Natural Pearl

Maurice Shire writes:

Pearls have been known for many centuries as the gem of queens and the queen of gems. Many books have been written on the subject. Neither time nor space will permit us to cover the subject from A-Z. The most important thing that we ought to do is clarify and explain what is still confusing for many gemologists an laymen: the difference between natural and cultured pearls. We will also cover some of their commercial history, the origin of pearls, their color, their qualities, the preferences of colors, the care of pearls and some of their legends.

Birth of a pearl
Without going into too many technical and scientific details, we must establish the fact that a natural pearl is composed of crystalline calcium carbonate and an organic matter known as conchiolin. Together they appear as, in laymen’s language, a chalky substance similar to the nacre coming from shells with which the buttons of our shirts are made. The difference, however, between a pearl and nacre is that the shell is composed of stratified layers (flat layers) of this chalky substance and the pearl is composed of concentric layers of that same substance. The luster in a pearl is due to the fact that each layer is both transparent and concentric. That luster is what we call the ‘orient’ of the pearl.

Natural vs. Cultured
Natural pearls are conceived by a foreign element, which, when introduced into the oyster, irritates it. The oyster will in turn protect itself against the intruder by secreting the nacreous substance in concentric layers around the intruder. The intruder has come into the oyster by a break of nature; that is, without the interference of man. A cultured pearl is conceived when a person introduces, through a very delicate and complex surgical process, a bead from the shell of an oyster or a clam which has been spherical. These clams, strangely enough, come from the Mississippi and Wabash rivers. This spherical bead is composed of stratified layers of nacre. Contrary to what some cultured pearl promoters would like us to believe, the natural is not conceived or irritated from a grain of sand or from an insect. I have personally sawed many pearls in two, just like you cut a grapefruit or an apple, and I have never seen in the core of these natural pearls a grain of sand. Nor have I ever seen any insects. For one very simple reason: insects do not live in water. So what most likely has provoked the oyster into secreting this natural pearl has to be a microscopic intruder, perhaps a germ. Now what you will observe when you cut a natural pearl in two will be the concentric layers, just as if you were to cut an onion. Incidentally, each concentric layer in a natural pearl may be of a different color, just like the layers of wood in the trunk of a tree. In the case of a cultured pearl, the foreign particle introduced into the oyster is not just by any chance or coincidence of nature. A person has actually introduced bead into the oyster and, it is not at all a tiny bead of nacre. It may be tiny next to the Golden Gate Bridge, but not in comparison with the final product. Here again the best example one could give would be that of an apple or orange that is cut in half. The nacreous stratified layered bead would be the edible part of the fruit and the skin would be the pearly concentric layers that cover the bead. So, with the natural pearl, our product is 100 percent pearl. Whereas with the cultured pearl, our product is 5-10 percent concentric layers of nacre and 90-95 percent a bead. It is interesting to note that cultured pearls are cultivated mostly in Japan or the South Seas. The bead, however, have been imported from the United States.

Commercial history
In discussing the commercial history of pearls, it will be difficult for most people to conceive that from 1880 to the late 1920s, natural pearls represented 80 percent of the fine retail jeweler’s commercial turnover. Today, as well know, the bulk of a jeweler’s income is diamonds and colored stones, both status symbols. Until 1929 the pearl was the status symbol. Young women would receive a natural pearl ring as a symbol of their engagement and later they would be given a necklace made of natural pearls. Men wore pearl stickpins in their neckties as well as pearl cuff links and studs. Pearls have been in style since the biblical days. Natural pearls are referred to in the Koran as a symbol of purity and virtue. As a result of which the Arabs to this day will not wear cultured pearls.

