Revered since the dawn of time, pearls have been a symbol of wealth and of status. Ancient Egyptians got buried with their pearls on, Greeks associated them with love, while knights wore them in battle to protect them from injuries. During the Renaissance, royal courts were draped in pearls. The beautiful gemstones were so prized that in some countries it was forbidden to wear them if you weren’t a nobility member. Pearls were so coveted they were on the brink of extinction between the seventeenth and twentieth century. Can you imagine not being able to wear ropes of pearls or pearl stud earrings? Thanks to pearl cultivation and the efforts of Kokichi Mikimoto, we’ll never have to worry about that.
How do oysters make pearls?
It’s amazing how oysters, clams and mussels have a self-defense mechanism that yields such beautiful gems. Natural pearls are, in the beginning, a mere foreign object that makes its way into an oyster. Since it can’t expel the parasite or shell fragment, the oyster will start secreting a crystalline substance to coat the object and protect its soft tissue. The longer the foreign object stays within the oyster, the thicker the nacre coating will be. The oyster never stops secreting nacre as long as it’s holding the parasite. The nacre is not only beautiful, it’s a true work of art of nature. It consists of minuscule crystals of calcium carbonate, that are perfectly aligned, allowing the light that passes along the axis of one crystal to be reflected and refracted by another one, creating a rainbow effect.
How are cultivated pearls different?
Cultivating pearls does not differ too much from the natural process. Man intervenes only in the first step, by inserting a piece of tissue or a bead that will fire up the formation of the pearl. From there on, pearl farmers can only step aside and let nature take its course. If in the past we relied on wild oysters to host our pearls, technology developments have helped us become more selective. Nowadays, we use selectively bred oysters that guarantee high luster and gorgeous colors. Pearl farmers take great care of the pearl carriers. The oysters are placed in closed off bays that are abundant in nutrients. The temperature and feeding conditions are measured on a daily basis, and the oysters are moved around to ensure they get the best conditions. They are also cleaned from time to time, treated and finally brought on the shore for opening.
How are the gems sorted?
The long process of pearl farming does not end when the oysters are dropped in the sea. Only 50% of the living creatures will survive the nucleating process, diseases, heavy rains, typhoons and other predators and parasites. Out of these, around 20% will produce marketable gemstones, with as little as 5% creating top notch perfect pearls. Pearl sorting is done by an expert who needs to have a keen eye for small details, shape, color and luster. Experienced pearl processors have to match and string the pearls, which is even more difficult. A string of forty seven pearls that look similar in size, shape and color calls for sorting through over ten thousand pearls. Drilling holes into the pearls requires minute precision. Since the beauty of a piece of jewelry lays in its symmetry, this can easily be ruined if the hole is not perfectly centered.
from http://monalisaofblogging.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-pearl-cultivation
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