The Pearl is a novella by the American author John Steinbeck. The story, first published in 1947, follows a pearl diver,
Kino, and explores man’s purpose as well as greed, defiance of societal
norms, and evil. Steinbeck's inspiration was a Mexican folk tale from La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico, which he had heard in a visit to the formerly pearl-rich region in 1940.
The book was adapted as a Mexican film named La Perla (1947) and as a cult Kannada movie Ondu Muttina Kathe (1987). The story is one of Steinbeck's most popular books and has been widely used in middle and high school classes. The Pearl is sometimes considered a parable.
Kino, a poor pearl fisherman, lives with his wife Juana and their infant son Coyotito in La Paz, Baja California Sur. Kino sees a scorpion
crawl down one of the ropes holding up the hanging box that serves as
Coyotito's crib and tries to remove it. However, Coyotito shakes the
rope, causing the scorpion to fall into the box and sting him. Kino and
Juana visit the local doctor but are turned away because of their
poverty and his prejudices toward Amerindians.
As Juana applies a seaweed poultice to the sting, Kino dives for oysters
from his canoe, hoping to find a pearl valuable enough to cover the
treatment fee. One oyster yields an immense pearl, which he calls "The
Pearl of the World"; news of its discovery spreads quickly, and some of
the family's neighbors start to resent Kino's luck in finding it.
Unaware of these reactions, Kino envisions selling the pearl and using
the money to improve his family's lives. The doctor visits them to treat
Coyotito, even though the baby seems to be recovering, and Kino
promises to pay him after selling the pearl.
That night, Kino drives off a thief who attempts to break into
his house. Juana warns him that the pearl will destroy the family, but
Kino insists that it is their only chance for a better life. He goes to
sell it the next day, not knowing that all the pearl dealers in La Paz
are working for a single buyer and conspiring to keep prices low.
Pretending that Kino's pearl is of poor quality, they make offers of
1,500 pesos at most; he angrily rejects them, believing the pearl to be
worth 50,000 pesos, and vows to sell it in the capital instead.
More thieves attack Kino that night, but he remains resolved to
make the journey despite Juana's warning that the pearl is evil and her
suggestions to get rid of it. After Kino forcibly stops her from
throwing it into the ocean, he is attacked again; Kino kills one man in
self-defense, and he and Juana hurriedly flee with Coyotito to avoid any
reprisals. Discovering that Kino's canoe has been damaged and their
house looted and burned in search of the pearl, the family takes refuge
with Kino's brother and his wife before setting out for the capital the
following night.
As they travel, Kino spots a trio of men following them and Juana
realizes that they are trackers intending to take the pearl and kill
the entire family. Leaving the road they have been using, Kino leads
Juana into the mountains in order to leave fewer signs of their passage.
They take shelter in a cave, only for the trackers to make camp by a
pool of water below them. Kino decides to attack the trio that night,
viewing it as the only way they can stop the pursuers for good. As Kino
sneaks down the cliff, one of the trackers hears a cry and fires his
rifle in its direction, thinking it to be a coyote pup. Kino kills all
three men, then discovers that the shot has killed Coyotito.
Kino and Juana return to La Paz with their son's body. After
looking at the pearl one last time and seeing its surface reflect images
of all the disasters that have befallen him and his family, Kino throws
it into the ocean.
Setting
Steinbeck began writing the story as a movie script in 1944 and first published it as a short story called "The Pearl of the World" in the Woman's Home Companion (December 1945). The original publication is also sometimes listed as "The Pearl of La Paz". Steinbeck expanded the story to novella length and published it under the name The Pearl (1947), published by Viking Press. As he was writing the novella version, he was frequently travelling to Mexico where the film version, co-written with Jack Wagner, was being filmed. The film was also released by RKO in 1947 as a co-promotion with the book.
In 2001, The Pearl was loosely adapted as a film directed by Alfredo Zacharias, starring Lukas Haas and Richard Harris, which was released directly to video in 2005.
The book takes place in La Paz, Baja California, Mexico. Unlike
many of Steinbeck’s other works, it does not take place in the U.S state
of California.
Themes
Family
– One of the major themes in the novel is family. Throughout the novel,
the plot discusses how the family lives before and after the pearl. It
is the constant focus of the plot and many of the decisions are based on
what would be best for the family. For example, the first thing that
Kino desires to do with the money from the pearl is to give his wife and
Coyotito a better life.
This money would pay for Coyotito’s education, better clothes, and
better protection. Later, Kino also demonstrates devotion to his family
by not selling to the pearl dealer. The second buyer was trying to get
the pearl for less than it was worth, but Kino, with his family in mind,
declined to search for a better deal. He always has his family in mind,
whether it leads to warmth and happiness or destruction. It was the
reason Kino got the pearl and, eventually, the reason why he threw it
back into the ocean.
Good and Evil – One of the biggest themes in this novel is
the one between good and evil. This theme is displayed in other themes
as well and it is shown from the beginning to the end. In the beginning,
Kino lives a life of simplicity and happiness but when he discovers the
pearl, he believes that good will come from it. However, a sense of
evil accompanies it. After that, Kino and his family were in a constant
battle against evil to preserve the good that they enjoyed before.
Paradox
– The theme of paradox is displayed through Kino’s desires. Once Kino
discovers the pearl, he begins to dream about what could come from this
fortune as greed fills his head, but as he tries to carry out this plan,
the good wealth also brings destruction to his family as he treats
Juana poorly and is abusive. Though Kino desires good for his family,
there is a paradox of an evil reality that he does not want. Kino tries
to “avoid life’s inevitable tension” between these two but he finds that
he cannot separate the good and the evil. In the end, the finding of
the great prize causes him to lose another, his son.
Perseverance – The theme of perseverance is demonstrated
by many characters, but mainly Kino. Before he found the pearl, he was a
noble and a very determined person who sought fortune for his family.
