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People across the world, have treasured pearls for thousands of years. Pearls are also referred as the Queen of Jewels, it possess a timeless quality that has continued to captivate people from the time it was first discovered until today.
Despite the jewel’s longstanding popularity, there are myriad pearl facts that numerous people do not know about.
1. Pearls are only gemstone, to come from living creature
Despite being classified as a gemstone, pearls tend to differ significantly from all others (including sapphires, rubies, emerald etc), due to the fact that they are the only gems to come from a living creature. All other gemstones form in the Earth’s crust as magma cools under high pressure.
2. Natural pearls are one of the world’s Rarest Jewels
Less than 1 in every 10,000 wild oysters contain pearls. As the popularity of these gems continued to grow in the early part of the 20th century, the population of occurring oyster beds in the oceans waters became severely depleted from overfishing. Hence people consider natural pearl as one of the world’s rarest jewels.
3. First Ever Artificial Round Pearl Was Created by Kokichi Mikimoto
Kokichi Mikimoto is credited as the first man to create a cultured pearl. In 1878, he began to methodically test ways to develop these gemstones in his own oyster beds. After nearly two decades of trial and error, he succeeded and received a patent for cultured pearls in 1896. This significantly impacted the pearl industry. Not only did Mikimoto’s discovery help fulfil the global demand for pearls in a more sustainable way, but it also put a dent in the natural pearl market.
4. An estimated 99% of pearls on the market today are cultured
When Kokichi Mikimoto created the first cultured pearl, it marked the beginning of a trend that would change the pearl industry forever. Today, nearly all of thee jewels on the market are cultured, largely because almost all natural pearls have already been harvested.
5. La Peregrina is widely considered as the world’s most famous pearl
Le Peregrina is a pear-shaped pearl, the size of a small egg. It is often regarded as one of the world’s most famous and historical pearls and not only due to its unique shape and size. The history of this gems spans 550 years. This jewel has been in the hands of different royal families including the Queen Mary ad Napolean Bonaparte. Famous British-American Actress, Elizabeth Taylor, received this extraordinary piece of jewel as a Valentine Day Gift. And in the year, 2011, Christie’s Auction at New York, sold it for whopping $1.1 million.
6. The Land for Cartier’s Flagship store in New York was Brought with a Pearl
On the subject of Cartier, the French design powerhouse is also connected to pearls in another interesting way. When the wife of a railroad magnate fell n love with one of the cartier pearl necklace (valued at $1 million ) plus $100 in exchange for her Italian-Renaissance inspired home on New York City’s Fifth Avenue. She agreed, the rest is history. Cartier transformed the mansion into one of the world most luxurious retail experiences. Today, Cartier’s Fifth Avenue Mansion is the company’s largest store in the world.
7. The world most expensive pearl is valued around $100 Million
The World’s most expensive pearl was kept under the bed as a good luck charm for about 10 years before the officials unearthed it in the year, 2016. When the house it was in burned down. A fisherman discovered the pearl off the coast of the Philippines inside a giant clam. Measuring in at 26 inches long and weighing nearly 75 pounds, it is the largest pearl that is known to exist.
8. Julius Caesar Law with regards to Pearls
During ancient period in Rome, pearls were believed to be the symbol of wealth and prestige. Possessing pearls belonged to certain social class, which explains as to why in 1 BC, the famous Roman Ruler Julius Caesar created a law, which prohibited anyone below the ruling class to wear the fine jewels.
9. Cleopatra, used pearl to win bet
As per the famous legend, Cleopatra wanted to prove Mark Anthony, that she could host the most expensive dinner in history. Cleopatra was known to have owned the tow of the world’s most expensive cocktail. Needless to say, the Queen of Egypt won the bet.
10. Oldest pearl ever found dates back 7500 years
Many might be surprised to learn about the significance of pearls in the Roman empire. In the year, 2012, French Researchers discovered what is believed to be the oldest pearl ever found, it was located in gravesite in the United Arab Emirate and given the name of Umm al Quwain to represent the region of the country, it was found in Scientists used carbon dating to determine that the pearl was over 7500 years. This beat the previous record holder for oldest pearl by over 2500 years.
11. World influential women are great fan of pearls
Some of the most influential women in recent history are known to be great fan of pearls, which include first Ladies Michelle Obama and Jackie kennedy, both regularly adorned themselves with lavish pearl jewelry, while their husband were in office.
In England, Prince Diana was known to have been a huge fan of pearls. Finally, Coco channel was a pioneer of fashion and contributed towards making pearls popular as everyday jewellery.
12. It takes at least 6 months for a pearl to form
Another fun pearl fact, each type of pearl takes a certain amount of time to develop. In all cases, however, it takes at least six months to produce a pearl. Sometimes, the development process can last as long as 24 months. The procedure begins when a farmer delicately implants a tiny nucleus inside the mollusk. The growth of the pearl Is influenced by how long it takes to recover from the implantation. Once this process is over and the mollusk is fully recovered, the pearl begins to grow as the mollusk covers the nucleus with layers of nacre. Chinese freshwater pearls can grow up 5 mm per year while Japanese Akoya pearls only with 0.3mm.
13. Pearl are one of the official birthstones to those born in the month of June
Those individuals who are born in the month of June are lucky, because the month got three official birthstones but more so because one of these gemstones is the pearl. As per the legend, the June birthstone is believed to symbolize purity, clarity and loyalty. Given its symbolic meaning and captivating beauty, the pearls are an especially great gift for anyone born in this month.
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