Share a Smile, Give a Pearl
Valentine’s Day is fast approaching, and I wanted to throw out a great idea for a special Valentine’s gift that is sure to bring a little sunshine into that special lady’s life. (Hint hint husband!)
You see, a pearl is most certainly a thing of classic beauty. Its subtle elegance is something that no other gemstone can match. These stones use to only be available at the whims of nature. Fortunately though people have developed methods which allow them to cultivate, or culture, these fine treasures, enabling us to enjoy pearls more often.
The culturing process actually has quite a long history behind it that begins in Australia. William Saville-Kent discovered the methods behind pearl culturing. However two men from Japan, Tokichi Nishikawa and Tatsuhei Mise, are responsible for its true beginning as a commercial process.
In 1916 they were granted the patent in Japan for culturing pearls, and Nishikawa’s Father-in-law then began to applying the technology to akoya pearl oysters. This technology was then applied to the south sea oyster in 1917, however it took another 11 years before a commercial crop of pearls was produced.
The method for culturing pearls is surprisingly pretty simple. The oyster is brought up out of the water. At this time a small irritant, usually a piece of shell or oyster tissue is inserted into the oyster. The oyster then activates its natural defense system and starts to coat the intruder with a layer of nacre. It keeps doing so until a full pearl is formed.
This process, depending on the oyster and size of pearl desired, can take anywhere from 2 to 7 years. A common misconception of this process is that a grain of sand is used to “seed” the oyster. While sand can cause a pearl to be formed it is much more likely that a bead, piece of shell, or chunk of tissue was used. These provide more reliable pearls, and pearl shapes, great for pearl necklaces and pearl earrings.
The culturing of pearls has provided a unique opportunity for those who seek after this jewel. They are able to have a real pearl made through the same process as natural pearls however they don’t have to wait for the rare natural pearl to found. It also provides the chance to have longer strands of matching pearls. Whatever the case may be, the culturing of pearls has truly made the jewelry world a better place.