Mikimoto Paris joaillerie de la perle de culture, accueil


	THE BIRTH OF CULTURED PEARL
Broch "4 Seasons"	How Pearls are Cultured ? The process of culturing pearls by injecting a foreign object into an oyster was invented by Kokichi Mikimoto, the company's founder in 1893. While the process is well-known today, the discovery was an unusual, scientific achievement at the time .
The Composition of a Pearl The irritant can be anything small enough to enter the oyster shell. For example, a grain of sand, a fishbone or a fragment of shell can start the process. Today, freshwater oyster shells from the USA are formed into small beads and used as the nucleus for cultured pearls.
The Process Oysters are gathered from the sea at two to three years old. A skilled technician then inserts a small bead into the body of the oyster. The oysters are then returned to the sea in wire baskets hung from long, floating rafts. The rafts are often moved to protect the oysters from predators and extreme temperatures. Pearls are harvested after three to six years of careful cultivation.	Birth of a pearl
Tahiti cultured pearls	Cultured versus Natural Pearls in XIXth The only difference between a cultured and a natural pearl is the way in which the nucleus is implanted. The only way to detect the difference between the two is to scan the pearl through an X-ray to see the substance of the core. Akoya or 'Japanese' Pearls The Akoya oyster, harvested throughout Japan, produces pearls ranging in size from 2mm to l0mm. Their shapes range from round to irregular, and their colours ranging from shades of white, cream and grey to blue, green, gold, silver and pink. They are most noted for their rich, varied colours and superb shine. Freshwater Pearls Freshwater pearls are produced by implanting a piece of mantle tissue from a rnussel, rather than a solid nucleus. As the tissue dissolves, the pearl becomes solid nacre. Freshwater pearls are easily recognised by their unusual shapes which are elongated and often resemble rice or raisins. They come in shades of lavender, peach and tangerine as well as blue- greens. South Sea Pearls Cultured pearls larger than l0mm are produced in the warmer waters of the South Seas by two types of oysters: the Silver-lipped and the Golden-lipped. South Sea pearls are known for their rare size and exquisite colours, ranging from silver to iridescent gold. The "gold" pearls are considered rarer than gold itself. Naturally Black Pearls Produced by the black-lipped pearl oyster of Tahiti and Okinawa, these naturally black pearls range from 8.5mm to over 15mm in size and have blue, green and violet hues. They command a high price today due to their brilliant colour and the length of time required to harvest them. To create one necklace, it may require a dozen harvest years to find enough black pearls of matching size, shape and colour.
Did you Know? Queen Elizabeth I often wore seven to eight ropes of pearls at the same time, some that hung to her knees. They were described by an observer as being the size of nutmegs. She also owned more than 3,000 pearls encrusted gowns. The world's largest pearl, the Pearl of Allah was found in 1934. I t weighs 14lbs and is nine inches long and five inches wide. The pearl is astrologically linked to the birth sign of Cancer and is the birth stone of those born under the sign. Pearls were ground up for use in cosmetics by the ancient Egyptians and Chinese, they were also thought to be an aphrodisiac. It was believed that the pearl was a reliable indicator of the health of its wearer. If the pearl clouded it meant that the wearer was sick and it lost its lustre if its owner died. Tibetan monks were said to possess a 'seduction pearl' that would make any woman, caught in its luminescent rays, hungry for love.	Preparing oysters