The Belief of the Sea "Pearl: The Queen of Gems"

"Pearl", is highly valuable, with a long and historical presence, known in the past as "the Queen of Gems". As such, only persons of high social status, or members of royal families were able to wear them. Pearls are treasured throughout the markets of Asia, America and Europe, especially in Asia, where they are woven together intrinsically with ancient beliefs. The Egyptians believed that drinking wine with pearls dissolved in it would help retain their youth. There is also evidence that Queen Cleopatra drank this concoction believing it would maintain her famed beauty.

A record in the historic book 'Myths of China and Japan' mentions that dragons were a pearl-eating species and goes on to narrate how dragons had in their mouths and throats, pearls worth a hundred gold ingots. When they fought in the sky, dislodged pearls would often fall back to earth! Chinese and Japanese therefore believe that pearls are more valuable than gold and treasure them for worship purposes, or religious ceremonies.

Homer, the Greek Master Poet in the period 1200-850 BC described in a verse that "a Roman angel called Euno wore pearl earrings". It can be surmised therefore that pearls have been used as ornaments since before the time of Christ.

In Thailand pearls do not appear to have enjoyed an image as a popular ornament, as they are very rarely mentioned in old archives. Nevertheless, they were mentioned in "Tamranopparat" composed during the reign of King Rama II (the original manuscript used the term "pearl" and "pearl egg"). In short, pearl has had many associations, often with various animals or other elements of nature. Ancient Thais tended to associate pearl ornaments with various tales of supernatural powers.

          Pearls also feature prominently in ancient times in many countries; certain periods can be identified in some cases, while others cannot. Some writings state that the Chinese used pearls for the first time over 2,500 years ago. Some say the oldest pearls known today were found in Persian graves, some 400 years BC. Ornaments from natural pearls during the early periods were often found in countries around the Persian Gulf and Sri Lanka.

          "Pearls" are organic matter, or living creatures, and are characterized into two major groups: natural pearls and cultured pearls.

          1. Natural pearls come from pearl shells. They arise from the embedding of small living creatures in the body of the pearl shells, which cause irritations. Sand particles may also enter the body of the pearl shell and cause irritations which stimulate secretions forming pearl layers, known as Nacre, that cover the small living creatures, or sand particles, and eventually become a pearl.

         2. Cultured pearls are man-made pearls formed by embedding foreign matter into the body of pearl shells - a technique first used by the Chinese. Since the 13th century when pearls became scarce as their popularity increased, various other processes have been used to produce cultured pearls to replace natural pearls. The Japanese were the first to succeed with one of these techniques and were the first to call them cultured pearls. They began producing them in ever increasing numbers during the 19th century, until the technology was later developed and propagated around the world. Thus there are now many cultured pearl farms in Australia, Indonesia, Burma, Thailand, French Polynesia and China.

          3. There are two types of cultured pearls:

          3.1 Saltwater cultured pearls are raised by implanting round beads made from freshwater shells with small mantle tissues into the ovaries of mothers of pearl. The shells then secrete pearl layers to plate the beads. Many seawater mothers of pearl types are employed. Saltwater cultured pearls are rather more rounded in shape due to the implanted round beads.

          3.2 Freshwater cultured pearls, use only mantle tissues from other freshwater shells for implantation. Freshwater cultured pearls are therefore of irregular shape when compared to the rounded characteristics of saltwater cultured pearls. China is now the principal producer of freshwater cultured pearls.

          In the past, freshwater cultured pearls could easily be distinguished from the saltwater variety by their size and shape. As there is no implantation of beads in freshwater cultured pearls, they tend to be smaller in size and irregular in shape. However, with advancements in development, freshwater cultured pearls are now also rather more rounded and about the same size as the saltwater variety.

          The two types of pearl can be distinguished by observing them closely through a magnifying glass. Through a drilled hole, pearl layers and beads can be found in saltwater cultured pearls, but not in freshwater cultured pearls. If drilling is not possible, or the pearl is in a setting, then tests by an expert, using high-tech testing instruments, is necessary. The instruments include EDXRF (Energy Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence) and X-Radiography. The EXERF will detect manganese found only in freshwater cultured pearls, while the X-Radiography will test the internal structure of saltwater cultured pearls, which should show clearly the beads and the layers of pearl, characteristics not found in freshwater varieties, but mantle tissues will be found instead.

