THE PEARL

For the month of June there are actually three birthstones Pearl, Moonstone and Alexandrite.  In this article we well discuss the most famous off all three the pearl.  The Pearl is known as the queen of the gemstones.  It is one of the most admired and loved gemstones of all time.

2206 BC

The first written accounts of pearls was from a Chinese historian in the year 2206 BC.  Over 4,000 years.  That is a pretty steady carrier if you really think about it.  Natural Pearls were easily overfished and many areas which had pearls dried out.  Natural Pearls are rare, and because of this rarity humankind  has long desired to make pearls more available.  Because of demand, the Japanese and Chinese started to develop ways to "Culture" a pearl.

HOW A PEARL IS FORMED.

A pearl is formed when a small irritant enters the oyster and the oyster cannot "sweep" it out.  Imagine having a rock in your shoe.  It is similar to that.  The oyster cannot get this irritant out so the next best thing it does is start coating the pearl with a type of saliva.  The saliva hardens and forms a coat or shell known as nacre.  This doesn't happen often in nature so in 1893 a Japanese man, Kokichi Mikimoto, decided to help the process along.  In this process the irritant is planted into the oyster, then the oyster does what it does and a pearl is formed.  This process is known as "culturing".  

THE TIMELESS PEARL

Pearls have a timeless beauty to them.  They have a classic look to them and have been sought after all over the world.  Wearing a pearl creates a link between time and nature.