After he finds it, he is hoping to find it in a different way. Because
Kino believes that this would save his family, he persists “though many
obstacles” that accompany the pearl. He perseveres to keep the pearl but, in the end, it was not worth keeping.
Characters
Kino is a hard-working pearl-diver and the protagonist of the novella. He has a wife, Juana, and a son, Coyotito. He is content with his lifestyle as a diver
and possesses nothing of value until he discovers the pearl. After
finding the pearl, Kino gradually changes to become a completely
different man. Though his family is still the center of his actions, he
is also driven by his dreams of an escape from their poverty and a
desire to give his son a better future. He quickly becomes obsessed with
the material things that the pearl could bring. He is no longer content
with his son being uneducated, or his family not being well-dressed.
Instead of enjoying his family and their company, as he did in the
beginning, he becomes discontent and always seeks more. He is also driven by his desire not to be cheated or slighted. Kino is named for the missionary Eusebio Kino.
Juana, Kino’s wife, is a secondary character. She is a
loving woman who cares for her husband and son. Throughout the
experience, she remains loyal to her family but also perceives the evil
forces that the valuable pearl attracts. For example, two nights after
the pearl is found, she attempts to throw it back into the ocean to
bring back peace and happiness to her family.
Coyotito is Juana and Kino’s infant son. He is their only
child, and his parents do everything they can to protect him. Despite
his parents’ love and effort, he is subject to much harm, both before
and after the pearl is found. Coyotito is shot and killed by one of the
pearl hunters.
The Doctor, unnamed in the novella, is a symbol of wealth,
greed and exploitation. He is repulsive, fat, and also foreign-born, a
native of France. Before the pearl is found, he refuses to heal Coyotito
because the family is poor, though it would be easy for him to do so.
After Kino finds the pearl, he personally visits the family at home,
acting much friendlier than at their first meeting and even pretending
to heal Coyotito's scorpion sting with ammonia. During the doctor's
visit, he tries to determine from Kino's glances where in the house the
pearl may be hidden, though Kino is too suspicious to reveal anything.
The doctor's behavioral changes foreshadow the more serious troubles
that begin after Kino's discovery of the pearl.
Juan Tomas, Kino’s brother, is wise and loyal. He is the
only other character in the book to suspect the manipulation undertaken
by the pearl dealers. When destruction does come, Juan Tomas does not
turn away his brother but, instead, welcomes him in and protects him. He
is one of the few characters that does not seek to gain from the pearl
and shows he values the importance of family ties.
Apolonia is the wife of Juan Tomas who helps his brother in protecting and hiding Kino.
The pearl dealers, like the doctor, symbolize the
exploitation of the native population, this time by the organized
pearl-dealing cartel for which the dealers work. When Kino tries to sell
the pearl, the pearl dealers claim that the pearl's size makes it
worthless and offer Kino a fraction of the pearl's true worth. Kino's
outrage at their barehanded lies causes him to brave the dangerous trip
to the capital and seek a better price.
The thieves and trackers are shadowy figures who attack
Kino from the first night he has the pearl. Kino never recognizes who
they are. They harass and then follow the family right to the end of the
story. They force Kino to fight and kill to defend himself and his
family and keep the pearl his own. In the final scenes, in which Kino is
tracked by a posse, it is not clear in the text whether the group are
thieves or law enforcement officers hunting Kino for his killing of the
man on the beach.
Reception and analysis
Several publications praised the novel as a "major artistic triumph"
and emphasizes how Steinbeck understands "the universal significance of
life." The Pearl is often used to teach students about literature and is
also used to discuss important lessons about life. Many believe the
book is the easiest of Steinbeck's books to teach because the lessons
are simple, yet significant, so, generally, students in middle school or early high school study this novel.
Teachers instruct their students to delve deeper than surface level to
learn about both the simplicity and complexity of the novel and
emphasize its themes to allow students to learn more than just literacy.
Jackson Benson writes, The Pearl was heavily influenced by Steinbeck's interest in the philosophy of Carl Jung. Steinbeck wrote that he created the story of The Pearl to address the themes of "human greed, materialism, and the inherent worth of a thing."
Yellow and golden pearls: yellow-green, greenish brown to dark brown;
Black pearls: commonly pink to orange-red
Georgian seed pearl gold ring
A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle) of a living shelledmollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is composed of calcium carbonate (mainly aragonite or a mixture of aragonite and calcite)
in minute crystalline form, which has deposited in concentric layers.
The ideal pearl is perfectly round and smooth, but many other shapes,
known as baroque pearls, can occur. The finest quality of natural pearls have been highly valued as gemstones and objects of beauty for many centuries. Because of this, pearl has become a metaphor for something rare, fine, admirable and valuable.
The most valuable pearls occur spontaneously in the wild, but are extremely rare. These wild pearls are referred to as natural pearls. Cultured or farmed pearls from pearl oysters and freshwater mussels make up the majority of those currently sold. Imitation pearls are also widely sold in inexpensive jewelry. Pearls have been harvested and cultivated primarily for use in jewelry,
but in the past were also used to adorn clothing. They have also been
crushed and used in cosmetics, medicines and paint formulations.
Whether wild or cultured, gem-quality pearls are almost always nacreous and iridescent,
like the interior of the shell that produces them. However, almost all
species of shelled mollusks are capable of producing pearls (technically
"calcareous concretions") of lesser shine or less spherical shape.
Although these may also be legitimately referred to as "pearls" by
gemological labs and also under U.S. Federal Trade Commission rules, and are formed in the same way, most of them have no value except as curiosities.
Etymology
The English word pearl comes from the Frenchperle, originally from the Latinperna'leg', after the ham- or mutton leg-shaped bivalve.
The scientific name for the family of pearl-bearing oysters, Margaritiferidae comes from the Old Persian word for pearl *margārīta- which is the source of the English name Margaret.
Definition
A black pearl and a shell of the black-lipped pearl oyster. The iridescent colors originate from nacre layers.
