What Makes Pearls Valuable? What Makes Pearls Precious?
Do Pearls Lose Their Luster? Restoring Shine To Pearls
Why Are Pearls Valuable – Cultural and Traditional Importance
Pearl Value Factors: What is a Pearl
To discover what makes pearls so valuable, we must look back as early as 5 BC, when the Romans and Egyptians recognized their uniqueness and beauty, and the natural pearl began its ascension to be crowned the Queen of Gems. Pearl quality was first assessed by fishermen, scouring the shores to feed their families, when the oyster’s secret was soon found to be even more precious than the mollusk’s delicate flesh. Hidden within the oyster was the luminous sphere that the fishermen raised to the heavens to marvel at the extraordinary luster of their new treasure. And so began their worship of the new queen. But what is a pearl?
High-quality freshwater pearls, particularly the ones that are perfectly round and exhibit exceptional luster, are rare and highly prized. While freshwater pearls are the most common type of pearl available, only a small percentage reach the standards of top-tier quality in beauty and value.
These premium freshwater pearls are notable for their rich, bright luster and smooth surface. Their rarity stems from the difficulty in cultivating pearls that meet these exacting criteria, which is a significant factor in what makes pearls valuable to the jewelry market.
Pearls of this caliber are often found in high-end jewelry stores and are treasured for their unique charm and enduring beauty. Investing in these premium pearls offers not just an immediate visual appeal but also a timeless piece of luxury that can be appreciated for a lifetime.
Cherished, prized, and highly sought after, the pearl has become a quintessential adornment, a statement of fashion, commitment, and much more. Before they were cultivated as cultured pearls, the ocean’s pearls were found at the astonishingly low rate of merely one pearl for 10,000 oysters. This long, impatient period between each discovery only fed the desire for the elusive pearl, and all but assured this minute natural wonder as a rare item of status, along with those fortunate enough to possess them because of the correspondingly high pearl cost.
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Queen of Gems
Another Queen renowned throughout history, Cleopatra, owned the two largest natural pearls of her time. Placing one of them in a vessel containing wine so strong that it melted the pearl, and then performing an act demanding Marc Anthony’s attention, she lifted the vessel, swallowing the wine, along with the dissolved pearl. She remarked that she had made her expensive toast to honor Anthony (with the added benefit of the wine serving them as an aphrodisiac due to the pearl’s association with the Goddess of Love, Venus).
The pearl even garnered Caesar’s attention, who marveled at its radiance, often holding it and gazing at the wonder of its shape and size. In fact, Caesar’s obsession was said to be the motivation for his legion’s first invasion of Britain in 55 BC in search of Scottish pearls.
Pearls in Art
Vermeer, with his love for the way pearls brought life to his paintings, included them in 21 of his masterpieces. His style composed the paintings with a magical, soft focus, while placing an accent on his attention to detail in his portrayal of the pearl.
Such works include Woman with a Pearl Necklace, featuring natural pearl earrings and a pearl necklace (1664), Girl Writing a Letter, (c 1662-1667, also known as a Woman Writing a Letter, featuring a pearl necklace and earrings), Woman with a Lute, (1662-1663, featuring pearl earrings and necklace, produced when Vermeer was in his 30s), and Study of a Young Woman, (c 1665-1667, featuring a pearl earring and painted around the same period as Girl with a Pearl Earring).
Our appreciation of the what makes pearls valuable even finds its influence in what can arguably be considered the first introduction of social media, further shaping our appreciation via its painted depiction by artists like Johannes Vermeer, who in 1665 painted his venerated Girl with a Pearl Earring, heralded for the breathtaking depiction its single magnificent pearl earring. In 2006, the Dutch nominated it as the most beautiful painting in the Netherlands.
The cultured freshwater pearl has its origin in Asia, where the first blister pearl (a shell-attached pearl often flat on one side) found its humble beginning with the help of human intervention via the manual insertion (a process termed seeding or nucleation) of a small hornlike substance into the oyster.
After this nucleus was implanted into the oyster, the tiny foreign invader activated the oyster’s natural defense against the foreign body by encasing it in layers of nacre. This would be the natural pearl’s genesis. Over time, it has been found that any shelled mollusk can use this process to produce a pearl, including the abalone, marine snail, clam, mussel, and last but not least, the oyster.
