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An Extremely Brief History of Pearls
Pearls have a rich and vast history that stretches as far back as 3500 BC, where they were highly valued and sought after. For the most part, they were seen as a sign of great wealth and power. They were also considered a sign of purity and chastity by these ancient cultures.
As pearls became more coveted it grew harder and harder to attain them. Thus causing the cost of these precious gems to soar. It's said that Egyptian Queen Cleopatra won a wager over Mark Antony when he bet her that she could not consume the wealth of a nation over the source of only one meal. To do so she had a single pearl crushed into powder and then put it in a glass of wine and drank it. In drinking the pearl-laced wine, she was able to win the bet.
In keeping with the tradition of taking wealth to the after-life with them, the Egyptians even buried their dead with pearls. Later in history, as demand increased even higher, some European countries passed laws preventing any but the nobility to wear or even own a pearl. To break this law would be punishable by forfeiture of the jewel and maybe even the owner’s life.
The pearl also brought its value to the newly discovered American continent in the form of currency. Columbus was reported to have used these types of gems to make peace with and purchase land from some of the native people of the land.
The Birth of Pearl Farming
Up until 1907 all the available pearls were born naturally. It was not until a Japanese man by the name of Mikimoto discovered a way of cultivating a perfectly round pearl that the pearl industry transformed forever. At that same time two others were also working on the cultivation of the perfectly round pearl. The two men, Tokichi Cishikawa and Shinpei Mise although working separately, discovered their own cultivation processes almost simultaneously. They later sold their methods to Mikimoto, which he added to his own technique. There is controversy over whether the Cishikawa and Mise truly discovered the the same process at the same time or if they learned the process from an Australian pearl farmer (We'll have more about that in another page).With the addition of two other methods Mikimoto was able to cement himself in history as the “father of pearl cultivation”. This was the first time that the prized round pearls became accessible to almost anyone, rich and poor alike. As they were more plentiful, the demand increased by leaps and bounds. However the value placed on these precious gems was still staggeringly high.
Due to the high value placed on pearls an acclaimed French jeweler named Jacques Cartier was able to use just two pearl necklaces to purchase two properties in New York City. When Cartier brought his famous jewelry shops to America in 1916 he created an affordable and accessible way for most anyone to attain these precious gems.
Throughout history, there have been many famous pearls. We continue to update our list of famous pearls as we research around the world for more information about pearls.
