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History of Pearls and Diamonds...

Pearl History

As soon as the Spanish conquistadors arrived in the Western Hemisphere they discovered that around the islands of Cubagua and Margarita, some 200 km north of the Venezuelan coast, was the most exquisit bed of pearls they had seen. One of them, the Peregrina, was offered to the Spanish queens, the same pearl, an elongated one, that became very famous when Richard Burton purchased it and gave it to his wife Elizabeth Taylor. Margarita pearls are extremely difficult to find today, they have an exquisite yellowish color and are certainly unique and far better than others. The most famous Margarita necklace that any one can see today is the one that then Venezuelan President Romulo Betancourt gave as a gift to Jaqueline Kennedy when she and her husband, President John F. Kennedy paid an official visit to Venezuela.

Before the beginning of the 20th Century, pearl hunting was the most common way of harvesting pearls. Divers manually pulled oysters from ocean floors and river bottoms and checked them individually for pearls. Not all natural oysters produce pearls. In a haul of three tons, only three or four oysters will produce perfect pearls[citation needed] .
However, almost all pearls used for jewelry are cultured by planting a core or nucleus into pearl oysters. The pearls are usually harvested after one year for Akoya, and 2-4 years for Tahitian and South Sea, and 2-7 years for freshwater. This mariculture process was first developed by Tatsuhei Mise and Tokichi Nishikawa in Japan. The nucleus is generally a polished bead made from freshwater mussel shell. Along with a small piece of mantle tissue from another mollusk to serve as a catalyst for the pearl sac, it is surgically implanted into the gonad (reproductive organ) of a saltwater mollusk. In freshwater perliculture online the piece if tissue is used in most cases, and is inserted into the fleshy mantle of the host mussel. South Sea and Tahitian pearl oysters, also known as Pinctada margaritifera and Pinctada maxima, which survive the subsequent surgery to remove the finished pearl are often implanted with a new, larger nucleus as part of the same procedure and then returned to the water for another 2-3 years of growth. Despite the common misperception, Mikimoto did not patent the process of pearl culture. The accepted process of pearl culture was developed by a team of scientists at Tokyo University between 1907 and 1916. The team was headed by Tokichi Nishikawa and Tatsuhei Mise. Nishikawa was granted the patent in 1916, and married the daughter of Mikimoto. Mikimoto was able to use the technology after the patent expired in 1935. After the patent was granted in 1916, the technology was immediately commercially applied to akoya pearl oysters in Japan in 1916. Mise's brother was the first to produce a commercial crop of pearls in the akoya oyster. Mitsubishi's Baron Iwasaki immediately applied the technology to the south sea pearl oyster in 1917 in the Philippines, and later in Buton, and Palau. Mitsubish was the first to produce a cultured south sea pearl - although it was not until 1931 that the first small commercial crop of pearls was successfully produced.
The original Japanese cultured pearls, known as akoya pearls, are produced by a species of small oysters, Pinctada fucata martensii, no bigger than 6 to 7 cm in size, hence akoya pearls larger than 10 mm in diameter are extremely rare and highly prized. Today a hybrid mollusk is used in both Japan and China in the production of akoya pearls. It is a cross between the original Japanese shell, and Pinctada chemnitzii of China.[7]
China has recently overtaken Japan in akoya pearl production. Japan has all but ceased its production of akoya pearls smaller than 8mm. Japan maintains its status as a pearl processing center, however, and imports the majority of Chinese akoya pearl production. These pearls are then processed (often simply matched and sorted), relabled as product of Japan, and exported.[8]
In the past couple of decades, cultured pearls have been produced with larger oysters in the south Pacific and Indian Ocean. One of the largest pearl-bearing oysters is the [[Pinctada maxima]], which is roughly the size of a dinner plate. South Sea pearls are characterized by their large size and silvery color. Sizes up to 14 mm in diameter are not uncommon. Australia is one of the most important sources of South Sea pearls. Mitsubishi commenced pearl culture with the south sea pearl oyster in 1916 as soon as the technology patent was commercialised. By 1931 this project was showing signs of success, but was upset by the death of Tatsuhei. Although the project was recommenced after Tatsuhei's death, the project was discontinued at the beginning of WWII before significant productions of pearls were achieved. After WWII, new south sea pearl projects were commenced in the early 1950s in Burma and Kuri Bay and Port Essington in Australia. Japanese companies were involved in all projects using technicians from the original Mitsubishi south sea pre-war projects. Despite often being described as black south sea pearls, Tahitian pearls are not south sea pearls. The correct definition of a south sea pearl is "the pearl produced by the Pinctada maxima pearl oyster."
In 1914, pearl farmers began culturing freshwater pearls using the pearl mussels native to Lake Biwa. This lake, the largest and most ancient in Japan, lies near the city of Kyoto. The extensive and successful use of the Biwa Pearl Mussel is reflected in the name Biwa pearls, a phrase which was at one time nearly synonymous with freshwater pearls in general. Since the time of peak production in 1971, when Biwa pearl farmers produced six tons of cultured pearls, pollution and overharvesting have caused the virtual extinction of this animal. Japanese pearl farmers recently cultured a hybrid pearl mussel — a cross between the last remaining Biwa Pearl Mussels and a closely related species from China, the Cristaria plicata — in lake Kasumigaura. This industry closed in 2006 due to lake pollution.

