Poseidon's gems - article for GOLF AND STYLE magazine
Author: Martin Cinolter for Golf and Style Magazine
If you wish to purchase pearls, it is unlikely you'll experience what happened to a customer at an unnamed German restaurant: finding a natural pearl in an ordered oyster. So instead of indulging in this delicacy, we must head to a shop and buy the pearls.
Pearls as jewels or ornaments have been known since the dawn of human civilisation. In ancient times, pearls were fashionable accessories or currency. They symbolised power and status and adorned royal insignias. Dutch and Caribbean courtesans even accepted pearls as payment for their services.
Many myths, legends, and half-truths surround pearls. One of the greatest misconceptions, taught even in schools and found in professional journals, is that a pearl forms when a grain of sand enters a shell, which then coats it with nacre. I have often heard that gifted pearls bring bad luck, whereas pearls you purchase yourself bring good fortune. It is common for a girl to "buy" pearls from her admirer, giving him a token coin to avoid bad luck.
One thing is certain: natural, uncultured pearls have a positive impact on human health, which has been a focus of scientific research for several decades.
Like opals, pearls seem to shine brighter when worn, becoming more vibrant, as if the contact with human skin benefits them. Conversely, when stored in a drawer, they appear to lose their lustre.
But first, some background
Pearls are essentially precious stones of organic origin, making them independent of geological conditions. They have an orthorhombic crystal structure (elongated rhombohedral), a hardness of 2.5–4.5, and are composed of calcium carbonate, conchiolin, water, and aragonite layers. Refractive index: 1.52–1.66. Those are the dry facts.
Pearls can be categorised as freshwater pearls and saltwater pearls. More specifically, they are divided into cultivated pearls—those produced with human intervention—and oriental pearls, which form naturally in the sea without human aid.
Freshwater Pearls
As the name suggests, these pearls form in freshwater, such as rivers, lakes, or ponds. Freshwater pearls are generally smaller than their saltwater counterparts. Cultivated freshwater pearls have recently flooded global markets, often reaching diameters of one centimetre or more. (Personally, I’m curious when China will start growing gold and diamonds.)
In antique jewellery, natural freshwater pearls often complement other gemstones. We recently sold a beautiful garnet bracelet from the early 19th century, richly adorned with freshwater pearls in a baroque star design. At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, jewellers frequently added them to rings, necklaces, earrings, and brooches. Czech jewellers used them as early as the 19th century, mainly due to limited access to saltwater pearls.
Saltwater Pearls
These pearls are generally larger than freshwater pearls and, like their smaller counterparts, come in various colours, increasing their value. Cultivated saltwater pearls are often dyed with aniline dyes in nearly every colour. The most famous are Japanese pearls, grown in shallow coastal waters between Japanese islands. Inserting a shaped nucleus, typically a sphere, into an oyster results in the oyster coating it with nacre. Pearls grow in the shell over one to three years. To the untrained eye, natural pearls and cultivated pearls are indistinguishable, but X-ray imaging can reveal the nucleus. However, new techniques involving miniaturised nuclei and hormone catalysts now make even X-rays unreliable, producing pearls with poor shapes and softness.
What Do We Value in Pearls?
First, size: pearls over one centimetre are considered highly luxurious, with every additional millimetre adding value. The process of inserting the nucleus into the oyster requires a skilled hand to avoid damaging the oyster's closing muscle, which would result in its death.
The regularity of shape, especially perfectly round pearls, is also important. Lustre and colour are additional factors. Aragonite layers reflect light, creating a distinctive iridescence. Colours range from white and pinkish-white to brown and black, such as Tahitian pearls, depending on the mollusc species and water conditions. Pearls are sensitive to acids and moisture, making them less durable than other gemstones.
The price difference between cultivated and natural pearls is significant. Natural pearls cannot be cultivated, and their price reflects the labour-intensive process of pearl diving. As the renowned Czech adventurer Otakar Batlička once wrote in one of his stories: "On Wave 97."
Natural pearls have been harvested for thousands of years in the Persian and Manar Gulfs (Indian Ocean) and the Red Sea. Cultivated pearls are predominantly produced in Polynesia and Australia for saltwater varieties and in China and Japan for freshwater varieties.
Besides pearls, mother-of-pearl is often found in antique items. Jewellers and designers valued it for its beauty and workability in decorating everyday objects.
Mother-of-pearl embellishes jewellery, boxes, and furniture as inlays. It has been used to create exquisite pill boxes, theatre binoculars, jewellery boxes, buttons, and paperweights.
Occasionally, one encounters a Bombay string. For centuries, Bombay was a significant pearl trading hub, where pearls were sorted by size and shape before being strung onto silk thread.
The sea also provides other precious organic materials, such as coral, shells, and conches.
Cameos
Shells and conches are often carved with decorative designs, known as "cameos," used for brooches or rings. Occasionally, cameo-adorned lampshades or intricately carved conches, called Roman cameos, appear in antique shops. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it was popular to decorate cameos with diamonds on brooches and pendants.
Coral
Coral is composed of the skeletal remains of marine organisms known as coral polyps. These tiny creatures live in colonies and are capable of forming coral reefs. They are an indication of the ocean’s cleanliness, and in recent times, there has been a significant decline in coral populations due to reckless human activity.
The most valuable coral is found in warm waters. Japanese coral is red, pink, or white. Red and pink varieties are located off the coasts of the Mediterranean, Africa, the Red Sea, and Malaysia. Golden and black coral can be found in the Caribbean, Australia, and around the Pacific islands.
Sea coral has long been a traditional adornment for women, whether as a necklace in the form of beads or left in its natural "branch" form. Particularly interesting pieces are set in gold and are highly valued as brooches. Coral comes in many shades of red to brown, and black sea coral is also well-known. The most prized colour of coral is the so-called "Angel Skin," described as a pale pinkish-orange hue. Coral starts as a matte material and acquires a glassy sheen through polishing.
It is said that sea coral protects children, which is why children’s earrings are often made using sea coral.
Antique jewellery and objects decorated with pearls, mother-of-pearl, coral, and shells can be found in virtually all high-quality antique shops worldwide. They are highly sought-after items among lovers of artistic objects. When purchasing them, it is important to keep several things in mind. As with all valuable items, copies and imitations are often produced. It is wise to verify their authenticity. Experienced dealers can distinguish real pearls from artificial ones, but only a very small percentage of people can identify natural uncultivated pearls as opposed to cultivated ones. Natural pearls formed in the sea without human intervention can cost ten times more than cultivated pearls. Unfortunately, I have encountered deliberate substitutions as well as unintentional ones due to ignorance in my professional practice.
Personally, I recommend consulting an expert when making a purchase.
Martin Cinolter
