Renowned for their natural beauty, lustrous glow, and uniqueness, pearls have been cherished globally for centuries. Their timeless elegance has made them a favorite in pearl jewellery design and an essential offering in loose pearl wholesale businesses like Aurora International throughout history.
A Fascinating History of Pearls
Pearls have long been admired as a symbol of beauty and status. One of the earliest known pieces of pearl jewellery, dating back to 420 BC, was discovered in the sarcophagus of a Persian princess and is now exhibited at the Louvre in Paris. In China, as early as 2300 BC, pearls were offered as gifts to royalty, and it was the Chinese who first discovered that inserting a foreign object into an oyster could lead to pearl formation. In ancient Rome, natural pearls were the ultimate symbol of wealth and power. So prized were these gems that in the 1st century BC, Julius Caesar decreed that only the ruling classes could wear them. By the Victorian era, pearls had become a symbol of tears, making them a popular adornment for young women in the latter half of the 19th century.
How Pearls Are Formed
Unlike gemstones mined from the earth, pearls are the result of a living organism's defense mechanism. When a foreign substance, such as a parasite or a fragment of shell, becomes trapped in an oyster or mussel, the organism reacts by secreting layers of nacre to encase the irritant. Over time, this buildup of nacre produces the lustrous pearls we recognize today. Cultured pearls, formed with human intervention, use the same natural process by implanting a small particle into the oyster to stimulate the pearl growth.
The Cultured Pearl Revolution
In the 1890s, a new era in the pearl cultivation industry was born in Japan, thanks to Mikimoto Kokichi. He discovered that by inserting a tiny bead made of mother-of-pearl into an oyster’s tissue, it could be stimulated to produce a perfectly round cultured pearl. This breakthrough revolutionized the cultured pearl industry and laid the foundation for the global pearl market we know today. Mikimoto went on to establish his luxury pearl brand, Mikimoto, which is still renowned for its exquisite pearls.
Pearl Sources
Before the development of cultured pearls, natural pearls were harvested through the perilous work of divers, who risked their lives diving to depths of up to 100 feet to retrieve oysters. Even then, success was rare—only a few quality loose pearls might be found in a ton of oysters.
The advent of the cultured pearl industry in Japan marked a turning point, enabling large-scale commercial pearl farming using various species of pearl oysters. This innovation has made high-quality cultured pearls widely available for both the pearl jewellery market and loose pearl wholesale.
Today, natural pearls are among the rarest gems. Their scarcity has made them highly coveted, with antique pearl jewelry pieces fetching record prices at auctions. For instance, a pair of natural pearl earrings that once belonged to Empress Eugénie of France, wife of Napoleon Bonaparte, sold for a staggering $3.3 million at Doyle New York last year. Another rare variety, abalone pearls, are prized for their beauty and scarcity. These pearls, which cannot be cultured, are found by chance in the rocky coastal waters of certain regions.
Aurora International, a leading pearl jewellery and loose pearl wholesale supplier, offers a wide range of exquisite pearls for both retail, wholesale clients and jewellery designers. By sourcing the finest cultured pearls and natural pearls, Aurora International continues to meet the growing demand for these timeless pearls.