If you read our jewellery columns regularly, you are not completely new to pearls. We talked about it in the article on organic materialsand in the article on white and the pearl is also found among the birthstones It is associated with the June natives and shares the limelight with moonstone and alexandrite (but it always wins the employee of the month award).
Sandro Botticelli, The Birth of Venus, ca. 1484-85, Tempera, Florence, Uffizi Gallery.
Pearls were nicknamed "Aphrodite's tears" by the ancient Greeks. So no, they are not born in scallops like Botticelli's Venus, but if you don't know, every Greek god or goddess has a Roman equivalent, for example Zeus = Jupiter, Artemis = Dianaand therefore Aphrodite = Venus, goddess of Love and Beauty.
We have a lot to say about the pearl, so we won't give you a painting lesson, but it turns out that everything in this painting breathes Italian Renaissance. Moreover, the choice of the conch is obviously not fortuitous: it is an old-fashioned symbol from the history of art representing, depending on the context, fertility and the pleasure of the senses, as is the case here - Aphrodite is rather oriented towards carnal love, where do you think the adjective aphrodisiac comes from? Or purity and innocence, especially when associated with the Virgin Mary inChristian iconography.
Virgin Mary medal in gold and pearls
The pearl has this same double meaning. On the one hand, it is linked to the chastity of young girls, because the pearl, by its intrinsic perfection - it is the only gem that can be used without the intervention of man, unlike precious stones which require the intervention of the lapidary to reveal their beauty - was quickly associated with purity. On this subject we refer you to our article on the white. On the other hand, pearls and lust also go hand in hand, as shown by François Boucher's naughty Odalisque Brune, for example.
Odalisque Brune, François Boucher, 1745, Paris, Musée du Louvre
Formation and characteristics of pearls
Let's start at the beginning: there are two types of pearls, fine and cultured. Sea pearls are produced by pearl oysters. They can be natural or artificial. Freshwater pearls are collected in mussels, but they are always cultured pearls.
The pearl is formed by successive layers of nacre that a bivalve mollusc, oyster or mussel, produces because of the unexpected presence of a foreign body within it.
Daisy ring with fine pearl and diamonds
The main countries of origin include the Persian Gulf, Sri Lanka, Japan, Scotland, Sweden, the United States, and also France, where Vologne pearls were harvested until the beginning of the 20th century.
Until then, pearls were very rare, as their discovery was by chance. They were called natural pearls, also known as fine pearls. And rare often means precious. This was the case with pearls that symbolised status and authority, and in ancient Rome were worn by high-ranking people. From the 16th century onwards, pearls were assembled together and worn in the hair. The 18th century also had a particular taste for pearls, which were associated with diamonds. The Second Empire saw the emergence of the Empress Eugenie, a great admirer of Marie-Antoinette and a lover of fine pearls, and finally the Belle Époque and Art Nouveau periods. first half of the 20th century with Belle Époque and Art Deco jewellery.
Pair of pearl and diamond combs
Although the first cultured pearl was created by the Japanese Mikimoto, who in the 1920s managed to artificially insert a foreign body into an oyster, it seems that his work was based on much earlier research. In any case, cultured pearls quickly flooded the market and signalled the end of the exclusive use of fine pearls in jewellery.
The pearls are cultivated in aquaculture farms. There are different families of cultured pearls: Akoya pearls, Tahitian pearls, South Sea pearls and finally freshwater pearls, each offering a variety of colours and shapes depending on the oyster or mussel in which the graft was made.
In addition, several types of pearls are listed, according to their shape and size: "baroque" pearls, very popular in the 18th century, which unlike "classical" pearls have a non-spherical volume, often pear-shaped. Button" pearls have a flat base and finally "seed" pearls, which are small and irregular, were particularly popular in the 19th century until 1910.