All shelled mollusks can, by natural processes, produce some kind of
"pearl" when an irritating microscopic object becomes trapped within its
mantle folds, but the great majority of these "pearls" are not valued
as gemstones. Nacreous pearls, the best-known and most commercially significant, are primarily produced by two groups of molluskan bivalves or clams. A nacreous pearl is made from layers of nacre, by the same living process as is used in the secretion of the mother of pearl which lines the shell.
Natural (or wild) pearls, formed without human intervention, are
very rare. Many hundreds of pearl oysters or mussels must be gathered
and opened, and thus killed, to find even one wild pearl; for many
centuries, this was the only way pearls were obtained, and why pearls
fetched such extraordinary prices in the past. Cultured pearls are formed in pearl farms, using human intervention as well as natural processes.
One family of nacreous pearl bivalves – the pearl oyster – lives in the sea, while the other – a very different group of bivalves – lives in freshwater; these are the river mussels such as the freshwater pearl mussel. Saltwater pearls can grow in several species of marine pearl oysters in the familyPteriidae. Freshwater pearls grow within certain (but by no means all) species of freshwater mussels in the order Unionida, the families Unionidae and Margaritiferidae.
Physical properties
Structure of nacre layers, wherein aragonite plates are separated by biopolymers, such as chitin, lustrin and silk-like proteinsElectron microscopy image of a fractured surface of nacre
The unique luster of pearls depends upon the reflection, refraction, and diffraction of light from the translucent layers. The thinner and more numerous the layers in the pearl, the finer the luster. The iridescence
that pearls display is caused by the overlapping of successive layers,
which breaks up light falling on the surface. In addition, pearls
(especially cultured freshwater pearls)
can be dyed yellow, green, blue, brown, pink, purple, or black. The
most valuable pearls have a metallic, highly reflective luster.
Because pearls are made primarily of calcium carbonate, they can be dissolved in vinegar. Calcium carbonate is susceptible to even a weak acid solution because the crystals react with the acetic acid in the vinegar to form calcium acetate and carbon dioxide.
Freshwater and saltwater pearls
Freshwater and saltwater pearls may sometimes look quite similar, but they come from different sources.
Freshwater pearls form in various species of freshwater mussels, family Unionidae, which live in lakes, rivers, ponds and other bodies of fresh water. These freshwater pearl mussels occur not only in hotter climates, but also in colder, more temperate areas such as Scotland (where they are protected under law).[9] Most freshwater cultured pearls sold today come from China.
Saltwater pearls grow within pearl oysters, family Pteriidae, which live in oceans. Saltwater pearl oysters are usually cultivated in protected lagoons or volcanic atolls.
Formation
Formation
of non–bead-cultured Akoya “keshi” pearls produced in a P. i. fucata
mollusk. (A) Optical overview of a nonbeaded keshi–cultured pearl. (B)
Cross-section showing CaCO3 growth begins onto an organic center. (C)
Mature nacre. (D and E) Atomic-resolution image of atoms in nacre. (F)
Transition from spherulitic aragonite structures to nacre. (G and H)
Aggregated nanoparticles form massive aragonite. (I) Formation of nacre
begins directly on massive aragonite. CC-license, PNAS 2021 118 (42); https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2107477118
The mollusk's mantle (protective membrane) deposits layers of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) in the form of the mineralaragonite
or a mixture of aragonite and calcite (polymorphs with the same
chemical formula, but different crystal structures) held together by an
organic horn-like compound called conchiolin. The combination of aragonite and conchiolin is called nacre,
which makes up mother-of-pearl. The commonly held belief that a grain
of sand acts as the irritant is in fact rarely the case. Typical stimuli
include organic material, parasites, or even damage that displaces
mantle tissue to another part of the mollusk's body. These small
particles or organisms gain entry when the shell valves are open for
feeding or respiration. In cultured pearls, the irritant is typically an
introduced piece of the mantle epithelium, with or without a spherical
bead (beaded or beadless cultured pearls).
Natural pearls
Natural pearls are nearly 100% calcium carbonate and conchiolin.
It is thought that natural pearls form under a set of accidental
conditions when a microscopic intruder or parasite enters a bivalve
mollusk and settles inside the shell. The mollusk, irritated by the
intruder, forms a pearl sac of external mantle tissue cells and secretes
the calcium carbonate and conchiolin to cover the irritant. This
secretion process is repeated many times, thus producing a pearl.
Natural pearls come in many shapes, with perfectly round ones being
comparatively rare.
Typically, the build-up of a natural pearl consists of a brown
central zone formed by columnar calcium carbonate (usually calcite,
sometimes columnar aragonite) and a yellowish to white outer zone
consisting of nacre (tabular aragonite). In a pearl cross-section such
as the diagram, these two different materials can be seen. The presence
of columnar calcium carbonate rich in organic material indicates
juvenile mantle tissue that formed during the early stage of pearl
development. Displaced living cells with a well-defined task may
continue to perform their function in their new location, often
resulting in a cyst.
Such displacement may occur via an injury. The fragile rim of the shell
is exposed and is prone to damage and injury. Crabs, other predators
and parasites such as worm larvae may produce traumatic attacks and
cause injuries in which some external mantle tissue cells are
disconnected from their layer. Embedded in the conjunctive tissue of the
mantle, these cells may survive and form a small pocket in which they
continue to secrete calcium carbonate, their natural product. The pocket
is called a pearl sac, and grows with time by cell division. The
juvenile mantle tissue cells, according to their stage of growth,
secrete columnar calcium carbonate from pearl sac's inner surface. In
time, the pearl sac's external mantle cells proceed to the formation of
tabular aragonite. When the transition to nacre secretion occurs, the
brown pebble becomes covered with a nacreous coating. During this
process, the pearl sac seems to travel into the shell; however, the sac
actually stays in its original relative position the mantle tissue while
the shell itself grows. After a couple of years, a pearl forms and the
shell may be found by a lucky pearl fisher.
