

Perfect shining spheres. Lustrous baroque forms. Seductive strands, warm to the touch. Pearls are simply and purely organic.
Produced in the bodies of marine and freshwater mollusks naturally or cultured by people with great care. Lustrous, smooth, subtly-colored pearls are jewelry staples, especially as strands.
BIRTHSTONE: June

Overview
Perhaps the best-loved gems of all time, pearls-natural and cultured-occur in a wide variety of colors. The most familiar are white and cream, but the palette of colors extends to every hue. Natural pearls form around a microscopic irritant in the bodies of certain mollusks. Cultured pearls are the result of the deliberate insertion of a bead or piece of tissue that the mollusk coats with nacre.


2206 BC
653 Fifth Avenue
1893
A Chinese historian writes about pearls for the first time.
In 1917, Pierre Cartier traded a double strand of natural pearls for a mansion on Fifth Avenue in New York City.
Kokichi Mikimoto successfully cultures a pearl in Japan.
quality factors
An assessment of the following characteristics determines the value of each type of pearl.
color

Although white is most classic, appreciation has grown for more unusual natural colors.
clarity

The number of blemishes on a pearl's surface is evaluated to judge quality.
cut

Spherical pearls are the most valued but symmetrical drops are also sought.
carat weight

Cultured pearls range from 2-16mm in diameter, depending on the mollusk used.
