FINE PEARLS
Color: white, pink, silver, cream, brown, green, blue, black, gray, gold, eggplant, orange, purple.
The fine pearl is naturally created in oysters inhabiting temperate sea beds. They are found mainly along the coasts of Bahrain or Central America.
Their color depends on the micro-organisms naturally present in the water.
In History
The image of the pearl is linked to tears and morning dew. In ancient times, they were associated with Aphrodite (Venus for the Romans), the goddess of love and beauty, born from the foam of the sea who, at the time of her birth, shaking her long hair, would have thrown drops of water into the ocean which became pearls...
The Queen of Pearls may well be the most beautiful known in the world. Bought in 1669 by Louis XIV, it is found in the inventories of the Crown jewels during the sale of national goods during the French Revolution; however, it might have been stolen in 1792. A similar pearl is currently in the Moscow museum...
"To make a pearl out of a tear: Of the poet here below here is the passion, Here is his property, his life and his ambition". A. de Musset - Impromptu
J. Vermeer, La Jeune Fille à la perle, oil on canvas, ca. 1665, The Hague.
CULTURE PEARLS
Origin: Japan, Australia and South Seas
History: At the end of the 19th century, Kokichi Mikimoto, the founder of the Maison Mikimoto, invented the culture pearl in order to meet the huge worldwide demand for pearls.
He invented a method consisting of grafting a tiny piece of mother-of-pearl into the pearl oysters. This allowed not only to organize the production but also to ensure good fishing conditions.