Cultured pearls are the response of the shell to a tissue implant. A tiny piece of mantle tissue (called a graft)
from a donor shell is transplanted into a recipient shell, causing a
pearl sac to form into which the tissue precipitates calcium carbonate.
There are a number of methods for producing cultured pearls: using
freshwater or seawater shells, transplanting the graft into the mantle
or into the gonad, and adding a spherical bead as a nucleus. Most
saltwater cultured pearls are grown with beads. Trade names of cultured
pearls are Akoya (阿古屋), white or golden South sea, and black Tahitian. Most beadless cultured pearls are mantle-grown in freshwater shells in China, and are known as freshwater cultured pearls.
Cultured pearls can be distinguished from natural pearls by X-ray examination.
Nucleated cultured pearls are often 'preformed' as they tend to follow
the shape of the implanted shell bead nucleus. After a bead is inserted
into the oyster, it secretes a few layers of nacre around the bead; the
resulting cultured pearl can then be harvested in as few as twelve to
eighteen months.
When a cultured pearl with a bead nucleus is X-rayed, it reveals a
different structure to that of a natural pearl. A beaded cultured pearl
shows a solid center with no concentric growth rings, whereas a natural
pearl shows a series of concentric growth rings. A beadless cultured
pearl (whether of freshwater or saltwater origin) may show growth rings,
but also a complex central cavity, witness of the first precipitation
of the young pearl sac.
Some imitation pearls (also called shell pearls) are simply made of mother-of-pearl, coral or conch shell, while others are made from glass and are coated with a solution containing fish scales called essence d'Orient.
Gemological identification
A well-equipped gem testing laboratory can distinguish natural pearls from cultured pearls by using gemological X-ray
equipment to examine the center of a pearl. With X-rays it is possible
to see the growth rings of the pearl, where the layers of calcium
carbonate are separated by thin layers of conchiolin. The
differentiation of natural pearls from non-beaded cultured pearls can be
very difficult without the use of this X-ray technique.
Natural and cultured pearls can be distinguished from imitation pearls using a microscope.
Another method of testing for imitations is to rub two pearls against
each other. Imitation pearls are completely smooth, but natural and
cultured pearls are composed of nacre platelets, making both feel
slightly gritty.
Value of a natural pearl
Pearl tiara of Empress Eugénie (1853) featuring 212 natural pearls, Louvre, Paris.
Fine quality natural pearls are very rare jewels. Their values are
determined similarly to those of other precious gems, according to size,
shape, color, quality of surface, orient and luster.
Single natural pearls are often sold as collectors' items, or set
as centerpieces in unique jewelry. Very few matched strands of natural
pearls exist, and those that do often sell for hundreds of thousands of
dollars. (In 1917, jeweler Pierre Cartier
purchased the Fifth Avenue mansion that is now the New York Cartier
store in exchange for a matched double strand of natural pearls Cartier
had been collecting for years; at the time, it was valued at
US$1 million.)
The introduction and advance of the cultured pearl hit the pearl
industry hard. Pearl dealers publicly disputed the authenticity of these
new cultured products, and left many consumers uneasy and confused
about their much lower prices. Essentially, the controversy damaged the
images of both natural and cultured pearls. By the 1950s, when a
significant number of women in developed countries could afford their
own cultured pearl necklace, natural pearls were reduced to a small,
exclusive niche in the pearl industry.
Previously, natural pearls were found in many parts of the world. Present day natural pearling is confined mostly to seas off Bahrain.
Australia also has one of the world's last remaining fleets of pearl
diving ships. Australian pearl divers dive for south sea pearl oysters
to be used in the cultured south sea pearl industry. The catch of pearl
oysters is similar to the numbers of oysters taken during the natural
pearl days. Hence significant numbers of natural pearls are still found
in the Australian Indian Ocean waters from wild oysters. X-ray
examination is required to positively verify natural pearls found today.
A blister pearl, a half-sphere, formed flush against the shell of the pearl oyster.
A keshi pearl
is a pearl composed entirely of nacre and results from mishaps in the
culturing process. Most are quite small, typically only a few
millimeters in diameter, and are often irregular in shape. In seeding a
cultured pearl, a piece of mantle muscle from a sacrificed oyster is
placed with a bead of mother of pearl within a host oyster. If the piece
of mantle should slip off the bead, a keshi pearl forms of baroque
shape about the mantle piece. Therefore, while a keshi pearl could be
considered superior to cultured pearls with a mother of pearl bead
center, in the cultured pearl industry the oyster's resources used to
create a mistaken all-nacre baroque pearl is a drain on the production
of the intended round cultured pearl. Therefore, the pearl industry is
making ongoing attempts to improve culturing technique so that keshi
pearls do not occur. All-nacre pearls may one day be limited to natural
found pearls.
Today many "keshi" pearls are actually intentional, with post-harvest
shells returned to the water to regenerate a pearl in the existing pearl
sac.
Tahitian pearls, frequently referred to as black pearls,
are highly valued because of their rarity; the culturing process for
them dictates a smaller volume output and they can never be
mass-produced because, in common with most sea pearls, the oyster can
only be nucleated with one pearl at a time, while freshwater mussels are
capable of multiple pearl implants. Before the days of cultured pearls,
black pearls were rare and highly valued for the simple reason that
white pearl oysters rarely produced naturally black pearls, and black
pearl oysters rarely produced any natural pearls at all.
Since the development of pearl culture technology, the black pearl oysters Pinctada margaritifera found in Tahiti and many other Pacific islands including the Cook Islands and Fiji
are being extensively used for producing cultured pearls. The rarity of
the black cultured pearl is now a "comparative" issue. The black
cultured pearl is rare when compared to Chinese freshwater cultured
pearls, and Japanese and Chinese akoya cultured pearls, and is more
valuable than these pearls. However, it is more abundant than the South
Sea pearl, which is more valuable than the black cultured pearl. This is
simply because the black pearl oyster Pinctada margaritifera is far more abundant than the elusive, rare, and larger south sea pearl oyster Pinctada maxima, which cannot be found in lagoons, but which must be dived for in a rare number of deep ocean habitats or grown in hatcheries.
