Tagged with 'History of pearls'

The industry of diving for pearls largely disappeared with the invention of a method for producing a cultured pearl in the early 20th century.

Although a romantic notion, pearl diving was an arduous experience. Natural pearls were gathered by pearl divers that would manually search the beds of oceans, lakes and rivers, perhaps finding only 3 or 4 quality pearls for every ton of oysters brought to the surface. Modern diving suits were unavailable, with divers in the Persian Gulf descending on weighted wooden platforms and baskets up to 40 times a day.

The rarity of natural pearls pushed divers down to depths of up to 20 metres requiring two to three minute breaths for each dive. Divers would suffer from decompression sickness, the cold waters and deep-sea pressure.

Japanese pearl divers, also known as Amas, have a thousand years of diving tradition working on Akoya pearl fisheries and farms. Their trade was passed down the generations from mother to daughter as women were considered better able to hold their breath and endure the cold longer.

Ama divers started to work at the age of eleven, even still diving in their sixties or seventies. They provided for their families while their husbands kept the house and brought up the children. Ama divers still work today, but primarily now for the tourist industry.

On modern day pearl farms, pearl divers work from boats and offshore inspecting oyster baskets that are suspended in water. Over the course of 18 to 24 months divers may check on an oyster's health, recovering the oyster for cleaning and eventually harvesting of a pearl.

The fascination with an image of the pearl diver hunting for pearls will likely persist for many years.

Keen royal watchers, fashion observers and the world's press will eagerly be looking for their first glimpse of Kate Middleton. What jewellery will the new Princess Catherine be wearing at Westminster Abbey and will she choose pearls for a Royal Wedding?

For centuries a white pearl has come to represent perfection, purity and love. The wearing of a pearl tiara, necklace or earrings is an elegant addition to any bride’s jewellery and the British Royal Family has helped define this tradition over many years.

At the wedding of the future Queen Elizabeth II in 1947, the then King George VI and Queen Elizabeth gave her a present of a pair of pearl necklaces. The Queen Anne and Queen Caroline necklaces consist of 46 and 50 pearls respectively, but on the day of the wedding to Prince Philip the necklaces were almost forgotten. The Princess Elizabeth’s Private Secretary was despatched to retrieve them safely from St James Palace.

At the marriage of Diana Spencer to Prince Charles, the Queen gave a wedding present to Princess Diana of a diamond tiara called the Cambridge Lovers Knot Tiara. The tiara was made by Garrard, the crown jewellers, in 1914 for Queen Mary and consisted of an open diamond lattice hung with 19 white pearl drops. Although the Princess wore the Spencer family tiara to her wedding, she wore the Cambridge Lovers Knot Tiara on many occasions subsequently.

Both Sarah Ferguson and Sophie, Countess of Wessex also wore necklaces of cultured pearls for their wedding day.

Will the new Princess Catherine follow this magnificent history and choose to wear pearls for her royal wedding? Or will she surprise us all? We will have to wait and see!

Here is the answer to the question 'What does the term “Momme” mean when valuing pearls?'

Pearl producers and wholesalers often deal in lots of hundreds or even thousands of pearls. For these larger lots, pearls are sold by weight and the measure used is typically the momme, a traditional Japanese unit of weight measurement that is equal to 3.75 grams.

Most Japanese akoya cultured pearls are sold by farmer’s cooperatives at Hama-age auctions. The pearls are usually graded into lots according to their quality and size and each lot is assigned a price per momme. For even larger lots of pearls, auctioneers may use the kan weight of measurement, which is equal to 1,000 momme.

Today the term momme is still widely used by farmers and wholesalers of Akoya, Tahitian and South Sea pearls, and also in the silk industry since the 19th century.

It is not, however, as frequently used in buying Chinese Freshwater pearls, where large pearl lots are weighed in grams, or by retailers which focus on the number of pearls used to make beautiful pearl jewellery, their size and quality.

Oysters and pearls throughout history have been enduring symbols of love, romance and more than a little passion. It is said that the Egyptian Queen Cleopatra seduced Marc Antony with a ground pearl in a glass of vinegar and that the famous 18th century lover Casanova would eat over 50 raw oysters every morning for breakfast.

In more recent times, Richard Burton presented Elizabeth Taylor with the unique pear-shaped pearl La Peregrina as a gift for Valentine’s Day. This perfectly shaped pearl, which was bought at auction in 1969 for $37,000, has a particularly colourful history. La Peregrina is remarkable for having been owned by a number of royal families in Europe, including Mary Tudor of England and Emperor Napoleon III of France, even disappearing behind a sofa at Windsor Castle and still bearing some slight bite marks from Elizabeth Taylor’s puppy.

