Pearl’s Early Significance

Imagine purchasing an entire military campaign with a single pearl or a sizable plot of land on New York’s famous Fifth Avenue for two pearl necklaces. With the affordable availability of pearls today, these transactions seem unlikely, but those were before cultivation. 

Let’s rewind for a moment and take a brief look at the history of pearls. Pearls are without a doubt the oldest of any gem used in jewelry today. Their organic origins made them primed for early discovery. 

This post will introduce you to pearls and their lineage of significance that has captured the imagination of jewelry makers and aficionados alike. You’ll get insight on the following -

• How far back the history of pearls began

• How pearls were discovered

• How pearls became to be revered throughout the ages

• How pearls came to be widely popular

• How natural pearls became almost extinct

The Ancient Appeal of Pearls

These ocean treasures have a long history before we successfully intervened in Mother Nature’s process. A process so flawless that they emerge with perfect brilliance from a living organism, unlike their mined gemstone counterparts. Ancient tribes living near the coast merely looking for lunch came across a much different kind of resource whose earthy glow made its value undeniable. 

These shimmering anomalies would soon be revered for their rare beauty by significant historical figures throughout the next millennia. Pearls discovery was before the written history of civilizations; its significance passed through tales of mythology until its recorded glory. 

You can trace back clues to its prized nature back to 420 BC when pearl jewelry fragments were discovered in a sarcophagus of a Persian princess. By the time written records appeared on the scene, there were already notable mentions of these lustrous beauties.

The first to appear was among China’s long recorded history in a 23rd-century book, the Shu King. Its association to the upper classes of royalty hinted at the rarity of discovering these luminous jewels. A pattern that emerges from later accounts that crossed into all cultures, regions, and time. 

The Egyptians’ reverence for pearls’ value was made apparent with Cleopatra’s grand gesture to prove her nation’s wealth during a banquet with Marc Antony. The queen wagered that she could host him the world’s most expensive meal. She did so with only two large pearls on the menu, one of which she dissolved one into a glass of wine and drank it down.

Verifying that she could consume a nation’s wealth in one meal, Marc Antony conceded, and Cleopatra won the bet. The value of the pearls by today’s standards is estimated to be $9,375,000. Ummm - check, please. 

With Marc Antony and Cleopatra rubbing shoulders, you can probably guess how much these iridescent ‘edibles’ were treasured equally by the Romans. So much so that in the first century BC, Julius Caesar made pearls a luxury to be enjoyed only by the ruling classes. 

The abundance of natural pearl beds in the Persian Gulf made the surrounding Arab nations the pearl trade center. These valuable resources became the source of their wealth long before oil.  These trade commodities continued to flourish in Roman times.

The expansion to new worlds in the 15th and 16th centuries led to further discoveries of pearls in Central and South America. Further exploration into North America introduced a new kind of luminous treasure - freshwater river pearls.

Records of the first explorers to travel with the native tribes describe an abundance of pearls worn decoratively in headdresses, necklaces, bracelets, anklets, and even sewn into clothing. Their ancestors and their ancestors before them had long cherished these gems, dating back to prehistoric times. 

Later, when colonized settlements began to pop up along the Mississippi Valley, clammers discovered a type of river mussel beautifully lined on the inside with mother of pearl. These became in high demand to create buttons for export. 

However, these mussels’ real value came when the settlers found hidden inside the real prize, tiny luminous white gems. The fresh new sources led to a boom in demand in Western Europe and began what is known as the Pearl-Era. 

These naturally occurring miracles were no match for the supply and demand of pearl jewelry during this time. The surge resulted in a diminishing oyster supply and threatened to deplete them almost entirely. 

By now, it shouldn’t be difficult to imagine how pearls' extreme rarity caused them to be so valuable. Enough to purchase an entire military campaign like the Roman general Vitellius did during the height of pearl fever in the Roman empire. Or, how the famous French jeweler Jacques Cartier bought his landmark store on New York’s Fifth Avenue by trading two pearl necklaces. 

Pearls Pave the Way for Cartier

The legendary Cartier mansion, which still operates as Cartier’s flagship store, was previously owned by Morton F. Plant, a railroad tycoon. Plant had a beautiful wife, Maisie, who had fallen in love with a double-stranded pearl necklace she saw at the Cartier salon located on the fourth floor of 712 Fifth Street. 

It took years for Cartier to match the two strands of 128 natural graduated pearls perfectly. Lucky for Maisie, the million-dollar price tag was equivalent to the property’s price at the time in 1916, and so, a deal was made for a trade. The French house of high jewellery had finally found its roots on American soil. 

The necklace, which is estimated to be valued at $19,955,800 by today’s standards, dropped significantly in value soon after when Kokichi Mikimoto introduced his cultured pearls to the market. His revelation of enticing an oyster to produce pearls by manually inserting an irritant made pearls more widely available. When Maisie died in 1956, her Cartier necklace fetched a mere $150,000. 

Conclusion

Natural pearls may have begun the long history of pearls, but the introduction of cultivation has brought us into the modern age that will endure into the future. What’s interesting is that natural pearls have had a massive resurgence in value. Their rarity is once again being recognized due to their great scarcity. Less than 1% of the world’s pearls are naturally occurring. 

Maisie’s pearl necklace is worth significantly more today than what it sold for in 1956. Even high-quality cultivated pearls formed now are precious. Pearls will never be a mass-produced commodity because their origins come from a living creature whose environments need to be optimal for producing pearls in the first place. 

Follow this pearl series to explore with me everything you need to know about these luminous beauties. I will cover topics in-depth so you can walk away from them with pearl expertise to impress at your next in-person gathering.