Bling of The Month: Pearl

Hi everyone, since today is the first day of a new month, I thought I would start with this months' birthstone, one of the classics, the pearl.  The ideal peal is usually round and smooth but there are other varieties as well.  For centuries pearls have been valued for their rareness and beauty and therefore a pearl is a metaphor for something very precious, fine and valuable.

Favorites of royalty of many cultures, pearls have always been a sign of distinction, elegance and power.  Not only have they adorned their crowns for centuries, but also their thrones and other sacred objects.  Pearls used to be extremely expensive and hard to find, but luckily for us, they are now organically cultivated and easily available.  This process takes between 18 to 36 months, and consists of inserting a small piece of shell into a live mollusk (usually an oyster).  This stimulates the production of nacre into delicate layers around the nucleus, that will later form the pearl.

Unlike other gems I use, the pearl comes to us directly from the hand of mother nature.  Their color depends on the color of the nacre inside of the mollusk, water temperature, and the length of the growing period. That's why it varies from white to ivory, with a pink, green or blue overtone.

Pearls have been know through history as having divine powers and bringing prosperity to those who wore them.  To ancient civilizations, they were a symbol of the moon and the sea.   In the Hindu religion, for example, the presentation of an undrilled pearl and its piercing is an integral part of the marriage ceremony.  Even though they are the oldest known gem, today, Japan and the United States are the main cultivators of these precious beauties.