Natural black pearls are rare, with black pearls having a body
color that may be assessed as silver, silver blue, gold, brown-black,
green-black, or black.
Black cultured pearls from the black pearl oyster – Pinctada margaritifera –
are not South Sea pearls, although they are often mistakenly described
as black South Sea pearls. In the absence of an official definition for
the pearl from the black all use to, these pearls are usually referred
to as "black pearls".
The correct definition of a South Sea pearl – as described by CIBJO and GIA – is a pearl produced by the Pinctada maxima pearl oyster. South Sea pearls are the color of their host Pinctada maxima
oyster – and can be white, silver, pink, gold, cream, and any
combination of these basic colors, including overtones of the various
colors of the rainbow displayed in the pearl nacre of the oyster shell
itself.
South Sea pearls are the largest and rarest of the cultured pearls – making them the most valuable.
Prized for their exquisitely beautiful 'orient' or lustre, South Sea
pearls are now farmed in various parts of the world where the Pinctada maxima oysters can be found, with the finest South Sea pearls being produced by Paspaley along the remote coastline of North-Western Australia. White and silver colored South Sea pearls tend to come from the Broome area of Australia, while golden colored ones are more prevalent in the Philippines and Indonesia.
A farm in the Gulf of California, Mexico, is culturing pearls from the black lipped Pinctada mazatlanica oysters and the rainbow lipped Pteria sterna oysters. Also called Concha Nácar, the pearls from these rainbow lipped oysters fluoresce red under ultraviolet light.
From other species
A natural conch pearl with gem flame patterning. A collection of natural quahog pearls. A shell of the Indian volute, Melo melo, surrounded by a number of pearls from this speciesConch pearl pendant
Biologically speaking, under the right set of circumstances, almost
any shelled mollusk can produce some kind of pearl. However, most of
these molluskan pearls have no luster or iridescence.
The great majority of mollusk species produce pearls which are not
attractive, and are sometimes not even very durable. Such pearls usually
have no value at all, except perhaps to a scientist or collector, or as
a curiosity. These objects used to be referred to as "calcareous
concretions" by some gemologists, even though a malacologist would still consider them to be pearls. Valueless pearls of this type are sometimes found in edible mussels, edible oysters, escargot
snails, and so on. The GIA and CIBJO now simply use the term 'pearl'
(or, where appropriate, the more descriptive term 'non-nacreous pearl')
when referring to such items and, under Federal Trade Commission rules, various mollusk pearls may be referred to as 'pearls', without qualification.
A few species produce pearls that can be of interest as gemstones. These species include the bailer shell Melo, the giant clamTridacna, various scallop species, Pen shells Pinna, and the Haliotis iris species of abalone. Pearls of abalone are cultured pearls, or blister pearls, unique to New Zealand
waters, and are commonly referred to as 'blue pearls'. They are admired
for their incredible luster and naturally bright vibrant colors that
are often compared to opal.
Another example is the conch pearl (sometimes referred to simply as the
'pink pearl'), which is found very rarely growing between the mantle
and the shell of the queen conch or pink conch, Strombus gigas, a large sea snail or marine gastropod from the Caribbean Sea.
These pearls, which are often pink in color, are a by-product of the
conch fishing industry, and the best of them display a shimmering
optical effect related to chatoyance known as 'flame structure'.
Somewhat similar gastropod pearls, this time more orange in hue, are (again very rarely) found in the horse conch Triplofusus papillosus.
The second largest pearl known was found in the Philippines in 1934 and is known as the Pearl of Lao Tzu. It is a naturally occurring, non-nacreous, calcareous concretion (pearl) from a giant clam.
Because it did not grow in a pearl oyster it is not pearly; instead the
surface is glossy like porcelain. Other pearls from giant clams are
known to exist, but this is a particularly large one weighing 14 lb
(6.4 kg).
The largest known pearl (also from a giant clam) is the Pearl of Puerto, also found in the Philippines by a fisherman from Puerto Princesa, Palawan Island. The enormous pearl is 30 cm wide (1 ft), 67 cm long (2.2 ft) and weighs 75 lb (34 kg).
A 14th-century piece of clothing used by Kuwaiti divers searching for pearls in the Persian Gulf
The ancient chronicle Mahavamsa mentions the thriving pearl industry in the port of Oruwella in the Gulf of Mannar in Sri Lanka. It also records that eight varieties of pearls accompanied Prince Vijaya's embassy to the Pandyan king as well as king Devanampiya Tissa's embassy to Emperor Ashoka.Pliny the Elder (23–79 AD) praised the pearl fishery of the Gulf as most productive in the world.
For thousands of years, seawater pearls were retrieved by divers in the Indian Ocean in areas such as the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea and the Gulf of Mannar. Evidence also suggest a prehistoric origin to pearl diving in these regions. Starting in the Han dynasty (206 BC–220 AD), the Chinese hunted extensively for seawater pearls in the South China Sea, particularly in what is now Tolo Harbour in Hong Kong. Tanka pearl divers of twelfth century China attached ropes to their waists in order to be safely brought back up to the surface.
When Spanish conquistadors arrived in the Western Hemisphere, they discovered that around the islands of Cubagua and Margarita, some 200 km north of the Venezuelan coast, was an extensive pearl bed (a bed of pearl oysters). One discovered and named pearl, La Peregrina pearl, was offered to Philip II of Spain
who intended to give it as a gift for his daughter on the occasion of
her marriage, but the King found it so beautiful that he kept it for
himself. Later, he elevated it to be part of the Spanish Crown Jewel.