What has happened to natural pearls? To begin with there was the depression of the 1930s coinciding with the lawsuits that the natural pearl dealers initiated against the cultured pearl people who were marketing their wares as natural pearls. The cultured pearl promoters were telling the consumer that there was no difference between the two, that their pearls were real. The natural pearl dealers won the lawsuits but the misrepresentation confused the public and they lost interest in both commodities. Natural pearls as well as cultured pearls regained popularity during World War II. After the war when the pearl dealers go together and went to the Persian Gulf where 95 percent of the natural pearls came from, they found that the natives were no longer interested in working in the pearl fisheries. Pearl divers would become deaf by age eighteen and some would die of bronchial diseases or compressed lungs by the age of thirty from the pressures of the deep waters. Following the consumer’s loss of interest in pearls these divers found jobs in the Anglo-American oil companies exploiting oil wells of the Middle East. The pay was better and it was not as dangerous to their health. New sources for pearls became estates and auction sales. They would be bought and restored to their natural beauty. In 1928 there had been about three hundred natural pearl dealers in America, by 1960 there were about ten and today, unfortunately only two or three. Let us pause and think for a moment how the deception, misrepresentation and bad faith of the cultured pearl promoters of that era actually destroyed a beautiful branch of the jewelry industry.

Origins, Colors, Qualities
When pearls come out the oyster at the fisheries, practically all of them are greenish in color and full of water. They are exposed to the 120° hot sun of the Far East for several weeks and during that time the water slowly evaporates. Contrary to what one may think, it is not the sun that bleaches the pearl but the evaporation of the water that allows the pearl to show its natural color. A trained pearl dealer with a good eye can easily tell the difference between a natural and cultured pearl as well as where it came from. What are the criteria for a pearl? They are color, shape, smoothness, iridescence, cleanliness and weight. What are the colors? They are rose, cream, cream rose, white and black. All, except black pearls, come mostly from the Persian Gulf, Venezuela and Australia. Black pearls come from Mexico and Tahiti. Their colors are jet black, greenish black, peacock green, brown and shades of gray. The best ones come from Tahiti. The most desirable color is the peacock green (or to be less poetic, the green on the back of the common fly). Australian pearls are usually very white and chalky, yet some of them have a very desirable luster. Their attraction is that they are usually much larger than those from the Persian Gulf. There exists also the little known natural pearl called the Conch pearl. Conch come from the Caribbean waters and are usually very pink, often resembling pink coral. To enumerate the scale of colors is actually an impossible task because there are so many of them. It takes years of professionalism to determine and appreciate the subtle nuances that preside over the sorting, blending and matching done by persons who compose necklaces or ensembles of pearls.

Chinese and Dyed pearls
What natural pearl dealers called ‘Chinese pearls’ were not pearls that came from the Chinese coastal water. A Chinese pearl is referred to as such because hundreds of years ago the rich Mandarins, who loved pearls, would have then sewn on their tunics as buttons. (We are talking of larger pearls). In order to sew them, two holes were drilled underneath the pearl. This allowed a needle and thread to be placed through the holes to secure the pearl on the garment. Many years ago vandals looted the tombs of the Mandarins for the purpose of reselling the pearls on the open market. Their ill deeds were not always fruitful, for many of the pearls had deteriorated and had decomposed along with the body. A Chinese pearl, regardless of how good the quality, is worth less than a virgin pearl or a pearl that has only one hole—somewhat like a circulated coin that will have less value to a collector than one that is uncirculated; the same applies to a stamp with a few teeth missing against one that is intact. What about dyed pearls? A dyed pearl has practically no value, because if a pearl is dyed, it is not longer in its natural state of natural color. Also, no matter how successfully the pearl is dyed, one must bear in mind that only pearls of poor quality are chosen to be dyed or doctored. Obviously, no one would tamper with pearls of good quality. Another interesting point about dyed pearls is that the same process and identical formula on one hundred pearls will give you one hundred different hues. Keep in mind that the pearls are organic and each will react differently.

Care of Pearls
A few words of caution on how to handle pearls. One of the most important things to avoid is exposing them to heat as in a jeweler’s vitrine or showcase where the electric bulbs get very hot. The pearls will dehydrate and will crack. In this case one should bathe the pearl every few years in a very thin, neutral colored oil. The oil should, of course, not have any coloring agent but simply colorless oil. The oil will keep the pearl ‘alive’ or preserve it just as oiling of canvases in museums. Keep pearls away from cosmetics, hairspray, perfume and cologne.