At the final stage of the pearl’s cultivation, the process ends with the pearl farmer. To complete the harvest task, the farmer extracts the precious gem from the delicate, organic anatomy of its mollusk host. The gem is graded before setting out on the journey from its original pearl farm to the jewelry designer and, ultimately, to you.
How long does it take to form a natural pearl?
For Akoya pearls, created by the oysters in Japan, it could take as long as 5 to 6 weeks. In the case of freshwater cultured pearls, created in freshwater mussels, the creation can be as brief as 2 to 3 weeks.
Genesis of the Cultured Freshwater Pearl
What Makes Pearls Valuable? Know The Investment Appeal Of Pearls
Why are pearls so expensive? Similar to the way we evaluate a diamond by appraising its famous 4 C’s (Carat weight, Color, Clarity, and Cut), a pearl achieves its highest value by its own set of standards. To determine why pearls are so special, use these five aspects of the pearl’s pedigree:
Explore The HerMJ Pearl Gallery
- Surface
- Shape
- Size
- Shine
- Shade
Surface
One noted method we use to check whether a strand of pearls is the ‘real thing’ is the popular oral test, for which the sensation referred to as grit is the result when a true pearl is rubbed against a natural tooth. If the pearl’s surface characteristics provide a smooth sensation rather than the telltale sandy impression as it slides along the surface of a tooth, the pearl is likely not authentic; in other words, you’ve discovered a fake.
Shape
When identifying quality pearls, shape plays a significant role in the determination of a pearl’s price. The rounder the gem, the more it is considered a perfect pearl, and the greater the price it can demand. Historically, the rounder more expensive pearl was likened to the celestial perfection of a full moon; however, times have changed, and while the basic shape of perfectly round pearls is still highly desired for their impressive ability to hold their value, other uniquely-shaped pearls are often considered equally as valuable – and in some cases even more so.
Such is the case for semi-baroque pearls, which are more irregular and more imperfect. Examples include egg-shaped, button-shaped, pear-shaped, and circularly shaped pearls, such as the coin pearl. Tahitian black pearls are commonly circular with a groove encircling the diameter of the pearl. These pearls are striking for their natural black beauty and luster.
Size
The wide range of sizes extends from 2 mm to 25 mm (while larger pearls are rare). Pearls measuring 8-9 mm come with a substantially increased pearl price, in sharp contrast to those in the 2 mm range. As with any commodity, when large numbers of similarly-sized pearls are harvested, the cost of the pearl decreases, based on the oversupply for correspondingly limited demand. Alternatively, by the same law of supply and demand, in times of high demand for an inadequate inventory of the corresponding pearl, the cost increases.
In the case of saltwater pearls created by oysters, there can only be one pearl formed by its host at one time. Amazingly, the creation a necklace with matching pearls in size, shape, and luster can take many years to harvest the necessary components to craft a single necklace – it follows the long process of creating such a rare piece of jewelry is reflected in its cost.
Shine
Of course, the glory of a pearl’s shine takes into account its luminosity. The more lustrous, the more valuable the pearl. This is the result of the pearl’s creation, which begins as an act of the oyster’s natural defense mechanism toward a parasite (sometimes it’s organic matter, such as a simple grain of sand entering the shell). In the act of protecting itself from the unwanted intruder, the oyster secretes a substance known as Mother of Pearl. This secretion will continue to form concentric layers of nacre over the oyster’s perceived enemy, layer over layer. After a time, the layers become the lustrous end product we know as the pearl. In terms of nacre quality, the longer the pearl remains in its shell, the more dense the nacre thickness, and the more lustrous the pearl becomes.
Shade
Although the classic creamy white pearl has long been an iconic symbol of elegance, other shades have grown in popularity. The more golden the pearl, the more we can trace its origin to the Southern Seas. This is a result of the water’s temperature and its influence over the pearl. With the warm waters of the Philippines at the equator, the oyster is more golden, in turn giving the golden color to the pearl within it.
An equally important indicator of pearl value is that the fewer blemishes a pearl has, the more precious it is determined to be; however, pearls such as the Tahitian black or Baroque, which bear the unique signature of Mother Nature’s ideal imperfections, are also well respected. Regardless of shape, size, and degree of luster, natural pearls are as unique as each of us, with their visual allure attracting their ultimate owner. Examples of these differences are found in the South Sea and Tahitian black pearls.
