Pearl History
                              from The Pearl Market

A Brief History of Pearls

Long known as the 'Queen of Gems' real pearls were once the exclusive property of the rich and powerful.

No one can say who 'discovered' pearls - probably they were first found by ancient peoples searching the shores for food. The Romans and Egyptians prized pearls and used them as decorative items as far back as the 5th Century BC. Chinese records mention them earlier still.

The principal oyster beds lay in the Persian Gulf, along the coasts of India and in the Red Sea. Chinese pearls came mostly from rivers and lakes whilst Japanese pearls were found in salt water.

As Europe expanded into the New World and pearl beds were discovered in the waters of Central and South America, pearls became increasingly popular at the royal courts of Europe. Some countries passed laws forbidding all but nobility to wear them.

The popularity of pearls came at a price. By the 1800's overfishing had depleted most of the American oyster populations. Until the end of the 19th century, pearls were available only to the rich.

Then, in the early 1900's, a revolution in pearl production occured. Kokichi Mikimoto, son of a Japanese noodle maker, harnessed techniques for introducing an irritant into the oyster to stimulate the secretion of nacre which forms the pearl. The cultured pearl industry was born.

The Roman Emperor Caligula, having made his horse a consul, decorated it with a pearl necklace. His subjects were not so lucky.

In 1916 the French jeweller Jaques Cartier bought his famous Fifth Avenue store in New York with two pearl necklaces.

Today, some of the least expensive cultured pearls rival the quality of the most expensive natural pearls ever found.