These chemicals can have a disastrous effect on the pearls. One must always remember that pearls are fragile and organic. Natural acids and perspiration from the body might also harm the pearl. This should not discourage people from wearing pearls, but after wearing they should be wiped with very soft cloth so as to remove any of the detrimental chemicals, natural or manufactured.

Other Uses of Pearls
Pearls were used in 12th century western Europe very often as medicine to cure all sorts of diseases. Whether they did is doubtful. The pearls would be ground to a powder and would be given to patients for various disorders such as mental depression, dysentery or hemorrhages. It is also possible that because of its calcareous nature, it might have had the effect of antacids like today’s ‘Rolaids’.

Becoming a Pearl Dealer
How does one become a pearl dealer? It is often a coincidence, sometimes a matter of choice, but, in any case, you must have or develop a feeling for pearls. One does not become a pearl dealer so easily. There have been people who were in the pearl business for years and never quite understood pearls. You must have an inborn gift to be a pearl dealer. For example, you can take all the piano lessons in the world, but if you are not born with an ear for music, all the lessons and all the practice in the world will never make a ‘talented’ pianist out of you. People often ask, ‘How can you see the difference between a cultured and a natural pearl?’ It is something you cannot learn from a book. It is a matter of feeling and again, with a lot of training and daily exposure combined with an interest as dedicated as that of the virtuoso for the piano, you slowly become an expert. Dealers often go through large collections of pearls that are mixed and, while sorting through them in color, quality and value (that is really the bottom line), they spot one that does not belong. Lo and behold, it is a cultured pearl. If you handle pearls every day, you will be able to see the difference immediately as you come across them. The best illustration of this type of expertise is when we buy clothing. None of us are experts in the textile business, yet we have bought enough clothing in our lifetime to see the difference between cotton and Oxford, between silk and satin, between mohair and cashmere. Together with a feeling about pearls, there has to be a certain love and interest for it. If you love what you are doing together with the substance that you are working with, you will soon begin to develop an affinity for pearls. When you have reached that point, the pearl almost speaks to you; it will send you ‘vibes’. The scientific way to assure yourself of the difference between real pearls an cultured is also by taking x-rays.

Anecdotes
Let me conclude by sharing some of the stories that I have heard in the trade over the years. The most famous is the one about the two necklaces that Mr Pierre Cartier exchanged against a private mansion on the corner of Fifth Avenue and Fifty Second Street in New York, known today as the Cartier Building. Mr Cartier hesitated making the exchange because he was an upstairs retailer with only a half-dozen employees. The mansion was too big and would have meant more employees and more expenses. He finally made the decision and the necklaces were exchanged on the basis of one million dollars. There is both a sad and happy part to this story. The pearls are now worth substantially less and the building is worth several million dollars more.

There is also the story of a distinguished looking customer who bought a one-hundred grain pearl for $100,000 and told the jeweler that he would have liked to have another one to match in order to make a pair of earrings. He claimed that he would pay any price to find a twin. Two years later, a woman walked in with a pearl that appeared to be a very close match. The jeweler immediately called the man and described the woman’s pearl and added that she was asking $200,000. The man instructed the jeweler to purchase the pearl on his behalf and explained that he had to go out of town and would return in a week. The jewelr bought the pearl, the man never showed up. The man and the woman were part of a con job. So, jewelers beware.

Finally, there is an old legend that tells of a very old Maharaja who married a very young and pretty woman. He would send her each day to the apothecary shop to purchase powdered pearls that were sold as aphrodisiacs. He had always wanted a son and hoped the pearls would help bring his wish to a reality. The woman never became pregnant and the old man passed away. Soon after the woman confessed to her friends that she had not wanted a child with the man and that the pearls she bought were not natural pearls, but cultured! Of the many nice things that I have heard or read about pearls, the one I most prefer is: ‘Pearls are like girls. Once you discover them, you never stop loving them.’

Maurice Shire
Maurice Shire Inc
New York