The pearl was the favored gem of the wealthy during the time of the Roman Empire. This captivating gift from the sea had been brought back from the Orient by the Crusaders. Roman women wore pearls to bed so they could be reminded of their wealth immediately upon awakening.

Pearls were once considered an exclusive privilege for royalty. Pearls had become more than a treasure; it was a measure of prosperity and nobility. A law of 1612 drawn up by the Duke of Saxony prohibited the wearing of pearls by nobility, professors, doctors or their wives.

On the other side of the world, pearls were being worn for adornment by the American Indians. The freshwater pearls of the Mississippi River were strung into necklaces, sewn onto headdresses and set into copper ornaments.

Pearl had been around long before the mankind. It was around long before mammals came to replace dinosaurs. It is around for hundreds of millions years. But only humans have learned to value the beauty of these "tears of the sea". As the result, since our ancestors have discovered pearl, they began to worship it, and to use it to measure luxury and success.

Ancient Egyptians also have learned to use the mother of pearl; about 6000 years ago they were using it to decorate jewelry. Mostly, its source was the Persian Gulf.

As for the pearl itself, it had passed unnoticed by Egyptians till the year 500 B.C In this area, the ancient China was definitely ahead, the first written document they have, mentioning pearl, is dated 2300 B.C. Not just this record mentions pearl, it is described as an exclusive privilege of the royal family.

Merchants from India believed that the ring containing pearl can protect its owner from thief's and from unfair deals in business.

According to ancient Greeks, pearls are the tears of the sea nymphs. They were worshiping the beauty of the pearl, associating it with love and marriage; in ancient mythology, the pearl necklace became the synonym for a happy marriage. The rich Greek women were wearing pearls, believing that not only it makes your eyes shine, but also guards the owner from the torture of an unhappy love.

By the way, the belief that pearl makes your eyes shine, created another belief - that it has the ability to cure eye problems.

In Europe, the pearl ring, given to the loved one, symbolized the "tears of a broken heart". Also, Europeans believed, after the ancient Greeks, that pearl is good for a marriage, as the result, it became a popular part of bride's dress. The dress, covered with pearls, symbolized the "girl's tears", the more tears, the stronger the marriage was expected to be, and the less tears would be dropped after the marriage.

During the Middle Ages, Knights not only presented pearl jewelry and dresses to their loved ones, but also were taking it with them to the battlefield, believing that it will save them from wounds.

One look at the famous paintings during the era of Renaissance is enough to realize, that both kings and their "shining" vassals were covered by pearls. Literally.

After America was discovered, all pearls extracted in the "new world" were transported to Mother Europe. Greed of pearl catchers resulted in almost complete extinction of American ouster in XVII. Pearl was used in church dresses and decorations. It is not just a coincidence: the symbolic sign of Christianity is fish. There was even a legend in the medieval times: angels lock orphans and innocent souls in the shells, and they turn into pearls.

Through all our history, from ancient China and India, to Europe and Arabic countries, pearl was part of potions to treat sclerosis, sleep disorders, asthma, heart and liver diseases, and even... snake bites. Not only was it a gem, but also part of pills, potions and lotions. Unfortunately, it is neither the best nor the cheapest way of getting calcium!

But Pearl was and still is used to create expensive jewelry, to decorate wonderful things we see sometimes in churches and in palaces of kings. It is used at a measure of wealth, and of course - for some very important reasons - it appeared through all our history on some very nice necks and fingers. Still, since the end of XIX, it was a synonym for treasure. It even was used as an equivalent to money sometimes. A single pearl could cost a fortune but the people who could afford it paid to see the pearls dangling from their necks.

Pearl is probably the only gemstone that is used in jewelry as it is, without cutting. There are no two identical pearls in the world, they all are unique. In China, it is called gjen-dju, In India - "manjara (the flower), Greeks and Italians call it "margarites", English, German and French people call it "pearl", The Russians , "gemchug"

Pearl is a gem and in the same time - a biological substance, produced by a mussel. These mussels are of different types, both freshwater and saltwater. Freshwater species live in the zones with mild climate, populating fresh (and clean!) springs, rivers and lakes of North America, East Asia and Far East.

Due to the pollution, the number has dropped dramatically, so at the moment five of these species are protected by law.

As for the saltwater ones, about 10 species, they live in tropical seas: the Red Sea, Persian Gulf, Ceylon (Sri-Lanka), Australia, Japan and Venezuela.

