Pearls birthstones of month June.

Pearls have been admired and desired by many for centuries. They were gems of the Royalties and the most rich people of the world. 

Thanks to Japanese entrepreneur Kokichi Mikimoto we can enjoy and afford them today. He had a dream “to adorn the necks of all the women in the world with pearls”. He is called The Pearl King as he dedicated his whole life to them. He was the first person in 1905 who succeeded in cultivating pearls.

Personally I am very grateful to him for his gift to the jewellery world. I adore pearls and use them in my designs whenever I can.

For centuries there were many beliefs around those magical organic gems. From giving longevity and prosperity to the wearer to improving health and easing depression. There were legends about Cleopatra who was bathing in goat mild with crushed pearls in it for beautiful skin tone. 

Today over 90% of all pearls on the market are created with human intervention. Pearls are organic gems cultivated inside living various types of mollusks. They are popularly called “pearl oysters” and they are from family of Pteria and Pinctada. There are also freshwater mussels commonly called European pearl mussel Margaritifera margaritifera.

Natural pearls are created when the mollusk cover with nacre an irritant like a grain of sand or a parasite that invaded the shell. Nacre is used as a shield of protection by the mollusk. What an amazing and beautiful wonder of nature.  

Cultured pearls are created when implanting into the mollusk a piece of mantle tissue (for freshwater cultured pearls) or with a mother-of-pearl shell bead (saltwater). Oyster covers it with layers of nacre, just like during formation of natural pearl. Those pearls are cultivated in still or flowing waters of the protected from predators pearl farms. Lustrous creations of the nature can be found in different shapes depending on the method of cultivation. They can be classic round, drops, pears, buttons or sticks. Freshwater pearls are cultivated in vast spectrum of colours ranges and they grow from 1 mm to 20 mm. 

Saltwater cultivated pearls are Tahitian pearls (dark hued, grey, silver, dark green, peacock), White or Golden South Sea pearls. They are grown in remote lagoons, protected by coral reefs in French Polynesia, Philippines, Indonesia, Japan, Pacific Islands and Australia. Colour of the pearl depends on the location of cultivation. The size of Tahitian cultured pearls range from 7 mm to 20 mm, for South Sea pearls 9 mm to 30 mm. They have nucleus and are cultivated to be round, drop or pear shaped in form. Baroque pearls (both freshwater and saltwater) are irregular in shape and have been used for jewellery purposes, small decorative objects or even sculptures. Irregularity of its shape opens door to the creativity of an artist. 

As Jacqueline Kennedy was saying “Pearls are always appropriate”. They are timeless elegance that can adorn and uplift any outfit and any mood. 

Below are mine one off creations with use of baroque and Tahitian pearls. If you would like to own a unique piece of jewellery with pearls please do not hesitate to contact me Contact 

Also you can purchase a Tahitian Star Pendant here https://www.alexthieldesigns.com/product/tahitian-star-pendant/