Whether natural or cultured, pearls remain at the heart of jewellery design. Coco Chanel, Jackie O and Elizabeth Taylor: images of women with the most enviable style are conjured up in the mind when you imagine ropes of pearls elegantly draped over an outfit.
Natural pearls are a wonder. They are formed delicately without any human intervention. When a parasite comes into contact with a clam, mussel or oyster, the defensive reaction of the mollusc is to create a fluid to coat the infected area. This coating, called a nacre, is built up over layers and from this a pearl is created.
Looking at a pearl, you can see the iridescent layers that have built up from this process. These layers give the pearl a wonderful texture and contoured shape.
Cultured pearls are created by placing a parasite inside an oyster in the same way as what happens naturally in the sea. The mollusc forms the nacre layers in an act of defence which deposits a pearl.
Used in jewellery since antiquity times, pearls are timeless. Whether white, pink, grey or even gold, they combine elegance, tradition and perfection.
Pearls are a wonderful piece to buy on the secondary market as for centuries master craftsmen from history through to Art Nouveau to Art Deco have turned to pearls for inspiration.
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