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 Like the bright stars in the southern night sky, or sparkling
snow in the winter sun, freshwater pearls fascinate, attract, and captivate. For
years, pearls have been considered an attribute of luxury, indicator of prosperity
and high status. However, thanks to the boldness of the jewelers and, most
importantly, their ability to create masterpieces with freshwater pearls, now
many pearls admirers can afford beautiful pearl jewelry. Today, a string of
pearls is not only a perfect touch to complete an elegant outfit or an evening gown;
it can dress up any casual attire, from a formal suit to a frilly sundress.
Besides, pearl jewelry is an essential part of bride's wedding look.
Freshwater Pearl History
Natural 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 Germany,
Russia, and North America. However, most freshwater pearls sold today come from
China. If you're going to try and find a freshwater mussel in the nearby river,
don't bother. High levels of environmental pollution prompted experts to
develop methods for cultivation of freshwater mussels on specifically built farms.
With near perfect conditions of pearl farming, it was possible to preserve this
wonderful gift of nature.
Nevertheless, the history of freshwater pearls started long
ago. In the 22 century BC in China pearls from the Huai River were given as tribute
to the king. It was the pearl-bejeweled headwear that prompted ancient Chinese
to recognize a person as a high-ranking dignitary, as Chinese jewelers of that
time preferred pearls - in their opinion, a natural perfection, both in shape
and color - to all other gemstones.
In medieval Russia, in addition to the imported pearls, they
used natural pearls from the rivers in the north-western Russia. At that time,
people believed that the best pearls can be found in the rivers rich in salmon,
as this ‘royal fish' brings pearls to mussels. Moreover, a large oval-shaped
pearl was called a ‘pearl cucumber', fine pearls were known as ‘pearl grains', while
a pea size pearls were referred to as ‘beads', or ‘fake pearls'.
Freshwater pearls in Russia were used not only for making
jewelry, but for embroidery of women's clothing and headwear which served as a lucky
charm. Pearls have also been crushed and used in cosmetics, medicines, or in
paint formulations. Due to the fact that pearls did not require any additional
treatment, they ranked as the most expensive and valuable gemstone, until in
the 15-th century a method for cutting gemstones was invented. After that,
diamonds and rubies quickly became favorite gemstones, though freshwater pearls
in Russia were harvested until the end of 19-th century.
Nevertheless, by mid 19-th century, each and every rich person
had at least one strand of high-quality pearls in their jewelry collection. In
the 1920-s, it was nearly impossible to find genuine pearl jewelry, as it
became unbelievably rare and was kept mostly in private collections. Single
natural pearls were often sold as a collector's item, 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 for $100 cash and a
double strand of matched natural pearls valued at the time at $1 million.
For many years now, owning a piece of genuine pearl jewelry has
been a privilege of royal families, and old auction houses, such as Sotheby's.
For example, the famous Palawan Princess pearl, second largest natural pearl
after the legendary Pearl of Allah, was auctioned by the Bonhams &
Butterfields. The Princess weighs more than 2 kgs, and its diameter is over 15
centimeters. The lot was initially estimated at $ 400.000.
However, the 1920-s saw the revival of pearl jewelry by the
famous Coco Chanel who believed it to be the perfect accessory for her little
black dress. Soon everyone was convinced that jewelry should be donned to complete
an outfit and not to attract envious glances, which was common as only wealthy
ladies could afford jewelry between the wars. Mademoiselle Coco proved that
even cultured pearls can be the perfect alternative to expensive and flashy trinkets.
That's how, among other things, she invented haute jewelry.
Freshwater Pearl Jewelry
A typical necklace of freshwater pearls is a strand of white
or pink symmetrical perfectly round and proportional pearls. To make such a
necklace, jewelers sometimes work for 5 - 7 years. Most of this time is spent
carefully selecting the perfect gemstones. While Europeans tend to prefer luminous,
not necessarily large, pearls, Americans, by contrast, choose large and lusterless
white. However, pearls can be of different shape, color, size, purity and luster.
Contemporary jewelers use pearls of various colors: black, gold, coffee, white,
pink, green and turquoise - all in all, about 120 hues.
The famous jewelry brand Tiffany & Co presented a High
Jewelry collection, which featured the platinum Coach necklace with a splatter
of white diamonds and colored pearls, including cultivated freshwater pearls. The
necklace is perfect for an evening gown or a cocktail dress.
The Italian Damiani Group and Maison Martin Margiela launched
Line 12 jewelry collection. The collection highlights included stunning
necklaces of freshwater pearls. Multiple strands of brightly colored and oddly
shaped pearls have instantly caught attention of many fans of pearl jewelry
around the world.
Philippe Ferrandis is a French designer of jewelry and
accessories who creates two collections per year which are always different,
always spectacular, but which have over the years acquired their own style. Ferrandis' collections always include several
pearl jewelry pieces. His style and the quality of his jewelry are well known
among the couture designers. Balmain, Oscar de la Renta, Jean Louis Scherrer,
Escada and Chanel all ask him to accessorize their fashion shows. For the past
eight years, Daniel Swarovski has asked Philippe for his artistic collaboration
on every collection.
However, pearls are used not only for the classic jewelry
and art jewelry pieces. Couture Stiletto has surprised those who can appreciate
the beauty of a luxury item. A new collection of footwear looks really chic:
high-heel sandals in the snakeskin stitched with freshwater pearls of all
natural colors. The price of the exclusive footwear is given upon inquiry.
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