Pearl

from the Antique Jewelry University

” There were formerly two pearls, the largest that had been ever seen in the whole world: Cleopatra, the last of the queens of Egypt, was in possession of them both, they having come to her by descent from the kings of the East.[1] ”

Contents

Pearl history

The girl with the pearl earring, by Vermeer. 1665

Throughout history pearls have been been amongst the most coveted of all adornments, parallel to the big four colored gemstones. Probably more than ruby, emerald, diamond and sapphire (in order of importance), pearls enticed the imagination of our ancestors. Many legends on the origin of pearls, its owners, as well as its magical powers have been speculated on. Perhaps the most famous tale must be the wager between Queen Cleopatra and her lover, Marcus Antonius which took place in the first century BC and narrated by Pliny some 100 years after. Cleopatra baited Antonius with the promise of a meal that was so the most expensive ever given, but not much unlike the merry couple was enjoying at the moment. Antonius took the bet and on Cleopatra's directions a moderate banket was prepared the following day. Her adversary for the day believed he had already won as there was not much out of the ordinary. The cunning queen then ordered a vessel of vinegar to be brought to the table and took off one of her pearl earrings. These were estimated at the time to be worth 60 million sesterces[1] and were the most costly pearls the world had ever seen. She dropped the pearl in the vinegar - upon which it started to dissolve - and drank the beverage. The umpire, senator Marcus Plancus, stopped Cleopatra from sacrificing the other pearl and declared her victorer. The tale does alas not record the forfeit of the bet.

Most ancient civilizations, from the Chinese to the Aztecs, used pearls as personal adornments. In Europe - specifically in the Roman Empire - pearls became fashionable from 61 BC when Pompey the Great held his victorious parade over the defeat of Mithridates, King of Pontus (present day Turkey on the Black Sea). Amongst the spoils of the war were numerous pearls set in crowns and other artifacts. After the Sack of Rome in the early 5th century by the Visigoths, these treasures were dispersed all over Europe and pearls remained fashionable at the various courts since. From the late middle ages, through the end of the 17th century, we can speak of "the age of pearls". It was mainly the 30 years war (1618-1648) that caused the prominent luxury of the expensive pearls to be overtaken by a much simpler - and more cost effective - taste[1]. The popularity of pearls had already demised from around 1450 when faceted gemstones became available due to the concept of faceting[1], especially diamond - partially - overtook the role of pearl. This is especially true for the 18th century, when pearl production started to decline and imitations became available. The discovery of the Brazilian diamond mines in the early 1700's finally ended the pearl era but pearls remained associated with the sophisticated taste of the old money, in particular after the American Civil War of 1861-1865, while diamonds were the show off stones of the days. Today pearls are still associated with good taste and finesse. Diamonds with wealth.

Although it is inconceivable today that a man would wear strands of pearls, that has not always been the case. One can find many portraits of kings and princes overloaded with this organic material. It is hard to find a royal not been portrait with pearls in official paintings, either as necklaces or embroided on hats and bodices. The Maharajahs of India were known to overly adorn themselves with this wonder of nature well into the 19th century. The passion for pearls grew to such proportions that many European governments issued regulations on who could wear them and when, restricting the wear to nobility and brides of some odd years.

Eleonora of Toledo. By Agnolo Bronzino, 1545

Cellini, never short of a strong opinion, didn't think to highly of this popular gem and named them fish bones. Nevertheless pearls were such an integral part of society in his days that he almost fell out of grace with his patron Cosimo I de Medici over a single strand of pearls. Cosimo's spouse, Eleonora of Toledo, had her eyes set on the pearls and wanted Cellini to advertise them to her husband in order to receive it as a gift from him. Reluctantly Cellini praised the necklace but the Duke, who knew him well, finally got Cellini to express his true sentiments about the strand - much to the dislike of Eleonora. She finally got her way through an unscrupulous negotiator and it was merely the appreciation of Cosimo towards Cellini that he was not exiled from Florence, something Eleonora liked to see happen due to the "betrayal".[1]

Until the mid if the 19th century all these pearls were white or cream in color and it was not until approximately 1845 that colored South Seas pearls became available, they were of little value until Empress Eugenie of France brought them in fashion a decade after, while the general appreciation remained for the white ones. Although we generally name these pearls from the seas between Japan and Australia "South Sea pearls", there is no South Sea in that area. The correct name should be "south seas pearls". Saltwater baroque shaped pearls - the name is derived from the Portuguese language, meaning irregular shaped pearl - were used during the renaissance and later periods as bodies of mythological creatures or animals. During the fin-de-siecle[1] and the Edwardian period they were in high fashion again - pearls in general were in fashion at that time - and forms that were best suitable are hard to find, especially in larger sizes. We name the Edwardian period also the "white period" due to the extensive use of pearls, colorless diamonds and white gold or platinum. Due to the high demand for pearls, prices went up. Not due to the scarcity of the material as pearl production went up following the invention of diving regulators in the late 1800's. Although there has been a good production of pearls throughout the ages, the largest pearls ever found, both salt as fresh water, are all baroque shaped.

