Did you know? The Pearl Addition
Pearls have some wild stories.
Cartier’s Flagship Store in New York was Bought with Pearls.
You read that right! In 1917 Pierre Cartier exchanged a pearl necklace valued at 1 million dollars and $100 for it's current home on NYC's 5th ave. Mae Caldwell Plant walked away with priceless pearls and Cartier gained their flagship store.
Julius Caesar Created a Law that Allowed Only Aristocrats to Wear Pearls
To ancient Romans, pearls were a symbol of wealth and prestige. Possessing pearls meant you belonged to a certain social class. in 1BC, the famous Roman ruler Julius Caesar created a law that prohibited anyone below the ruling class to wear the fine jewels. Jerk!
The World’s Most Expensive Pearl was found under a bed!
The world’s most expensive pearl (valued at $100 million) was kept under the bed as a good luck charm for ten years before seeing the light of day in 2016 when the house it was in burned down.
A fisherman discovered the pearl off the coast of the Philippines inside a giant clam. Why is this pearl valued at $100 million? Measuring in at 26 inches long and weighing nearly 75 pounds, it is the largest pearl that is known to exist.
Cleopatra Used Pearls to Win a Bet
According to a famous legend, Cleopatra wanted to prove to Mark Anthony that she could host the most expensive dinner in history. Cleopatra was known to have owned two of the world’s largest pearls at the time which she wore as earrings. She instructed her servants to bring her potent vinegar and then dropped one of the pearls into the vinegar, dissolving it. She continued to drink what can be dubbed as the world’s most expensive cocktail. Needless to say, the Queen of Egypt won the bet.
Natural Pearls are One of the World’s Rarest Jewels
Less than 1 in every 10,000 wild oysters contain pearls. 99% of pearls on the market today are pearls.
The First Cultured Pearl was created in 1878
Kokichi Mikimoto is credited as the first man to create a cultured (or cultivated) pearl. In 1878, he began to methodically test ways to develop pearls in his own oyster beds. After nearly two decades of trial-and-error, he succeeded and received a patent for cultured pearls in 1896. This significantly impacted the pearl industry. Not only did Mikimoto’s discovery help fulfill the global demand for pearls in a more sustainable way, but it also put a dent in the natural pearl market. That’s due to the fact that people began to opt for these less expensive, more round pearls. Mikomoto was quoted saying that his dream was to “adorn the necks of all women around the world with pearls." Thanks Mikomoto!!
