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Pearl has been coveted for centuries across different cultures and is known as the Queen of Gems for good reasons. It is the only gemstone in the world with an organic origin. The oldest known pearl in the world is the “Abu Dhabi Pearl”, which archaeologists determined to be a Neolithic trade commodity from 5800-5600 BC, making it about 8000 years old. Other evidence suggested that pearls were used as gifts to the Chinese emperors since 2300 BC, while pearl powder was used in traditional Chinese medicine for various health benefits. On the other hand, the earliest pearl jewellery discovered dates back to 420 BC from a sarcophagus of a Persian princess.
Pearl, along with alexandrite and moonstone, is the birthstone for June. Pearl is believed to have a calming property that promotes integrity and stability. It is also considered to be connected to the moon and feminine energy, and a symbol of wisdom by Buddhists.
A cultured pearl is as natural as a pearl can be. Cultured pearls are also created by shellfish, but with human intervention, where steps are taken to ensure pearl formation, as well as to influence factors such as shape, size, and colour.
The first cultured pearl was developed by the Japanese entrepreneur Kōkichi Mikimoto approximately 130 years ago, in 1893. Mikimoto, now renowned for his eponymous jewellery brand, was born in 1858 in Toba, a coastal town on Japan’s Shima Peninsula famous for its natural pearls.
Natural pearls have always been—and still are—a rare commodity, with the odds of finding a gem-quality one in a wild oyster estimated at around 1 in 10,000. As a judge at a pearl exhibition, Mikimoto noticed that many were flawed, which led him to reflect on the true value and scarcity of perfect, gem-quality pearls.
With the pearl trade booming, oyster beds soon became over-harvested. It was against this backdrop that Mikimoto’s idea of cultivating his own pearls began to take shape.
At the age of 30, he started his first pearl farm in 1888 and, after years of experimentation, successfully produced the world’s first hemispherical cultured pearl in 1893. He continued his efforts and achieved a fully spherical cultured pearl 12 years later, in 1905. During this period, he also began exporting his pearls.
Mikimoto’s achievement was so remarkable that Thomas Edison once said to him: “There are two things which couldn’t be made at my laboratory—diamonds and pearls. It is one of the wonders of the world that you were able to cultivate pearls. It is something which is supposed to be biologically impossible.”
By combining his exceptional entrepreneurial skills with innovative and eye-catching pearl jewellery designs, Mikimoto brought both himself and cultured pearls to the world stage. The rest, as they say, is history.
Akoya pearls, Tahitian pearls, and South Sea pearls are the most common types of saltwater cultured pearls, each produced by a different species of oyster. Their appearance varies in size and colour: Tahitian pearls are renowned for their mysterious dark hues (often black), while South Sea pearls are unique in their ability to produce golden colours.
As the name suggests, freshwater pearls form in freshwater environments such as lakes and rivers. Unlike their saltwater counterparts, freshwater pearls are produced by mussels.
Baroque pearls refer to any pearls with an irregular, non-spherical shape.
Also known as nacre, Mother-of-Pearl is the inner layer of the shell where the pearl is produced, hence the name.
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The oldest known pearl is the “Abu Dhabi Pearl”, dated to 5800-5600 BC, approximately 8000 years old.
The first cultured pearl was developed by Japanese entrepreneur Kōkichi Mikimoto in 1893; he successfully cultured the world’s first semi-spherical pearl in 1893 and a fully spherical pearl in 1905.
Saltwater pearls include Akoya, Tahitian, and South Sea pearls; freshwater pearls are created in lakes and rivers by mussels; baroque pearls have irregular shape; mother of pearl is the nacre inner layer.
