|
I am pearl. I am unique in the world of colored gemstones as I am the
only gemstone formed within a living creature. I am a treasured gift of
the sea, revered for my color, shape and luster. Old Arabian legend says
that I was formed when dewdrops filled with moonlight fell into the ocean
and were swallowed by oysters. American Indians found me in the mollusks
of the Mississippi River and strung me onto necklaces, adorned their headdresses,
and set me into copper ornaments.
Pearls were so cherished by man that as the sources of natural Pearls
became exhausted, he learned to cultivate them by implanting an irritant
into an oyster.
Today, cultured Pearls are grown and harvested in many parts of the
world including the fresh waters of the Tennessee River. The majority
of cultured Pearls come from Japan, China and the South Pacific.
Cultured Pearls come in many beautiful colors, from palest creme and
white to rose, lilac, green, gold, gray, and the dramatic Tahitian black.
Cultured Pearls come in many shapes and sizes, and can be acquired in
both graduated and uniform strands. They can be purchased singly or in
pairs for rings, pendants and earrings. June birthdays and third and thirtieth
anniversaries are celebrated with the gift of Pearls. 
|
|
Pearls have been treasured for their lustrous, creamy textures and their
subtle iridescent reflections since the dawn of humankind. Because natural
Pearls are so very rare and so very difficult to recover from the ocean's
depths, man invented the technique of "culturing" salt and freshwater
Pearls from mollusk carefully seeded with irritants similar to those,
produced by Nature. This painstaking effort of "culturing" is
one of the most dramatic examples of man's quest to coax beauty from Nature.
One of the earliest known methods to enhance a Pearl's color and luster
required that a chicken swallow the Pearl. The belief at that time (400
AD) was that the chicken's digestive system would soften the Pearl's blemishes
and even the color. Today, cultured, freshwater and saltwater Pearls are
often bleached to achieve a uniform color. They may also be polished in
tumblers to clean and improve their luster.
Naturally colored cultured Pearls are in short supply. Some cultured
Pearls are dyed and/or irradiated to achieve the rich blacks, grayish
blues, pinks and golden hues that are now so much in demand. To care for
your cultured Pearls, avoid using perfume, hairspray, abrasives, solvents
and polish removers while wearing them. Ask your jeweler for further instructions
regarding their care.
|
