Pearls for centuries have been used as a medicine more than any other gemstone. Chinese swallowed home made pearl pills for immortality. Other Asian countries thought pearls cured fever, bleeding and eye ailments. Pearls are mostly calcium carbonate, so they would actually work as antacids. Today, people in the orient use lower grades of cultured pearls for medicine and love potions. Pearl is from the Latin word Margarita meaning "child of the sea". They are associated with the moon and sea. Pearl is the birthstone for June. Pearls are organic gems, products of living organisms. Natural pearls form in freshwater and saltwater, in mollusks such as mussels, oysters and abalone. An intruder, such as a tiny worm or other material, gets into the mollusk and irritates the animal. The mollusk will secrete a coating substance (nacre) over the intruder to soothe its wounds. Eventually these layers will form a pearl. The more nacre the animal secretes the smoother the coats will become. The more layers of nacre and the thinner the layers, the better the luster the pearl will have. Natural pearls are extremely rare due to the polluted waters.
Cultured Pearls are a combination of man working with nature. Cultured pearls are formed by a human cultivator implanting a foreign matter into a mollusk. Once the shell is opened, a small incision is made in the mollusk's flesh. A small piece of tissue from another mollusk and a bead or piece of shell are inserted. The mollusk is then submerged in a cage to soothe its wounds, stimulating the mollusk to secrete its defensive coating (nacre.) Only about 2 out of 3 survive this process. Of the survivors only about one fourth produce pearls and only 1 in 4 is good enough for export. Water temperature, nucleus location and how long the pearl stays in the mollusk will affect its size and quality. For example, pearls in the warm waters of the South Sea can develop 20 times faster than those in the cooler waters of Japan. The typical growth period is between 1-3 years. The basic colors range from white, yellowish, pink, cream to black. In the USA the most desirable color is rose or pink. Shape also affects value. The rounder (spherical) the pearl the higher the value. Many pearls are off round, semi baroque or baroque (unevenly distorted). Cultured pearls are so sensitive to chemicals, such as hairspray, perfume etc., they should be the last thing you put on and the first thing you take off. Pearls can be cleaned by wiping them with a soft cloth. If further cleaning is needed, they can be washed in a very mild solution of warm water and very mild soap. Do not use a toothbrush. They should be set down flat to completely dry before being worn. |