How is the pearl produced?
The natural (real) pearl is formed if the tiny grand of sand, or some other irritant, gets into the body of a mussel, or between its body and a shell. It can also be a reaction to the parasite. Pearl is simply a reaction of the mussel, an attempt to isolate the foreign object, to cover it with the mother of pearl the same material that covers the inner side of a shell.

With time, an object of spherical or irregular shape is formed.

If you cut the pearl, you will see the core (the original grain of sand) and the rings - thin layers of aragonite (calcium carbonate), glued together with organic glue - conhioline - produced by a mussel.

The time that it takes to create a pearl, its color and other details is directly related to the outside conditions, like the temperature, quality of water and availability of nutrition's.

The color of a freshwater pearl is white, pink or mauve. Saltwater pearl can be black, white, yellow or gray. The size on a pearl of an average quality can be between few millimeters and the size of an egg of a pigeon.

Extraction of natural pearl
Freshwater pearl is known for centuries all around the world, from natives of North America to Russians. Russians, by the way, had the technology of extracting pearl without causing extensive harm to a population of mussels. All they used was... three baskets.

The first basket (one without the bottom) they were using to take a closer look at the bottom of the river, edges of the basket "filtering out" the waves. When the mussel was found, they were placing it to the second basket, full of water. When the second basket was full, Russians were placing the mussels to the second basket, with the heated (not boiling! just warm) water. In the warm water, the mussel was opening its shell, and the catcher was able to take a look inside, without taking it out from the water. If there was no pearl inside, the mussels were returned to the river.

Speaking of the Russian pearl, it is worth mentioning that in Russian Carelia it was silver-white or silver-blue, while in Lapland it was pink and sometimes black with metal tone. Most of this pearl have been sold to the Northwegian merchants, not to the Russian tsar. It was supplied either to the Europe or to the king of Northway.

More to the south, the saltwater pearl was much more popular. The best quality was supplied from Persian Gulf, Red Sea, India and Japan. The one from the Persian Gulf was valued the most. Some little amount is still caught in Persian Gulf.

Catching the natural pearl is a difficult and dangerous occupation. Catchers are collecting the mussels from the bottom of the sea in the special bag. Aboard their boat, they use a special knife to open the mussel, if lucky; they'll find one pearl in 30-40 mussels. Of course, after such a barbaric procedure, all 40 mussels die.

Sometimes fortune smiles at the catchers, and they find 2-3 pearls in one mussel, however, to find a high quality one, you need to go through thousands of mussels. Besides - where can we find that much, considering our ecological situation?

The Oldest Gemstone In The World
No other gem has captivated people's fascination and admiration like the pearl. Diamonds may be forever, but pearls have been recognized as prized jewels for centuries longer than any cut stone. Almost all other gemstones are formed by mineral deposits that must be mined, cut, and polished to reveal their sparkling beauty. Pearls, on the other hand, are beautiful as they are - straight out of the oyster, high quality pearls have an intense, brilliant luster and shiny iridescence that are inherent in the pearl itself. For these reasons, pearls have become a symbol of wisdom and natural beauty.

A Gift of Nature
Pearls are a natural wonder that have been treasured for centuries by cultures ancient and modern all over the world. Greek mythology proclaimed pearls to be tears of joy shed by the goddess Aphrodite.

Ancient Egyptians associated pearls with Isis, the goddess of healing and life.

The Pearl was Prized by Rulers and Royalty
Julius Caesar limited the wearing of pearls to the rulers of the Roman Empire during the first century B.C. In the glory days of the British Empire, only royalty were allowed to wear these lustrous gems. Until fairly recently, pearls were still worn exclusively by royalty and wealthy nobility, as they were far too expensive for anybody else to afford.

Noted in Legends and Literature
Tribal Indians, too, believed that pearls were tears of their gods. An Arab legend weaves a tale of dewdrops filled with moonlight that fell into the ocean and were swallowed by oysters, creating the precious pearls. The gates of Heaven are made of pearl, according to the King James Bible. Pearls were rumored to cure hundreds of ailments. The list goes on and on.

There are many more references to the pearl in works of great literature, and the lustrous jewels are often seen in famous paintings as jewelry, hair decorations and clothing adornments.

Pearls have Always Been Valued and Cherished
According to some historical accounts, Native Americans accepted strings of beads in exchange for the island of Manhattan. A few centuries later, in 1916, renowned French jeweler Jacques Cartier acquired land there for his first American store. The price? Two pearl necklaces. This long and storied past only adds to the appeal of the incomparable pearl, cherished today as a traditional wedding gift, a birthstone, and in jewelry that reflects taste and refinement.