• Natural pearls: Formed without human interference, these are incredibly rare.

• Cultured pearls: The process is natural, but guided by farmers who carefully place a nucleus inside the mollusc to start the process.

• Saltwater pearls: Grown in oysters in oceans and seas, they include the famous Akoya (Japan), South Sea (Australia, Indonesia, Philippines) and Tahitian (French Polynesia) pearls.

• Freshwater pearls: These are grown in rivers and lakes, usually in mussels. China is the largest producer today. Freshwater pearls are versatile, often more irregular, and come in pastel shades.

• Baroque pearls: Irregular in shape, these are sometimes wild, sometimes graceful. Each one is unique.

• Keshi pearls: Tiny pearls formed without a nucleus, often by accident. They have intense lustre.

• Mabe pearls: These are flat on one side, grown against the shell of the oyster.

Facts

Cartier’s famous trade

In 1917, jeweller Jacques Cartier acquired his iconic 5th Avenue building in New York in exchange for $100 and a pearl necklace worth $1 million at the time. Sadly, the necklace was later sold for much less once cultured pearls became common.

La Peregrina — the most famous pearl

La Peregrina, meaning “the incomparable” in Spanish, is a pear-shaped pearl about the size of a small egg. Its history stretches back 550 years, and it has passed through the hands of European royalty, including Queen Mary and Napoleon Bonaparte.

In the 1960s, actor Richard Burton gave it to Elizabeth Taylor as a Valentine’s gift. Taylor later asked Cartier to redesign it into a striking necklace with diamonds, rubies and additional pearls. In 2011, it was sold at Christie’s in New York for $11 million.

The world’s largest pearl

The largest pearl ever found weighs nearly 75 pounds. In 2016, a fisherman discovered it inside a giant clam off the coast of the Philippines. Measuring about 26 inches long, it remains the heaviest known pearl.

Julius Caesar’s pearl law

In ancient Rome, pearls symbolised wealth and power. In 1 BC, Julius Caesar passed a law forbidding anyone outside the aristocracy from wearing them. Pearls became a clear sign of status, reserved for Rome’s elite.

The oldest pearl

In 2012, archaeologists found what is believed to be the world’s oldest pearl in a gravesite in the United Arab Emirates. Named Umm al Quwain after the region where it was found, the pearl dates back 7,500 years to 5500 BC, making it far older than any previously discovered.

Published in Dawn, Young World, October 11th, 2025