Everything you need to know about pearls

The pearl is so special because it is the only gemstone that comes from a living organism.

A pearl is a gemstone, but unlike others, it forms inside a living organism - certain species of oysters and mussels. A natural pearl forms when a foreign body, such as a grain of sand or a micro-organic parasite, enters the shell and attaches itself to the soft tissues of the oyster. This causes irritation inside the mollusk's body, which, in order to get rid of it, secretes thousands and thousands of layers of nacre over that foreign body, and over time, a pearl is formed. The process of forming a single pearl can take between 6 months and even 10 to 20 years.

99% of the pearls on the market are cultured pearls.

The Japanese Kokichi Mikimoto is credited with creating the first cultured pearl in 1893 by manually introducing a foreign body into the shell of an oyster to stimulate the creation of a pearl. This had a significant impact on the pearl industry. Today, almost all pearls on the market are cultivated, as the natural ones have already been harvested.

There are four main types of pearls.

Pearls vary in size, shape, color, and value. Freshwater pearls are the most available and, therefore, the most affordable, being primarily cultivated in the rivers and lakes of China. Akoya pearls from Japan are probably the most well-known in the world and feature spherical shapes with a high luster. The most common color is white or cream. Tahitian pearls, from the islands of French Polynesia, although sometimes referred to as black pearls, can also be found in shades of gray, blue, green, and purple. South Sea pearls can be found in the waters of Australia and the Philippines; they are the largest of all (the diameter of a pearl can reach up to 18 mm), and the color varies in shades of white, cream, and gold.

Perfect or nearly round pearls are extremely rare, and the rounder the pearl, the higher its value.

For those born in June, the pearl is their birthstone and symbolizes purity, clarity, and loyalty. Given its symbolic significance and captivating beauty, pearl jewelry makes a particularly wonderful gift for anyone born in this month.