In the 1990s, Japanese pearl producers also invested in producing cultured pearls with freshwater mussels in the region of Shanghai, China, and in Fiji. Freshwater pearls are characterized by the reflection of rainbow colors in the luster. Cultured pearls are also produced using abalone.

Diamond History....

We shall probably never know when the first diamonds were discovered, but we do know that, from ancient times until the eighteenth century, all the world's diamonds came from India. From the time of the Roman Empire until the arrival of the first Europeans in India at the beginning of the sixteenth century, trade relations flourished between Europe and Eastern Asia. One of the two principal diamond trade routes passed through Venice. The city became the most important mercantile republic in the western world. It enjoyed a monopoly of the diamond trade on its way to the main towns of southern Germany up to its final destination in Bruges. Lying as it did at the far end of the trade route, Bruges gradually developed into a flourishing diamond-cutting center and the city's reputation in this field steadily increased with time. Although Bruges maintained its pre-eminent position up to the end of the fourteenth century, within fifty years it began to decline because of the silting of the Zwin. The diamond trade, along with Bruge's many other economic activities, gradually shifted to the city of Antwerp which offered newer and better facilities for communications and exchange.

Antwerp was in the sixteenth century an expanding and flourishing city. By this time Antwerp already played a determining role in the development of diamond-working techniques . It is significant, for example, that Francois I did not call on the diamond cutters of Paris but placed his orders instead with the craftsmen of Antwerp.

Antwerp was at that time the commercial heart of Europe; approximately 40 % of the world trade passed through its port. Naturally the diamond occupied a favoured place. However the northern Netherlands's growing proportion on its business was acquired by Amsterdam. Antwerp's decline did not occur overnight and despite internal struggles such as the conflict between the New Guild of Diamond Cutters and the rich merchants, the city's prestige remained apparently intact up to the middle of the seventeenth century and the diamond trade itself continued to flourish .

At the end of the seventeenth century, Amsterdam came to the fore. It was a privileged city that offered religious and civil liberty and, up to the eighteenth century, it came to exercise a near monopoly not only on the diamond industry but also on the trade in diamonds. From then on Amsterdam supplied Antwerp in rough diamonds and, since the Dutch city kept the best stones for its own diamond cutters, Antwerp was obliged to make do with diamonds of inferior quality. Far from being discouraged, the Antwerp craftsmen took advantage of these rather difficult years and managed to transform small and mediocre stones into finely worked gems.

In 1866 the first diamond was discovered in South Africa. This discovery, followed a few years later by that of the Kimberley deposits and the fabulous Kimberley era and the rise of the now-famous De Beers Consolidated Mines Ltd. resulted in large-scale prospecting and mining activities which brought Europe massive supplies of rough diamonds. This massive influx of rough stones following the discoveries in South Africa was instrumental in contributing to the city's status of Antwerp as the world's leading diamond centre. Within a few months, this massive influx provided work for thousands of craftsmen , and the swift revival of diamond cutting in Antwerp was further stimulated by an ever-growing demand for gemstones.

The depression of the 1930s hit the diamond trade hard. The cutting shops were sometimes shut down completely for several weeks at a time. The situation remained difficult until the outbreak of the Second World War. In 1939 many Jewish businessmen fled the country and went to the United States, Portugal or England, where more than 500 diamond dealers from Antwerp, continued to meet and to do business. In an attempt to save as much of the existing diamond stocks as possible from the Germans, the 500 dealers in England transferred the diamonds there. In agreement with the British government, an organisation known as the Correspondence Office for the Diamond Industry was set up to register the diamonds and keep them for the duration of the war. Thanks to this organisation large quantities of diamonds were returned to their owners after the city was liberated and the Antwerp diamond industry got off to a promising start when the war was ended.

