The Laings Journal
Jewellery lovers have a long standing admiration for the beauty of the pearls. The natural wonders have a lustre that is hard to find elsewhere and ancient mythology described them as dewdrops from heaven.
Whilst many of us wear them, we often know little about them.
Check out our top facts about pearls!
The quality of a pearl is determined by a combination of several elements:
- Lustre: refers to the smoothness and evenness of the surface of a pearl
- Surface: the thicker the nacre of a pearl the higher the quality
- Shape: the closer to a true sphere the higher the value of a pearl
- Flaws: aside from natural flaws in the formation of the pearl, the less flaws a pearl has the more valuable is it
Interestingly pearls are the only gemstones which are made by living animals and 'Periculture' is the art of pearl farming. Harvesting pearls from mollusks does not kill the animals, as they can be re-implanted and used to make more pearls. Akoya pearls come from oysters in saltwater and freshwater pearls usually come from mussels, all mollusks can also make pearls. The colour of the pearl is then determined by the inside colour of the shell in which they are growing. A pearls colour can vary from white to gold and from purple to black.
At Laings we're proud to stock Mikimoto, who produce the finest cultured pearls in the world and they developed a cultivation process which lead to their founders name, Kokichi Mikimoto, becoming known worldwide. FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THEIR CULTIVATION PROCESS.
Pearls have been used in jewellery for thousands of years. The oldest known piece of pearl jewellery fragment was found in the sarcophagus of a Persian princess who died in 520BC. However, it 
was when Mikimoto developed the first cultured pearl that pearl jewellery really took off. Well known figures such as, Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe and Princess Grace of Monaco were amongst their most iconic fans.
Mikimoto are known for the beauty of their pearls and the classic styles really lend themselves to a pearls unique charm. However as leaders in pearl jewellery they have also created distinct and exquisite jewellery designs that are truly glamorous. The pieces are contemporary and fashionable, but also still have the timeless elegance that pearls are famous for.
VIEW OUR FULL COLLECTION OF MIKIMOTO JEWELLERY
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