From then on, the pearl was recorded in every royal inventory for more
than 200 years. According to Garcilasso de la Vega, who says that he saw La Peregrina at Seville in 1607, this was found at Panama in 1560 by a slave worker who was rewarded with his liberty, and his owner with the office of alcalde of Panama.
Margarita pearls are extremely difficult to find today and are known for their unique yellowish color.
Before the beginning of the 20th century, pearl hunting
was the most common way of harvesting pearls. Divers manually pulled
oysters from ocean floors and river bottoms and checked them
individually for pearls. Not all mussels and oysters produce pearls. In a
haul of three tons, only three or four oysters will produce perfect
pearls.
British Isles
Pearls were one of the attractions which drew Julius Caesar to Britain.
They are, for the most part, freshwater pearls from mussels. Pearling
was banned in the U.K. in 1998 due to the endangered status of river
mussels. Discovery and publicity about the sale for a substantial sum of the Abernethy pearl in the River Tay had resulted in heavy exploitation of mussel colonies during the 1970s and 80s by weekend warriors. When it was permitted it was carried on mainly by Scottish Travellers who found pearls varied from river to river with the River Oykel in the Highlands being noted for the finest rose-pink pearls. There are two firms in Scotland that are licensed to sell pre-1998 freshwater pearls.
Pearl farming
A pearl being extracted from an akoya pearl oyster.
Today, the cultured pearls on the market can be divided into two
categories. The first category covers the beaded cultured pearls,
including akoya, South Sea and Tahiti. These pearls are gonad grown, and
usually one pearl is grown at a time. This limits the number of pearls
at a harvest period. The pearls are usually harvested after one year for
akoya, 2–4 years for Tahitian and South Sea, and 2–7 years for
freshwater. This perliculture process was first developed by the British
biologist William Saville-Kent who passed the information along to Tatsuhei Mise and Tokichi Nishikawa from Japan.
The second category includes the non-beaded freshwater cultured pearls,
like the Biwa or Chinese pearls. As they grow in the mantle, where on
each wing up to 25 grafts can be implanted, these pearls are much more
frequent and saturate the market completely. An impressive improvement
in quality has taken place over ten years when the former
rice-grain-shaped pebbles are compared with the near round pearls of
today. Later, large near perfect round bead nucleated pearls up to 15mm
in diameter have been produced with metallic luster.
The nucleus bead in a beaded cultured pearl is generally a polished sphere made from freshwater mussel
shell. Along with a small piece of mantle tissue from another mollusk
(donor shell) to serve as a catalyst for the pearl sac, it is surgically
implanted into the gonad (reproductive organ) of a saltwater mollusk.
In freshwater perliculture, only the piece of tissue is used in most
cases, and is inserted into the fleshy mantle of the host mussel. South
Sea and Tahitian pearl oysters, also known as Pinctada maxima and Pinctada margaritifera,
which survive the subsequent surgery to remove the finished pearl, are
often implanted with a new, larger beads as part of the same procedure
and then returned to the water for another 2–3 years of growth.
Despite the common misperception, Mikimoto did not discover the process of pearl culture. The accepted process of pearl culture was developed by the British Biologist William Saville-Kent
in Australia and brought to Japan by Tokichi Nishikawa and Tatsuhei
Mise. Nishikawa was granted the patent in 1916, and married the daughter
of Mikimoto. Mikimoto was able to use Nishikawa's technology. After the
patent was granted in 1916, the technology was immediately commercially
applied to akoya pearl oysters in Japan in 1916. Mise's brother was the
first to produce a commercial crop of pearls in the akoya oyster.
Mitsubishi's Baron Iwasaki immediately applied the technology to the
south sea pearl oyster in 1917 in the Philippines, and later in Buton,
and Palau. Mitsubishi was the first to produce a cultured south sea
pearl – although it was not until 1928 that the first small commercial
crop of pearls was successfully produced.
The original Japanese cultured pearls, known as akoya pearls, are produced by a species of small pearl oyster, Pinctada fucata martensii,
which is no bigger than 6 to 8 cm (2.4 to 3.1 in) in size, hence akoya
pearls larger than 10 mm in diameter are extremely rare and highly
priced. Today, a hybrid mollusk is used in both Japan and China in the
production of akoya pearls.
Cultured Pearls were sold in cans for the export market. These
were packed in Japan by the I.C.P. Canning Factory (International Pearl
Company L.T.D.) in Nagasaki Pref. Japan.
Timeline of pearl production
Mitsubishi
commenced pearl culture with the South Sea pearl oyster in 1916, as
soon as the technology patent was commercialized. By 1931 this project
was showing signs of success, but was upset by the death of Tatsuhei
Mise. Although the project was recommenced after Tatsuhei's death, the
project was discontinued at the beginning of WWII before significant
productions of pearls were achieved.
After WWII, new south sea pearl projects were commenced in the early 1950s at Kuri Bay and Port Essington in Australia, and Burma.
Japanese companies were involved in all projects using technicians from
the original Mitsubishi South Sea pre-war projects. Kuri Bay is now the
location of one of the largest and most well-known pearl farms owned by
Paspaley, the biggest producer of South Sea pearls in the world.
In 2010, China overtook Japan in akoya pearl production. Japan has all but ceased its production of akoya pearls smaller than 8 mm.
Japan maintains its status as a pearl processing center, however, and
imports the majority of Chinese akoya pearl production. These pearls are
then processed (often simply matched and sorted), relabeled as product
of Japan, and exported.
In the past two decades, cultured pearls have been produced using larger oysters in the south Pacific and Indian Ocean. The largest pearl oyster is the Pinctada maxima,
which is roughly the size of a dinner plate. South Sea pearls are
characterized by their large size and warm luster. Sizes up to 14 mm in
diameter are not uncommon. In 2013, Indonesia Pearl supplied 43 percent of South Sea Pearls international market. The other significant producers are Australia, Philippines, Myanmar and Malaysia.