Types Of Pearls & The Value Of Pearls
Tahitian Black Pearls
Dark and exotic, the Tahitian pearl is highly prized for the beauty of its black, brown, grey, and green hues. These colors are produced by the magnificent Pinctada Margaritifera: the black-lipped oyster native to the Pacific Ocean. The most desirable Tahitian pearl color is the peacock color, with its kaleidoscope of coloration ranging from green and pink to purple. Most striking of all, the Tahitian pearls are the only natural black pearls.
In terms of high-quality pearl types, the South Sea variety is the Rolls-Royce of natural pearls, more valuable than others produced in Pinctada Fucata by Asian countries such as Indonesia, Burma, Malaysia, the Philippines, as well as along Australia’s north coast (about 100 miles south of Broome). The offspring of the magnificent Pinctada Maxima oysters, these pearls are unrivaled in their natural beauty. These are created by the largest pearl oysters, which can achieve pearl sizes up to 305 mm (that’s 12 inches in diameter – a valid Amazon of the oyster world). Not surprisingly, the Pinctada Maxima is also the largest-producing oyster in the world. The colors of the pearl, derived from the Mother of Pearl’s color, correspond to the color that comes from the interior lip of the closed oyster’s shell.
South Seas Pearls
For this reason, it can take many years to form a South Sea Pearl necklace. Each time the oyster is harvested, it’s a guess as to what color pearl the oyster will have produced.
Freshwater Pearls
These affordable pearls are loved for the fashion-forward appearance they contribute to their necklaces. Known for their baroque shapes and colors. These pearls come in a beautiful array of colors, produced in whites, creams, violets, pinks, ivory, and peaches. Also available in metallic and classic on-trend colors produced by dying the pearl, they are extremely versatile.
Conch Pearls
The Conch pearl is produced by its namesake, the Conch, and not by an oyster. It is a pink/peach and approximately 3 times more valuable than the South Sea pearl.
Sea of Cortez Pearls
These beautiful pearls are produced by the Pteria Sterna oyster, which is found on the Pacific coast of America, known for its tropical and subtropical shallow waters. This oyster produces pearls in colors ranging from green, golden, pink, gray, and hues of purple.
Pearl Colors and Their Countries
| Country | Color |
| Australia | White, Silver white |
| Indonesia | Off white, Cream, Golden |
| Philippines | Golden, Cream, Off white |
| Malaysia | White, SIlver, Cream |
| Japan | Golden, White |
| Thailand | White, Silver, Cream |
| Tahiti | Black, Brown, Peacock |
Size of the South Sea Pearl
Another example of why pearls are considered valuable is found in the Pinctada Maxima, known as the cream of the crop. The Pinctada Maxima oyster can live up to 40 years and creates the largest pearls in the world. These pearls are so highly sought that one Australian South Sea pearl necklace fetched more than 1.5 million dollars at auction.
Using the 5 S’s of as the standard to judge a pearl aids in the careful task of matching the gemstone in jewelry designs and ensuring that a necklace is made of the same pearl surface quality, size, shape, luster, and color of pearls. At Her Majesty’s Jewels, we take pride in our selection and crafting of our necklaces and bracelets and offer pearl jewelry of excellent value and enduring beauty. This is what makes pearls so valuable. And when shopping online, remember that when you buy pearls based on today’s jewelry choices, pearls make perfect accents for men, too.
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Shop Freshwater Cultured Pearls
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Quartz Crystal Necklace$45.00 -
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Lapis Lazuli Pearl Necklace$48.00 -
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Freshwater Pearl Earrings$69.00
Detailed Timeline of Main Events Related to Pearls
Before 5 BC:
Formation of Natural Pearls: Mussels and other shelled mollusks produce pearls as a natural defense mechanism against foreign invaders (like parasites or sand grains) by encasing them in layers of nacre. This process can take anywhere from 2-3 weeks for freshwater cultured pearls to several years for saltwater pearls.
5 BC:
Early Recognition of Pearl Value: Romans and Egyptians recognize the uniqueness and beauty of natural pearls, leading to their ascension as the “Queen of Gems.”
Fishermen Discover Pearls: Fishermen scouring shores for food discover the luminous spheres within oysters, marveling at their extraordinary luster and beginning their “worship of the new queen.”
