Symbols of affluence, power and social standing, pearls have been highly prized throughout history for their beauty and purity.

No other gem has captivated people's fascination and admiration like the pearl. Pearls have been recognized as prized jewels for centuries longer than any cut stone. Almost all other gemstones are formed by mineral deposits that must be mined, cut, and polished to reveal their sparkling beauty. Pearls, however, are beautiful just as they are.

For centuries no one could explain how such an unremarkable creature as the oyster could produce such a perfectly formed jewel, and as a result the origin of the pearl became shrouded in myth and legend.

In Persian mythology, pearls were regarded as the tears of god. The ancient Chinese believed that these ‘jewels from the sea’ grew by the power of moonlight. Indians believed that pearls were created by a divine power that transformed drops of dew.

Despite their association with purity and natural perfection, pearls are actually a quirk of nature - a fortuitous by-product of the defense systems of both saltwater and freshwater mollusks. As a mollusk feeds, it draws a constant flow of water through its shell along with sand, parasites and other particles.

When a foreign object enters and cannot be expelled, the mollusk protects itself by sealing the intruder in a cocoon of conchiolin, a substance that neutralizes the irritant and triggers the production of nacre.

An aggrieved mollusk continues to cover the irritant with layers and layers of nacre until these layers harden to form a pearl. Light travelling through the overlapping layers of nacre is reflected and creates the prismatic rainbow effect that uniquely characterises a pearl’s outer appearance.

Cultured Pearls