Pearl 珍珠

Deposit sites: Japan, China, South Seas Australia Burma, Cook Islands, Tahiti, the Philippines, Central America and U.S.A.

Group: Organic gems

Hardness: 2.5 ~ 4

Zodiacal sign: Leo, Gemini, Virgo, Taurus, Aquarius, Pisces, Cancer.

Color scheme: Virtually any body color, but usually white or cream, gray to black.

Gemstone of the month: June, 3rd and 30th Wedding Anniversaries.

A symbol of wealth, prestige, power, courage and purity, pearl jewelry in classic or contemporary styles flatters the complexion and lifts the spirit.

The queen of all gems, a pearl is an organic gem, a gift from nature. Their unique shape and beautiful luster give them their soft delicate beauty. The pearl is to the moon, and we might as well call it the Queen-gem. Precious coral is the father of the Earth and Pearl is the mother. Pearls, associated naturally with the moon and the sea.

Today seventy percent of all pearls are used in necklaces, but in the past pearls have been put to a variety of uses. Romans ladies, during the time of Nero, slept on pearl inlaid beds, and from early Christian times pearls have symbolized the Blessed Virgin Mary because Jesus was said to be the pearl she gave birth to. Queen Elizabeth I was a renowned lover of pearls who had thousands of pearls, both real and artificial, sewn into the dresses she wore at court.

Pearls have also been used as medicine. During the Renaissance Sir Francis Bacon was said to have made a medicinal paste of powdered pearls and lemon juice and in the 17th century a French lapidary recommended crushed pearls as an antidote to cure many illnesses. Some Asian cultures thought pearls cured fever, indigestion, bleeding, and eye ailments.