Seed pearls, so named for their smallness in size, were popular during the period between 1840 and 1860[1] when they were used to create 3-dimensional jewelery, strung together with very fine horse hair. Complete parures, including tiaras, were crafted this way. Often the pearls were sewn on a mother-of-pearl backing plate. Small half-pearls were produced by either sawing a semi-round pearl in half or cut out of the mother-of-pearl shells. In the late 19th century they were used extensively do decorate watch cases and other jewelry. Often these half pearls were placed on small disks of paper to level them out, so care should be taken when cleaning artifacts of this type. The centers of half-pearl creation were the German towns Idar and Oberstein (now named Idar-Oberstein).


From the turn of the 20th century, this elegant antique bracelet is composed of tiny rose cut diamonds, calibre emeralds and natural oriental pearls set in platinum over 18 karat yellow gold.
Image courtesy of Lang Antiques

Formation of pearls

Pearls are a true wonder of nature and the result of a clever self-defensive mechanism owned by some types of mollusks which we generally name "pearl oysters", even when most of them are not the eatable oyster type or oysters at all. There is a general acceptance that pearls are formed by grains of sand which are embedded in the flesh of oysters. Although pearls could form when a grain of sand is trapped between the body of the animal and its protective shell, they are usually "blister" pearls and never round. Mollusks mostly live in sanded areas as seabeds and they are very well adapt to wash out any sand that enters it. Most natural pearls form when an irritant - such as a parasite - enters the oyster and attacks it. The oyster surrounds the intruder with epithelial cells, forming a sac, and then secrets a mixture of nacre and conchiolin onto it. At that stage the attacker is assumed to have died but the oyster still sees it as a threat and will continue to deposit layers over it, the pearl continues to grow until the oyster itself dies or it is removed from its body by other means. The conchiolin is an organic material which acts like a glue, bonding the calcium carbonate layers of nacre.

William Saville-Kent's portrait as it appears in the frontispiece of The Naturalist in Australia (1897).
An old Mikimoto Kōkichi inserts nucleus in a pearl shell.

By the end of the 19th century several people were - independently from each other - experimenting with the production of free formed, round pearls. In particular Mikimoto in Japan and William Saville-Kent in Australia. In the first decade of the 20th century a method of creating perfect round pearls was patented by two Japanese, Tatsuhei Mise and Tokichi Nishikawa. It was later settled that they both were legible to the patent and their method became known as the Mise-Nishikawa method. There are however strong indications that they have learned the technique from Saville-Kent. Mikimoto was responsible for the mass marketing of these cultured pearls and by 1920 they were plenty available, eventually halting the demand for natural pearls in most western countries. Today almost all pearls are cultured with just a fraction of them being of all natural formation. Mostly one has to find the latter ones in the East or in antique jewelry.

Pearl care

Pearls are very susceptible to heat and acids in addition to be relatively soft, therefor they should be handled with great care. Interesting experiments in the 19th century established that pearls was very tough. They placed a pearl on a wooden board and stood on it, instead of breaking, the pearls remained in tact and left an indent in the wood. It is however not recommended that one should try to reproduce these finding unless one is willing to sacrifice the gem for the good of science.

Perfumes, which are known since the 14th century (Hungary water) are based on alcohol and this substance is known to dissolve conchiolin, one of the main ingredients of a pearl, and pearls should be kept well away from it. When one does wear a perfume in conjunction with pearls, one needs to wipe the gems clean with a damp cloth after.

Although pearls are accustomed to water It is not advisable to place strung pearls in a hydrous solution to clean them. The threads may contain contaminations or dyes which may enter the pearls through capillary action, discoloring the pearls.

Always store pearls in such a way that they are not in contact with sharp or hard objects, such as other jewelry, instead wrap them in an un-dyed and clean cloth.


Gemological information for pearl
ColorAll colors
Crystal structureAmorph
DurabilityMay scratch and peel
Hardness3.75
TreatmentsBleaching, dying
Similar stonesPlastics, glass, Mallorca pearls
Country of originAustralia, Japan, China, Mexico, South Seas and many other localities
Pearl care
Ultrasonic cleaningNot safe
Steam cleaningNot safe
Warm soapy waterSafe
Chemical attackAvoid (even perfume)
Light sensitivityStable in natural colors

Notes


Sources consulted

  • Kunz, G.. The Book of the Pearl. The Century Co., New York, NY. 1908
  • Cellini, B. The Autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini. Translated By John Addington Symonds. 10th edition.
  • Pliny the Elder, National history.

Online G&G articles on pearls

Pearl gemology

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