Some of the most romantic gifts of jewellery continue these historic traditions. Popular kinds of pearls as gifts would include simple white pearl jewellery symbolising beauty or pink Freshwater pearls for romance. Our favourite gift from our collection of Valentine's Day Gift Ideas is a pair of pretty pink Freshwater pearl earrings, pictured above.

A natural pearl is a pearl that has been formed entirely accidentally and with no intervention from humans at all.

Falling in love with the necklace, entrepreneurial Maisie Plant offered Cartier a swap of her 52nd Street and Fifth Avenue townhouse for the item. For an additional $100 in cash, Cartier bought the landmark building that it still occupies today.

Two years later, Kokichi Mikimoto, an innovative entrepreneur from Japan that was widely credited with developing a patented method for producing the cultured pearl, launched his products onto the London market at a 25% discount to the price of natural pearls.

By the time Mrs Plant died in 1956 the Cartier necklace of pearls was auctioned off for just $150,000 as cheaper cultured pearls emerged and prices of natural pearls fell. In recent times, however, natural pearls have seen a resurgence of desirability, with the famed Baroda Pearls, a double strand of 68 natural pearls, being sold at auction at Christies in 2007 for a record $7.1 million.

All the pearls that Winterson sells are cultured pearls. We take very great care in selecting the best available for use in our jewellery.

The pearl really is one of nature’s true wonders. The reflections of light from thin translucent layers beneath a pearl’s surface create a series of unique shimmering colours that are found in no other gemstone.

The mesmerizing surface of pearls has inspired many artists to capture this gemstone in paintings and one of the most famous such paintings is the Girl With A Pearl Earring by Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer.

After the journey to the New World by Christopher Columbus in 1492, natural pearls became the largest export from the New World to Europe for almost fifty years until the later development of gold mines in Peru and Mexico. With more of these wondrous gemstones reaching Europe, there was a “pearl rush” amongst the rich and royal European families eager to show their wealth and status.

One of the main trading centres in Europe for pearls was Holland. Artist Vermeer (1632-1675) was the son of a prosperous Dutch merchant in Delft and would have observed for himself how pearls were being worn, envied and sought after.

Vermeer’s paintings depict an emerging class of wealthy merchant families. There are thirty five paintings attributed to Vermeer today, but perhaps the most famous is the Girl With A Pearl Earring. Vermeer painted his masterpiece in 1665-66. Sometimes called the “Mona Lisa of the North”, the painting hangs today in the Mauritshuis Gallery in The Hague.

The composition of the painting is balanced, almost peaceful. On a dark, near black background, a girl is depicted wearing simple clothing of natural colours and a blue headscarf. The large pearl drop earring is an essential element of the painting, laying towards the centre of the frame.

The girl in the painting has a questioning expression, looking over her shoulder. Some historians have suggested that the girl may have been one of his daughters and others have proposed that she was a maid helping Vermeer with his work.

The light gently enters the painting from the left side as if early sunshine is glancing through a window, and is being reflected on the girl’s face and by the shimmering lustre of the pearl.

Like the radiance of a natural pearl, the Girl With A Pearl Earring carries an era of mystery and beauty.

Who is this young girl and what is she asking or telling us?

Winterson is a luxury British jewellery brand, specialising in classic and contemporary pearl jewellery.

With a successful family heritage and expertise of working with pearls for over 50 years, we select the highest quality pearls and jewellery designs so that you can be very confident of the items that we offer. We do hope that you will always enjoy and treasure them.

Over the coming weeks and months with this Journal, we will take you on an informative and enjoyable introduction to Winterson and one of nature’s most precious possessions - the pearl.

Our love of pearls goes back for centuries. Until as recently as 200 years ago, long before the diamond and ruby became fashionable, the pearl was the world’s favourite precious gem. One of the earliest pearl necklaces found in Western Iran has been dated to 2,300 BC. Since early times, the pearl’s brilliant shine and glow has captivated cultures across the world, from China to Egypt, and from the Persian Gulf to Peru, inspiring traditions, myths and ancient legends about this wonderful gem.

The Roman emperors attempted to increase the pearl’s exclusivity and allure by banning the wearing of pearls by women under the age of 55. Fortunately, that is no longer the case today and iconic women throughout history such as Elizabeth I, Queen Victoria, Coco Chanel, Jacqueline Kennedy, Marilyn Monroe, Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor and Princess Diana have been famous and notable wearers of pearl jewellery.

More recently, the diversity of pearl colours and shapes available today allows designers to create truly stunning and fashionable jewellery. Today’s celebrities and leaders of fashion such as Anna Wintour, Michelle Obama, Nicole Kidman, Cheryl Cole, Dame Helen Mirren, Keira Knightley and Angelina Jolie have shown us how to look elegant with pearls.

Our online Winterson store will open in early November 2010. We look forward to welcoming you and invite you to view our Collections.