About Pearls

Cultured pearls…..their very name conjures images of lustrous jewels nestled deep in oysters and other molluscs far below the surface of the sea. Yet cultured pearls are more than just jewels. Since the beginning of time, pearls have been revered as one of the world’s most beautiful and magical gems. Today, cultured pearls are the foundation of every woman’s jewellery wardrobe. Fashionable, feminine and fresh, cultured pearls truly enhance a woman’s palette of styles. Rich and adaptable, a lustrous star in the world of fine jewellery, a simple cultured pearl necklace can take a woman through every moment in her life, every outfit in her wardrobe.

Until the 1900’s, natural pearls were accessible only to the rich and famous. In 1916, famed French jeweller Jacques Cartier bought his landmark store on New York’s famous Fifth Avenue – by trading two pearl necklaces for the valuable property. Today, with the advent of pearl cultivation, pearls are available and affordable to all.

A natural pearl begins its life as a foreign object, such as a parasite or piece of shell that accidentally lodges itself in an oyster’s soft inner body where it cannot be expelled. To ease this irritant, the oyster’s body takes defensive action. The oyster begins to secrete a smooth hard crystalline substance around the irritant in order to protect itself. This substance is called “nacre”. As long as the irritant remains within its body, the oyster will continue to secrete nacre around it, layer upon layer. Over time the irritant will be completely encased by the silky crystalline coatings. The result is the lovely and lustrous gem called a pearl.

Cultured pearls share the same properties as natural pearls. Oysters or mussels form cultured pearls in almost identical fashion. The only difference is a person carefully implants the irritant in the oyster or mussel, rather than leaving it to chance. We then let nature create its miracle.

Contact Pearl Culture at:  info@pearlcultureaustralia.com.au