Freshwater pearl farming
In 1914, pearl farmers began growing cultured freshwater pearls using the pearl mussels native to Lake Biwa. This lake, the largest and most ancient in Japan, lies near the city of Kyoto. The extensive and successful use of the Biwa Pearl Mussel is reflected in the name Biwa pearls,
a phrase which was at one time nearly synonymous with freshwater pearls
in general. Since the time of peak production in 1971, when Biwa pearl
farmers produced six tons of cultured pearls, pollution has caused the
virtual extinction of the industry. Japanese pearl farmers recently cultured a hybrid pearl mussel – a cross between Biwa Pearl Mussels and a closely related species from China, Hyriopsis cumingi, in Lake Kasumigaura. This industry has also nearly ceased production, due to pollution. Currently, the Belpearl company based out of Kobe, Japan continues to purchase the remaining Kasumiga-ura pearls.
Japanese pearl producers also invested in producing cultured pearls with freshwater mussels in the region of Shanghai, China.
China has since become the world's largest producer of freshwater
pearls, producing more than 1,500 metric tons per year (in addition to
metric measurements, Japanese units of measurement such as the kan and momme are sometimes encountered in the pearl industry).
Led by pearl pioneer John Latendresse and his wife Chessy, the United States began farming cultured freshwater pearls in the mid-1960s. National Geographic
magazine introduced the American cultured pearl as a commercial product
in their August 1985 issue. The Tennessee pearl farm has emerged as a
tourist destination in recent years, but commercial production of
freshwater pearls has ceased.
Momme weight
For many cultured pearl dealers and wholesalers, the preferred weight measure used for loose pearls and pearl strands is the momme.
Momme is a weight measure used by the Japanese for centuries. Today,
momme weight is still the standard unit of measure used by most pearl
dealers to communicate with pearl producers and wholesalers. One momme
corresponds to 1/1000 kan. Reluctant to give up tradition, the Japanese
government formalized the kan measure in 1891 as being exactly 3.75
kilograms or 8.28 pounds. Hence, 1 momme = 3.75 grams or 3750
milligrams.
In the United States, during the 19th and 20th centuries, through
trade with Japan in silk cloth the momme became a unit indicating the
quality of silk cloth.
Though millimeter size range is typically the first factor in
determining a cultured pearl necklace's value, the momme weight of pearl
necklace will allow the buyer to quickly determine if the necklace is
properly proportioned. This is especially true when comparing the larger
south sea and Tahitian pearl necklaces.
In jewelry
The
value of the pearls in jewelry is determined by a combination of the
luster, color, size, lack of surface flaw and symmetry that are
appropriate for the type of pearl under consideration. Among those
attributes, luster is the most important differentiator of pearl quality
according to jewelers.
All factors being equal, however, the larger the pearl the more
valuable it is. Large, perfectly round pearls are rare and highly
valued. Teardrop-shaped pearls are often used in pendants.
Empress Amélie of Brazil wearing her two-strand pearl necklaces and earrings set, 1829
Queen of Italy, Margherita of Savoy, owned one of the most famous collections of natural pearls. She is wearing a multi-strand choker and a rope of pearls
Pearls
are generally of spherical shapes. Perfectly round pearls are the
rarest and most valuable shape. Semi-rounds are also used in necklaces
or in pieces where the shape of the pearl can be disguised to look like
it is a perfectly round pearl. Button pearls are like a slightly
flattened round pearl and can also make a necklace, but are more often
used in single pendants or earrings where the back half of the pearl is
covered, making it look like a larger, rounder pearl.
Pear-shaped pearls sometimes look like teardrop pearls and are
most often seen in earrings, pendants, or as a center pearl in a
necklace. Baroque pearls have a different appeal; they are often highly
irregular with unique and interesting shapes. They are also commonly
seen in necklaces. Circled pearls are characterized by concentric
ridges, or rings, around the body of the pearl.
In general, cultured pearls are less valuable than natural
pearls, whereas imitation pearls have almost no value. One way that
jewelers can determine whether a pearl is cultured or natural is to have
a gemlab perform an X-ray examination of the pearl. If X-rays reveals a
nucleus, the pearl is likely a bead-nucleated saltwater pearl. If no
nucleus is present, but irregular and small dark inner spots indicating a
cavity are visible, combined with concentric rings of organic
substance, the pearl is likely a cultured freshwater. Cultured freshwater pearls
can often be confused for natural pearls which present as homogeneous
pictures which continuously darken toward the surface of the pearl.
Natural pearls will often show larger cavities where organic matter has
dried out and decomposed.
Lengths of pearl necklaces
There
is a special vocabulary used to describe the length of pearl necklaces.
While most other necklaces are simply referred to by their physical
measurement, pearl necklaces are named by how low they hang when worn
around the neck. A collar, measuring 10 to 13 inches or 25 to
33 cm in length, sits directly against the throat and does not hang down
the neck at all; collars are often made up of multiple strands of
pearls. Pearl chokers, measuring 14 to 16 inches or 35 to 41 cm in length, nestle just at the base of the neck. A strand called a princess length, measuring 17 to 19 inches or 43 to 48 cm in length, comes down to or just below the collarbone. A matinee length, measuring 20 to 24 inches or 50 to 60 cm in length, falls just above the breasts. An opera length,
measuring 28 to 35 inches or 70 to 90 cm in length, will be long enough
to reach the breastbone or sternum of the wearer; and longer still, a pearl rope, measuring more than 45 inches or 115 cm in length, is any length that falls down farther than an opera.
Necklaces can also be classified as uniform, or graduated. In a
uniform strand of pearls, all pearls are classified as the same size,
but actually fall in a range. A uniform strand of akoya pearls, for
example, will measure within 0.5 mm. So a strand will never be 7 mm, but
will be 6.5–7 mm. Freshwater pearls, Tahitian pearls, and South Sea
pearls all measure to a full millimeter when considered uniform.
