Majorica is a brand name of a high-quality pearl simulant produced on the Spanish island of Majorica at the Majorica S.A. company founded by Eduardo Hugo Heusch in 1890. Created with a core of glass coated with a paste of oil and fish scales (aka essence d’orient), the cores are dipped repeatedly until the desired color and thickness are achieved. A final coating is applied to prevent damage and deterioration. The results are amazingly well-matched round “pearls” produced relatively quickly. What takes nature years to create (even with human intervention) is copied in a factory in a matter of a few weeks.

The term Majorica has become synonymous with faux pearls and imitation pearls, but not all imitations are made in the Majorica factory in Spain.