Baroque pearl and diamond ring
Of course, fine pearls are more exceptional than cultured pearls - we weren't lying when we said the market was flooded. While it is sometimes difficult to tell one from the other, there are a few tricks to help differentiate them. First of all, unlike the natural pearl, the cultured pearl has a nucleus that can sometimes be seen against the light. If you cannot see it, you can rub the pearl very gently on your (freshly brushed) tooth. Fine pearls have a very slightly granular coating, unlike cultured pearls which are completely smooth. Finally, if your pearl of a certain size is absolutely perfectly round, chances are that it is a cultured pearl. We're not saying that perfection doesn't exist in nature, but the rounder pearls are relatively small and not absolutely symmetrical when you look at them closely, which is what makes them so attractive. The good news is that they are still often found on antique jewellery!
For colourless diamonds it is easy once you have mastered the 4C's, but how do you evaluate the preciousness of a pearl? There are several factors to measure its value: its size, its shape, the homogeneity of its colour and finally its iridescence which is also called orient. Unlike cultured pearls, fine pearls seem to glow from within. In short, the larger, rounder, more uniform and shimmering a pearl is, the more valuable it is.
Among the famous pearls
Johannes Vermeer, The Girl with the Pearl, Circa 1665, Oil on canvas, The Hague, Mauritshuis.
You are probably familiar with this masterpiece of Dutch painting, which is sometimes called the 'Mona Lisa of the North'! The pearl is used here partly for its symbolism of purity, and partly because it catches the light and guides the viewer's gaze towards the girl's face. There is some controversy among art historians, some of whom believe that the earring is too large to be a fine pearl, and the way in which the light is reflected from the pearl also raises questions. If, like us, you prefer tales, we recommend Tracy Chevalier's book of the same name as the painting, fantasising about the life of the model and the genesis of the work.
Platinum diamond and pearl bracelet
Another famous story involves Cleopatra and is told by Pliny the Elder. Eager to seduce the Roman general Mark Antony, she invites him to feast with great pomp on her ship with purple sails. If you have read our articles on violet and the one on emeraldyou already know that the Queen of Egypt is a show-off. So she deploys all her wealth to impress Mark Antony. The latter, feigning detachment, leads Cleopatra to wager that she can spend ten million sesterces in a single banquet. The bet is made, an arbitrator is appointed and Mark Antony is invited back by the Egyptian queen. The Roman general is received sumptuously, but not in a luxurious way either, which leads him to believe that he has won... this was without counting Cleopatra's ingenuity, who, at the end of the story, dips one of her earrings adorned with a fine pearl into a bowl of vinegar. Once the pearl has dissolved, she drinks the beverage, wins her bet and the heart of Mark Antony.
Do you recognise the woman who played Cleopatra in 1962? It's Elizabeth Taylor, of course! She too is at the heart of a story about an exceptional pearl. Shall we tell you about it?
The Peregrine is probably one of the most famous pearls in the world. Shaped like a pear, it was discovered in the Gulf of Panama in 1579. It was quickly brought back to Europe and King Philip II of Spain fell in love with it, bought it for himself and had it set in a brooch. It remained among the jewels of the Spanish crown until a certain Napoleon I (what do you mean, a Frenchman?) appropriated it in the early 19th century. In 1848 Napoleon III sold it to the Englishman James Hamilton.
Elizabeth Taylor wearing the Peregrine pearl in the film Anne of a Thousand Days, 1969
The Peregrine reappeared in 1969 at an auction and was acquired by Richard Burton who gave it to his famous wife Elizabeth Taylor for Valentine's Day. Legend has it that some time later the pearl was found in the mouth of one of the actress' dogs... fortunately unharmed! Since 2011, La Pérégrine has belonged to a rich prince from Arab countries.
If you still doubt the value of fine pearls, it is now rumoured that Cartier has acquired his New York address at 653 Fifth Avenue for two rows of seventy-five pearls (at a price of one million dollars). So get your jewellery boxes!
Gubelin ear clips in gold and cultured pearl
And if you don't have any yet, you can find a selection of our pearl jewellery in the drop-down menu on the right, or below for the mobile version.
Don't be jealous if you are not born in June, find out here your birthstone.
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