For the Love of Blush, Cake & Romance

I was sitting with my mom the other day getting ready for an event and I asked her why people liked pearls so much considering that I am not a fan of the gemstone of June at all.   She ended up giving me a brief history and explanation of the creation of pearls which I found so interesting.  It made me look into the subject further and gave me a new appreciation for the pearls I have. 

Pearls are either Natural or Cultured.  A pearl is created as a result a particle or irritant enters an oysters shell.  The oyster secretes nacre to coat the substance in order to lessen the irritation which results in the white or black beauty of the pearl.  Natural pearls are rare and can cost alot of money as they are found in the sea by chance.  Not all oysters may have had an irritant enter their shell, therefore not all oysters will have produced a pearl.  Cultured pearls on the other hand are man made and are prepared in Pearl Farms.  Pearl farmers place an object into an oyster’s shell to create pearls of various shapes, sizes and colors.  However, these pearls are not of very high value as compared to natural pearls as only the outside layer is made of the nacre substance. 

Pearl fishing was once a lucrative industry in the Far East and the Gulf.  These days, this industry has been almost entirely replaced by oyster farms.

The largest pearl in the world known as the “Pearl of Allah“  or the ” Pearl of Lao Tse” was discovered off the coast of the Middle East in 1934.  This pearl is estimated at around 60 million USD with a weight of 14.1 pounds.