Welcome to the new Pearl Company blog!
We wanted to take this opportunity to share our wonderful world of pearls with you.
Let’s be honest, who doesn’t love pearls? If you’re reading this you must be a fan, so I won’t take too long explaining what pearls actually are, but as it’s the start of our journey together I feel it’s best to start at the beginning!
Let me introduce myself...
Firstly, I’m Adrienne, it’s me who writes the letters you receive with your catalogues and chooses the pearls that are on our website and in the catalogue.
Along with my hard-working assistant Nicole and trusted Pearl Company team, we bring you the wonderful pearl necklaces, pearl bracelets and pearl earrings that give us all years of pleasure.
I LOVE PEARLS!
Ever since the day before my wedding, I had my first pearl necklace bought for me (by my then husband to be) in the Jewellery Quarter in Birmingham and I was fascinated with these beautiful creations.
Move on a few years, and I was lucky enough to start working at our sister company Cashmere Centre way back in 2007, just dealing with cashmere at that point. It was decided somewhere along the line that pearls were an ideal companion product for cashmere, luxurious, aspirational and affordable, and hence in 2010 The Pearl Company was born. I was more than happy to take on the challenge of helping the Pearl Company become the amazing company that it is today.
Since 2007 I have read and learned so much about pearls and the journey that each pearl goes on before it reaches you, our wonderful customers. And I’m delighted to have this opportunity to share some of this knowledge with you. We have amazing relationships with our brilliant suppliers, Susan, Vanessa, Edward, and Daniel to name a few, and alongside them we create the beautiful pieces that we sell on our website and in our catalogue.
And so to pearls...
What are pearls?
As I said earlier, as this is the start of a happy journey together, I feel we need a small explanation about what pearls actually are. We all love them and treasure them for their beauty, but where do they really come from?
A pearl is what is described as an ‘organic gem’. The term ‘organic’ is used because pearls originate from a living organism. They are in fact the only gemstone created by a living creature.
Made from calcium carbonate, pearls are produced from a type of mollusc shell called a bivalve mollusc, these live in both saltwater and freshwater (saltwater oysters and freshwater mussels).
A bivalve shell opens and closes, and sometimes in the natural world a parasite or a bit of shell gets stuck inside the shell. In order to protect itself the shell creates a pearl sac to surround the irritant and then begins to secrete a substance called nacre. Over time these layers of nacre form a natural pearl. Of course, the vast majority of the pearls that are sold today are cultured pearls not accidents of nature.
A cultured pearl is created in the same way as a natural pearl. The term ‘cultured’ in the context of pearls just means ‘farmed’. Pearl farmers give nature a helping hand in order to encourage the mollusc shells to grow pearls. This is a highly scientific process which we’ll cover in the weeks to come.
Left is the pearl mussel shell and right is the pearl oyster shell.
PEARLS OF HISTORY
La Peregrina Pearl 
Probably the most famous pearl in the world is the La Peregrina pearl, which was found by African slaves around 500 years ago.
This amazing pearl has been owned by several Spanish kings and queens, including Margarite of Austria, Queen of Spain, in 1606. And more recently it belonged the actress Elizabeth Taylor.
Weighing just below 4oz, La Peregrina is one of the most perfectly symmetrical pear-shaped pearls ever found and is valued at over 3 million dollars.
The Pearl of Allah 
Sometimes referred to as the Pearl of Lao-Tse, this fabulous pearl was found by a Filipino diver in 1934 in the Palawan Sea in the Philippines. As it came from a giant clam it isn’t considered a gemstone pearl but is known as a ‘clam pearl’ or a ‘Tridacna pearl’. It measures 9.45” and weighs a huge 14.2lbs!
The Hope Pearl 
This exquisite saltwater pearl weighs around four ounces and measures approximately 2 x 4”, making it one of the largest known saltwater pearls.
It was once owned by Henry Philip Hope whose name also adorns the Hope Diamond. This pearl is unique because of its size, shape and bronze to white coloration.
It is currently housed in the British Museum of Natural History.
And so to the present day....
These amazing pearls
continue to intrigue jewellery and pearl lovers worldwide.
Move forward to the 21st century and pearls are once again enjoying the spotlight, with tennis stars like Emma Raducanu and Instagram favourites from the Love Island tv show all choosing to wear pearls, this beautiful gem is starting to embrace a modern more edgy look alongside the more traditional style of bygone eras.
Next time on our journey....
Pearls are sustainable, affordable and versatile, their appeal is universal and growing daily, over the coming months we will look at where pearls are heading in the 21st century, what styles are popular, types of pearls, and how to tell if your pearls are real or not. So, join us on our journey of discovery!
Adrienne