So it is a tradition that dates back several centuries that gives incomparable experience to the Antwerp diamond dealers. Yet, for Antwerp to maintain its reputation it became necessary to create a central administration that would be responsible for what each dealer found indispensable; no individual could do this on his own. This last step was taken with the creation of the "Hoge Raad voor Diamant", or the Diamond High Council.

Diamond History

The images and symbols abound with just the mention of this mineral, a natural crystalline substance that exemplifies wealth, prosperity, status, and everlasting love. Even lightning, magic, healing, protection and poisoning have been associated with this gem.

The story of the diamond transcends numerous cultures and localities. It is the oldest item that anyone can own - it's three billion years in age, a strategic and high tech super material that is formed in the earth's interior and shot to the surface by extraordinary volcanoes. It is carbon in its most concentrated form, the chemical element fundamental to all life, thus it is a native element. It is also extremely pure, containing only trace amounts of boron and nitrogen. The diamond's nearest relatives are mineral graphite and amorphous carbon.

It should come as no surprise that our culture was not the first to be lured by the hypnotic spell the diamond casts. The cultures that played a role in bringing the diamond into prominence are numerous. They are Greek, Indian, Old English, French, German, Hebrew, Latin, Arabic, Polish, Japanese, American, African, Korean, and Chinese. The ancient Greeks and Romans believed diamonds were tears of the Gods and splinters from falling stars. The Hindus attributed so much power to these precious stones they went so far as to place diamonds in the eyes of some of their statues. In unraveling the history and associations of diamonds, we also need to know the history of the words attached to it: did the words spoken by the Indians and Greeks signify the same things they do today, or something very different? These cultures associated tremendous value with these stones and clues as to why may be found in the language associated with them. "Diamond" comes from the Greek adamao, transliterated as "adamao," "I tame" or "I subdue." The adjective "adamas" was used to describe the hardest substance known, and eventually became synonymous with diamond.

Knowledge of diamond origin starts in India where it was first mined. The first known reference to diamond is a Sanskrit manuscript, the Arthsastra ("The Lesson of Profit") by Kautiliya, a minister to Chandragupta of the Mauryan dynasty (322 BC - 185 BC) in northern India.

Small numbers of diamonds began appearing in European regalia and jewelry in the 13th century, set as an accent point among pearls in splendid wrought gold. In the Middle Ages and Renaissance period, every ring that was set with a precious stone was not considered as much a piece of jewelry, as an amulet that bestowed magical powers like fearlessness and invincibility upon the wearer. Not only was it believed that diamonds could bring luck and success, but also that they could counter the effects of astrological events. There were many that wore diamonds as charms believing in their ability to heighten sexual prowess and attract others. Plato even wrote about diamonds as living beings, embodying celestial spirits. These myths laid the groundwork for monarchs to begin wearing diamonds as symbols of power.

An act of Louis IX of France (1214-1270) that established a sumptuary law reserving diamonds for the king bespeaks of the rarity of diamonds and the value conferred on them at that time. Within 100 years diamonds appeared in royal jewelry of both men and women, then among the greater European aristocracy.

The earliest diamond-cutting industry is believed to have been in Venice, a trade capital, starting sometime after 1330. In 1456 Louis de Berqueur discovered how to cut facets of a diamond By the 16th century the diamond became larger and more prominent as the result of the development of diamond faceting which enhances brilliance and fire.

In the 17th and 18th centuries the diamond presided as the ultimate in representing all that was wealth, prestige and power, and the huge import of diamonds during this period was nothing short of revolutionary.

Until the 18th century India was the only known source of the stones, believed to be found only in the fabled mines of Golconda, though Golconda was in fact only the market city of the diamond trade and gems sold there came from a number of mines. Brazil then became the main producer after diamonds were found there in 1726. It was not until the 1867 discovery of diamonds near Hopetown, south of Kimberley in South Africa, that the modern diamond industry was born. The 1870s and 1880s in the Northern Cape saw a frenzied rush to the newly discovered diamond fields.

The world's largest gem quality diamond, the Cullinan, was found in South Africa in 1905. Uncut, it weighed 3025 carats. The Centenary, found in 1986, was polished from a 599 carat gem. The rough diamond was cut into various stones, the largest of which bears the name Centenary and, at 273 carats, is the largest modern cut, top colour, flawless diamond in the world.

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