabe pearls for instance. These are blisters that form in the shell where coatings of nacre have been deposited. Cut from the shell Mabe pearls can be very valuable and of an interesting shape. Also made from the shells are carved cameos particularly from the Pinctata or Black Lipped Oyster Shell. Some of our signature range use these cameos. Carving requires a shell of superior size with a depth of nacre or mother of pearl deposit. Many of the cameos we use are hand carved.
Thicker deposits on the oyster shell are often cut into beads and there is also now a process where the shell – the “mother of pearl” – is separated and crushed. The crushed shell is then reconstituted and shell-pearls are created. Because these are man made, they are usually very regular in shape and can be almost perfectly round.
Cultured and freshwater pearls are rarely round – there is no way how the oyster deposits the nacre can be controlled. Round pearls are usually more expensive than other shapes for this reason. Large round pearls can command a very high price and take many seasons to create.
Matched pearls take years to find – producers scan their yearly production for pearls that are almost identical – they usually look for almost perfect pearls of a particular shade and size. It is not unusual for a single strand to take 8-10 years to complete!
Button pearls are squashed rounds – they are generally round in shape but less thick than a round. Rice pearls are likewise elongated like a grain of rice. Baroque pearls are those of an unusual and often unique shape. Coin pearls are round but flat, pearls shaped not unlike a coin.
There are a number of legends surrounding pearls, the most common of which is that pearls are the tears of joy of mermaids.
Pearls are often crushed and included in high end cosmetics, the pearl adding to the preservative powers of the cosmetic.
Pearls are a soft gem, as such they should be handled carefully. When wearing pearls, apply your cosmetics and perfumes before you put on your pearls. Perfumes can be particularly aggressive on pearls, eating away the precious nacre.
Never place your pearls in with other jewellery without first wrapping it carefully. The other jewellery can act as an abrasive and again wear away the nacre.
Pearls should definitely be worn – the body oils that the pearl will collect while being worn will assist in it keeping its shape and not drying out. So please don’t just keep them for a special occasion! Pearls are considered to be trendy and quite sexy, so use them with your other outfits too.
Many jewellers insist that pearls should be knotted. The cord used should last at least five years and then replaced. The advantage of the knotting is that the most that could ever be lost from a broken string of pearls is one pearl. The knots also prevent the pearls from rubbing against each other often creating damage within the strand. The pearl cords are also soft and will not abrade the pearl from within the way wire can. Knotted strands are entirely hand strung so do tend to be a little more expensive.
On a last environmental note, natural and beautiful, growing pearls is not damaging to the environment and pearls are an entirely renewable resource!
Cartier the famous jeweller has a unique and somewhat different place in pearl jewellery history. Their flagship store on Fifth Avenue in New York was purchased in 1917 for the paltry sum of $100 cash – but the deal did include a double strand of matched pearls that was valued in 1917 at one million US dollars!
The pearls are usually harvested after one year for akoya, 2-4 years for Tahitian and South Sea, and 2-7 years for freshwater
On the continuum of pearl values, the natural pearl is the most highly valued basically because of its rarity. Then comes the cultured salt water pearl and finally the freshwater pearl. It is also possible to purchase glass pearls that look remarkably like the real thing, but do not have the same feel or weight as the real thing. A simple test to differentiate the two is to gently rub the pearl on your teeth – a genuine pearl will feel gritty as compared to the glass pearl.
Just because Pearls are the birthstone for June certainly does not mean that those of us not born in June should not wear them. We can all celebrate their rich colours and beautiful textures.
Shop by Retailer, pearl jewellery can be viewed in these online stores:
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