Pearl Jewellery

Pearl jewellery is known as the ‘Queen of Gems’ and real pearls were worn exclusively by the rich and powerful in ancient times. The Romans and Egyptians prized pearls and used them as decorative items as far back as the 5th century BC. Pearls have been famously worn by Queen Elizabeth I, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Elizabeth Taylor (left image).

Pearls are considered ideal wedding gifts as they symbolise purity and innocence and also have a place in Hindu, Islamic and Christian traditions.

A pearl is a natural gem created by a living organism. When a foreign object is introduced into an oyster, the animal coats the irritant with a substance called nacre, the same material used to build its shell. The layers of nacre gradually build up over time to produce a pearl. The majority of natural oyster beds have disappeared due to over-fishing and pollution; today most of the world’s pearls are cultured.

The beautiful pearls come in various shapes which are naturally produced by a specific breed of mollusc. Shapes include round, near round, oval, drop, baroque and circle. Pearls are graded to take into account shape, lustre, surface quality, nacre thickness and matching on the strand. The majority of pearl retailers use the A, AA, AAA grading system for most pearls and Tahitian pearls use an A to D system. An AAA graded pearl is said to be of the highest quality.

We generally picture pearls as white round balls, but due to cultured pearl technology, pearls can be created in many sizes, shapes and colours. Typical natural colours include white, pink, lilac, peach, cream, grey, black and gold.

Popular types of cultured pearls include Akoya pearls, Freshwater pearls, Tahitian pearls and South Sea pearls. With such an enormous array of options pearls can be used to create some of the most beautiful, high quality jewellery which offers a timeless quality and will be admired for many decades and are often seen as an investment.