          The technology of raising freshwater cultured pearls has advanced greatly in the present day.The process of producing round pearls without implanting a nucleus, has now been superseded by a drive to make them bigger after a rounder nucleus has been implanted. In the future freshwater cultured pearls will adulterate saltwater cultured pearls. Buyers will therefore have to be more careful in their identification in the future.

Pearl analysis for beginners with GIT
          We have all made an acquaintance with the gem known as "pearl" to varying degrees and now The Gem and Jewelry Institute of Thailand (Public Institute) [GIT] is pleased to provide you with a simple guideline to enable you to recognize and select pearl yourself with confidence.

          The few criteria in pearl selection briefly include:
          1. A good pearl must have a high and regular luster. An easy test, is to look at it through a light, either a torchlight, or neon light. Turn the pearl around to ensure the luster is evenly distributed over the whole pearl.

          2. The orient (iridescent luster) of a pearl will be perfectly distributed over its entire surface only if the pearl layers are thick. If it shows much color overlapping through a light beam, it is usually a good thickly layered pearl. This thickness depends on the raising period and the pearl's environment. A thickly layered pearl will be more orient than one which has grown too fast, producing an uneven layer thickness and displaying less orient.

         3. Here are some easy ways to check the thickness. Observe:

         • the luster: the higher the luster - the thicker the layers
         • any cracks on the surface. If the layers are thin, the centre plastic ball can be clearly seen
         • the drilled hole through a magnifying glass, if the layers are not thick, the connecting areas between the pearl and the centre ball can be clearly seen
         • the color strips through a high-density light, such as a red colored light, if the cross strip of the centre ball can be observed, the pearl layers are very thin.

         4. Color of the pearl. Two colors are popular in the market: first, Body Color, mostly white, creamy, yellow, etc. Second, Overtone, mostly green, pink, silver or sky blue. Prices of pearl depend more on fashion than anything else. This year, Tahiti pearls, or black pearls with a shade of gray, or green, command the highest price at 25,000 baht (diameter 13 mm.) per pearl.

         5. The Surface of a pearl is an important criterion that quickly reveals the pearl's quality. If the pearl surface is not smooth, or is cracked or blemished in some way, or the layers are thin, then the layers may peel away easily and rapidly. To select a good pearl therefore, its surface must be smooth and shiny, with no cracks or scratches. Rolling it under a light with a black background will reveal its surface condition very clearly for your observation.

The most important facet in pearl selection is being able to distinguish natural pearls from imitation pearls, which can be made from glass, plastic, or other materials. Imitation pearls can be easily identified when checking for cracks or surface scratches, as they are normally coated with lacquer, or other coating substances, producing poor luster and orient. Or if you rub them together lightly, you will notice their coarseness. Make sure you rub them very lightly, otherwise you will damage their surface. If while rubbing you do not detect any coarseness, but it feels very smooth, it can generally be surmised that they are not genuine. Importantly, it is not advisable to use the traditional test of rubbing a pearl on your teeth, as this might destroy the peaffs fragile surface. Colored pearls are mostly black to imitate expensive black pearls. They are colored by using either silver nitrate or radiation, which cannot be discerned by normal sight.

		If you want to know, for sure, whether your purchased pearls are genuine, or not, you can have them tested using the latest high tech test equipment in the laboratory of the Gem and Jewelry Institute. The test equipment can quickly differentiate between genuine and non-genuine pearls, revealing also, whether they are fresh water, or salt water cultured pearls, or natural pearls. The equipment uses the latest scientific analysis techniques to test the pearls thoroughly without any detrimental effect on the pearls being tested. In addition, the test equipment will also reveal the age of cultured pearls by their layer thickness, which is the current criterion used in pricing a pearl. It is further advisable to exercise special care when purchasing black pearls. The Gem and Jewelry Institute provides a whole range of expert tests, which extend to tests on every type of gem, while providing assay analysis and certifications of purity of precious metals.