Feature P


rized since Antiquity, famously depicted in Vermeer’s exquisite 17th


century


portrait Girl with a Pearl Earring and adored by everyone from royalty to


celebrities through the centuries, pearls certainly have a lustrous history. Te mysterious gem is even immortalised in music, from Bizet’s Te Pearl Fishers to Glen Miller’s String of Pearls. In the 1920s, Coco Chanel popularised long


ropes of faux pearls. By the ‘50s, Marilyn Monroe and Grace Kelly preferred simple cream chok- ers as ‘twinsets and pearls’ became a style staple. In her iconic heyday, Princess Diana was often photographed in her favourite seven strand pearl, diamond and sapphire design. Pearls, it appears, have never gone out of fashion. Now a treasure-chest of pearls - often with fascinating stories – are profiled in a unique exhi- bition of jewellery, costumes and works of art, at London’s Victoria & Albert museum. From their origins in the pearl fishing trade to their changing styles, status and symbolism, pearls have variously meant wealth and prestige in Roman times, to purity and chastity as a symbol of Christianity, and back to adornments of affluence in European high society.


cultured pearls bought for her on honeymoon by second husband Joe DiMaggio, was one of the few pieces of fine jewellery Marilyn owned. Te exhibition also features the ‘pearl pioneer’


Kokichi Mikimoto, credited in 1893 with the world’s first industrial production of perfectly spherical cultured pearls. Gaining global attention as a result, he astounded fellow inventor Tomas Edison in the process. “It is one of the wonders of the world that you were able to culture pearls. It is something supposed to be biologically impos- sible,” said Edison in a New York Times reported meeting between the two. Te British Jewellers Association say that the


‘pearl crisis’ – or increasing rarity of real pearls at the time - led to the formation of the Brit- ish Gemological Association, to ‘differentiate between the natural and the cultivated.’ For those who prefer their pearls natural rather than ‘co- erced’, the BJA also advise that some companies - such as Boodles of Chester - can still source shining examples - usually via pearl divers from the waters off Tahiti – at a price. In Mikimoto’s cultivating case, he aimed to


Some of the priceless highlights on display are


regal and poignant, including a pearl drop earring worn by Charles I at his execution, King George III’s pearl-trim buttons and Princess Alexandra’s famed and extravagant ‘Dagmar necklace’. Queen Victoria’s keepsake curios of her beloved Prince Albert, Garrard’s diamond and pearl Rosebury ti- ara and Queen Elizabeth’s pearl-strewn Norman Hartnell couture gown worn on her 1950s tour of France, are others. Alongside objets from the Royal Collection,


Tate Britain, and the British Museum, jewellery sources span Mikimoto, Tiffany & Co, Bulgari, Cartier, Chaumet, Rene Lalique and YOKO London. Evocative items of contemporary times are Liz Taylor’s Bulgari pearl drop pendant ear- rings of 1972, and Marilyn Monroe’s Akoya pearl choker from 1954 by Mikimoto. Interestingly, unlike Liz, her film star peer, and despite Mari- lyn’s famous role singing Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend, the sublime yet simple strand of 39


redress the depletion of over-fished oysters and to grow the best pearls from them. Success came in the wake of much struggle, and his dream expanded: “I would like to adorn the necks of all the women of the world with pearls,” he famously said. To this aim, he exhibited Akoya pearl jewel- lery masterpieces at major international exposi- tions to great acclaim. London became home to his first overseas pearl businessin 1913, swiftly followed by store openings worldwide. Te brand went on to bridge East to West de- sign aesthetics, from traditional Japanese to Western couture. In 1914, Mikimoto’s next business gem was to successfully cultivate the ‘Queen of Pearls’, or bewitching black South Sea pearl – with his culturing methods later adapted to the waters of the South Pacific. White South Sea pearls are most rare; amongst the largest and most valuable in the world. As with the black version, shapes range from round, oval or teardrop to free-form baroque. Still more coveted with a warm golden colouring said to be rarer than gold itself, is the magnificent South Sea golden cultured pearl. Most elusive of all is the natural Pink Pearl with distinct ‘flame’ structure, hailing from the Queen conch shell of the Caribbean. With only one ac- ceptable pearl in every 10,000 to 20,000 shells collected by fishermen, they come top of the pearl


Mikimoto is at Bond Street, London and a concession is at Harrods. Also available at www.mikimoto.co.uk and www.moodys1883.com Te V&A Pearls exhibition runs until 19th January, 2014. See www.vam.ac.uk/pearls for more.


51


price hierarchy. Unlike pearls from oysters, they are not composed of layers of nacre but have a characteristic porcellaneous appearance – and man-made attempts to culture them have failed. In contrast, less precious freshwater pearls are the most affordable. Easier to grow than saltwater pearls, most of the world’s supply is farmed in China. Cultivated in mussels rather than oysters, one freshwater mussel can grow 10-14 usually non-round pearls at a time, compared to saltwater oysters’ usual yield of one. According to Mikimoto, most popular of all


continues to be Japanese Akoya pearls with their spherical shape,rich, creamy sheen and varied colour hues from white to pastel. While cheaper, inferior pearls flood today’s market, Mikimoto’s pearl farms only accept and sell the top 5% of their production. In 1974, the company estab- lished an industry standard with the first grading system for cultured pearls – ‘AAA’ representing the very highest quality. Although the Mikimoto mantra is that ‘pearls are like fingerprints; each is unique’, most important buying factors to consid- er are luminosity and surface perfection. “Lustre is the amount of light a pearl reflects, both from its surface glow and its inner light,” says company PR, Emma Clarke. “Diamonds and emeralds may sparkle but the best pearls naturally light up any complexion. Te wearing of pearls remains a timeless style worldwide.”


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68