Natural beauty

Pearl,is an organic gem. It is an organic matter derived from a living creature – oysters and mollusks. Alike its shell,it’s made up of calcium carbonate in minute crystalline form,deposited in concentric coating. The pearl’s journey begins as nothing more than a mere piece of grit that enters the mollusk. As a defense mechanism against the foreign body,the mollusk triggers a substance called nacre that starts layering the grit. This results in the beautiful pearl. An ideal pearl is perfectly round and smooth. A natural pearl is one that forms without human intervention and is rare. Hundreds of mussels have to be opened and destroyed to acquire a lone pearl.

This oldest known gem has been revered for centuries and has unsurpassed folklore. The Persian legend holds that the pearl is created at the point where rainbow and earth convene. Early Romans believed that the pearls were created when a drop of rain penetrated the heart of the oyster. Pearl has been referred as ‘The Teardrops of Moon’. Five months,including February,claim it as its birthstone. Pearls have been associated with chastity,authority,valor and humility. The value of pearls in jewellery is determined by a combination of lustre,size,colour,lack of surface flaws and symmetry etc. in the subsequent articles we shall try any and understand the differentiating factors between natural and farmed pearls,pearls available in the market,their sourcing,pricing and related topics.

The writer is a city-based researcher specialising in jewellery art and can be contacted at sameeraahaan02@gmail.com