Pearls

Persian mythology called pearls “the tears of the gods”.  The first written document mentioning pearl is dated 2300 bc in Ancient China.  Ancient Greeks worshipped the beauty of the pearl and associated it with love and marriage - the pearl necklace became the synonym for a happy marriage. Pearls are believed to attune the wearer to the ebb and flow of life.  Calming and centering, promoting faith, charity, truth and loyalty,  Enhances personal integrity.  Used as a symbol of purity.  Known as the “stone of sincerity”.

Pearls are currently cultivated by inserting a tiny foreign substance into the mantle of the oyster. Upon insertion, the oyster engages in a natural biological process of releasing nacre material that surrounds the foreign substance and protects the oyster's environment. Numerous layers of secreted nacre material result in the creation of a beautiful natural pearl. Oysters are capable of producing a number of different pearl shapes, ranging from off-round baroque to tear-like drops. A perfectly round pearl is the rarest shape for an oyster to produce, and is thus the most valuable in a pearl harvest. Pearls also come in an assortment of colors and styles depending on which region of the world they come from.

Sold as temporary strung 36-40cm 14-16 inches (approx) strands.  PLEASE NOTE:  The beading hole sizes for pearls is traditionally much smaller than for gemstone/semiprecious beads as the most popular traditional stringing method is to use silk thread.  Holes are approx. between 0.3-0.5mm.  The industry standard for measuring pearls is in millimetres through their round diameter - perpendicular to the axis of the drill hole.