55 BC:
Caesar’s Invasion of Britain: Julius Caesar, obsessed with pearls and their radiance, motivates his legion’s first invasion of Britain in search of Scottish pearls.
Unspecified Historical Period (after 5 BC, before 1660s):
Cleopatra’s Pearl Display: Cleopatra, renowned throughout history, owns the two largest natural pearls of her time. She famously dissolves one in wine and swallows it to honor Marc Anthony, also associating pearls with Venus, the Goddess of Love, for their aphrodisiac qualities.
1662-1667:
Vermeer’s Pearl Paintings: Johannes Vermeer, known for his love of pearls in art, paints several masterpieces featuring them, including:
Woman with a Lute (1662-1663) Woman with a Pearl Necklace (1664) Study of a Young Woman (c 1665-1667) Girl Writing a Letter (c 1662-1667)Girl with a Pearl Earring (1665) – arguably the first introduction of social media influence on appreciation for pearls.
19th Century (Implied through mention of cultured pearls genesis):
Genesis of Cultured Freshwater Pearl: Human intervention begins in Asia with the manual insertion (seeding/nucleation) of a small horn-like substance into oysters to create blister pearls, initiating the process of cultured pearl farming.
Modern Era (Unspecified dates, but ongoing practices):
Pearl Farming Operations: Pearl farmers extract gems from mollusk hosts, grade them, and send them to jewelry designers.Detailed Timeline of Main Events Related to Pearls
Akoya pearls in Japan take 5-6 weeks to form. Freshwater cultured pearls in freshwater mussels take 2-3 weeks to form.Freshwater mussels are surgically implanted with 24-32 pieces of mantle tissue and produce 24-32 (potentially up to 50) pearls over 2-7 years.
Commercial Pearl Grading and Sales: Pearls are evaluated based on 5 “S” factors: Surface, Shape, Size, Shine, and Shade.
2006:
“Girl with a Pearl Earring” Nomination: The Dutch nominate Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring as the most beautiful painting in the Netherlands.
References
Romans (Ancient Civilization): Recognized the unique beauty and value of natural pearls as early as 5 BC.
Egyptians (Ancient Civilization): Shared the Romans’ early appreciation for pearls, recognizing their uniqueness and beauty by 5 BC.
Fishermen: Discovered the luminous pearls hidden within oysters while scouring shores for food, leading to the initial “worship” of the pearl.
Cleopatra: A renowned queen throughout history who owned the two largest natural pearls of her time. Famous for dissolving one in wine as a toast to Marc Anthony, linking pearls to aphrodisiac qualities and Venus, the Goddess of Love.
Marc Anthony: Roman general and triumvir. Cleopatra’s elaborate pearl toast was performed to gain his attention and honor him.
Julius Caesar: Roman general and statesman. Obsessed with pearls, his desire for them is cited as the motivation for the first Roman invasion of Britain in 55 BC.
Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675): A Dutch painter renowned for his use of light and realistic detail. He incorporated pearls into 21 of his masterpieces, notably Girl with a Pearl Earring, Woman with a Pearl Necklace, Girl Writing a Letter, Woman with a Lute, and Study of a Young Woman, showcasing pearls’ ability to “bring life” to his paintings.
Pearl Farmers: Individuals responsible for the cultivation and harvesting of cultured pearls. They surgically implant tissue into mollusks and extract the finished gems.
Veronique Adrien: A writer and contributor to HerMJ’s blog, credited with articles such as “The Beauty of South Sea Pearls and Jewellery,” “The Complete Guide To The Best Necklace Length For Men,” “A Guide To Different Styles Of Jewelry,” “Peridot – August’s Birthstone,” “Turn Heads In Red (Bonjour Red!),” and “The Ultimate Guide to Statement Jewelry for Collectors.”
HerMJ offers a diverse range of pearl jewelry, including necklaces, bracelets, and earrings, featuring pieces such as the Freshwater Pearl Necklaces and Organic Gemstone jewelry.
Operating from California, HerMJ manages online sales and customer engagement through the HerMJ.com website.HerMJ (Her Majesty’s Jewels): A company specializing in real pearl jewelry, including necklaces, bracelets, and earrings. They pride themselves on selecting and crafting excellent value and enduring beauty in their pearl pieces. Veronique Adrien is a contributing writer for their articles.
Quality Factors: Frequently Asked Questions
What Makes Pearls Valuable: More Pearls Of Wisdom