A graduated strand of pearls most often has at least 3 mm of
differentiation from the ends to the center of the necklace. Popularized
in the United States during the 1950s by the GIs bringing strands of cultured akoya pearls home from Japan, a 3.5 momme, 3 mm to 7 mm graduated strand was much more affordable than a uniform strand because most of the pearls were small.
Colors
Earrings and necklaces can also be classified on the grade of the
color of the pearl: saltwater and freshwater pearls come in many
different colors. While white, and more recently black, saltwater pearls
are by far the most popular, other color tints can be found on pearls
from the oceans. Pink, blue, champagne, green, and even purple saltwater
pearls can be encountered, but to collect enough of these rare colors
to form a complete string of the same size and same shade can take
years.
The vast majority of inexpensive colored pearls have been
subjected to some form of dye, often a fabric dye. This dye will only
tend to penetrate the first layer or two of nacre, but this is enough to
impart vivid and sometimes garish color to otherwise white pearls.
Truly valuable pearls are never dyed, and this process is not believed
to add and in most cases would only subtract from their market value.
Religious references
Hindu scriptures
The Hindu tradition describes the sacred Nine Pearls which were first documented in the Garuda Purana,
one of the books of the Hindu scriptures. Ayurveda contains references
to pearl powder as a stimulant of digestion and to treat mental
ailments. According to Marco Polo, the kings of Malabar
wore a necklace of 108 rubies and pearls which was given from one
generation of kings to the next. The reason was that every king had to
say 108 prayers every morning and every evening.
At least until the beginning of the 20th century it was a Hindu custom
to present a completely new, undrilled pearl and pierce it during the
wedding ceremony.
The Pearl, which can be transliterated to "Moti", a type of "Mani" from Sanskrit, is also associated with many Hindu deities, the most famous being the Kaustubha that Lord Vishnu wears on his chest.
Hebrew scriptures
The
Hebrew word פְּנִינִים 'pearl(s)' appears in several places in the
Hebrew Bible (Job 28:18; Proverbs 3:15; 8:11; 20:15; 31:10; Lamentations
4:7), although its etymology is unclear.
New Testament scriptures
Religious pendant showing Christ blessing, framed with rubies and pearls, from the Byzantine empire, 12th or 13th century
The twelve gates of the New Jerusalem are reportedly each made of a single pearl in Revelation 21:21, that is, the Pearly Gates.
"And the twelve gates were twelve pearls: every several gate was of one
pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent
glass."
Holy things are compared to pearls in Matthew 7:6: "Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you."
Pearls are also found in numerous references showing the wickedness and pride of a people, as in Revelation
18:16. "And saying, Alas, alas, that great city, that was clothed in
fine linen, in purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious
stones, and pearls!"
Islamic scriptures
The Quran often mentions that dwellers of paradise will be adorned with pearls:
22:23 God will admit those who believe and work righteous deeds,
to Gardens beneath which rivers flow: they shall be adorned therein with
bracelets of gold and pearls; and their garments there will be of silk.
35:33 Gardens of Eternity will they enter: therein will they be
adorned with bracelets of gold, silver and pearls; and their garments
there will be of silk.
52:24 Round about them will serve, [devoted] to them, youths [handsome] as pearls well-guarded.
Additional references
The metaphor of a pearl appears in the longer Hymn of the Pearl, a poem respected for its high literary quality, and use of layered theological metaphor, found within one of the texts of Gnosticism.
Submerged forest stumps at Borth, WalesTree stump at Ynyslas, WalesSubmerged forest at Dove Point, on the Wirral Peninsula
A submerged forest is the in situ
remains of trees, especially tree stumps, that lie submerged beneath a
bay, sea, ocean, lake, or other body of water. These remains have
usually been buried in mud, peat, or sand for several thousand years
before being uncovered by sea level change and erosion and have been preserved in the compacted sediment by the exclusion of oxygen. A forest can become submerged as the result of a lake or sea level rise that results in a lacustrine or marine transgression
and in-place drowning of the forest. A submerged forest that lies
beneath a lake can also be formed by the blockage of a river valley by
either a landslide or manmade dam.
Examples
Marine submerged forests may be regularly exposed at low tide; examples of these can be found at low tide on the fringes of the submerged landmass known as Doggerland, around the coast of England and the coasts of Wales, the Channel Islands, north-west France and Denmark. One of the first recorded encounters with submerged forests was in 1892 off of the coast of Mablethorpe. In some places, such as Blackpool Sands, Dartmouth, the remains are normally covered by sand and only rarely exposed. During the storms of 1974 (see Penparcau) and the winter storms of 2013–14 in the United Kingdom extensive remains of submerged forests were revealed in a number of places around the coast of Britain. For example, researchers discovered a 10,000 year old submerged forest that used to be part of Doggerland following the storm of 2013.
There is also evidence that some submerged forests have disappeared
over time as back in 1933, there were reports of a disappearing
submerged forest off of the coast of Cheshire and Lancashire.
As the North American Laurentide Ice Sheet began receding for the last time some 10,000 years ago, water levels in the future Great Lakes were sometimes much lower than at present. Forests once covered the southern end of what is now Lake Huron
but as the glaciers melted and waters rose these forests were inundated
and drowned. Today their remnants, well preserved logs and stumps, have
been discovered in waters over 200 feet deep.
A submerged forest was found in Nantucket Sound, off the coast of Massachusetts. In 2012 a submerged bald cypress forest, which has been dated at around 60,000 years old, was discovered in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Alabama. There have been attempts to make it into a marine sanctuary.
Ecosystem
Submerged forests host a whole variety of flora and fauna. The submerged forest located off of the coast of Alabama near Dauphin Island has the bald cypress tree (Taxodium distichum). Mantis shrimp, crabs, anemones, grouper, and red snappers are commonly found at this submerged forest, and of particular interest, due to their practical use in drug discovery, are shipworms.
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