Pearls are the only gem to be created by another living creature. Here we present you with some basic knowledge about pearls to stimulate your interest - if you are not already a complete pearlaholic!
Pearls have been worn for hundreds and hundreds of years.
Pearls popularity was at its peak during the Roman times when privileged women were adorned with pearls. Pearls found favour with Julius Caesar and it is said that Cleopatra dissolved a pearl in wine and drank it to prove her love to Marc Antony. We are told that the Roman general Vitellius financed an entire military campaign by selling just one of his mother’s pearl earrings.

The Persian Gulf was one of the main sources of natural pearls for centuries, as were Venezuela & Panama where pearls were discovered by Christopher Columbus and Vasco de Balboa on their travels.
Although when Diamonds were found the pearls popularity dropped and the need for Diamonds rose in the 1700’s. Pearls tried to compete, but they had lost some of their attraction due to and poor quality imitations.
Three Japanese men, Kokichi Mikimoto, Tokichi Nishikawa and Tatsuhei Mise, had all discovered the secret of culturing pearls in the 1900’s. The appearance of cultured pearls on the world markets began the demise of the natural pearl. It took a while for cultured pearls to be accepted by the masses, but now account for over 95% of the world’s production of pearls.
In the 1900’s natural pearls were rare and expensive, available only to Royalty and the very rich. With the ability to imitate pearls, the price of pearls has generally decreased and there are now many types of pearl that offer a far more economical purchase than could ever have been imagined.