Birthstone of the month: Pearl

“Who comes with summer to this earth

And owes to June her hour of birth

A pearl should wear against her skin

Whose innocence many a heart shall win.”

June is a beautiful time of year, so it seems only right that pearl should be this month’s birthstone.

The pearl is one of the oldest known gemstones and often appears in myths, legends and folklore.

The Greeks believed they were formed from Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love’s tears of joy as she was born from the sea. Because of this they are often associated with femininity, love and are thought to be an aphrodisiac.

The Chinese believed they came from the brains of dragons. For the Romans, they were a symbol of royalty and only people of noble birth were permitted to wear them. Indeed, they remained reserved for special occasions until style icon Coco Chanel starting wearing them as a staple part of her everyday wardrobe.

Pearls have long been prized for their healing properties, particularly in Asian medicine. They are thought to be a remedy for stomach, heart, spleen and intestinal problems.

What makes pearls unique to all other gemstones is that they do not require processing or polishing to make them beautiful. They arrive perfectly formed and lustrous. This maybe why pearls are said to bring out inner beauty and promote purity and happiness in the wearer.

For centuries they have been worn by the bride or given as a gift at weddings as they are believed to be a sign of purity and femininity.

Pearls are created when an irritant enters the soft tissue of a mollusc. Layers of nacre, the substance that gives pearls their lustrous shine, builds up around the irritant, creating a pearl.

It is rare to find natural pearls and even more rare to find perfectly round ones, as pearls form to the shape of the original irritant. Because of this, the majority of pearls available are cultured. This is when an artificial irritant with the desired shape of the finshed peartl is inserted into the mollusc.

Much like those born in June, each pearl is truly one of a kind. They cannot be identically cut to size and there are many variations of shape, colour and lustre.

With wearers ranging from Aphrodite to Chanel, few other gemstones have influenced art, fashion and tradition the way the pearl has. It is no wonder it remains one of the most popular and prized gemstones to this day.

Examples of pearl jewellery from Gatwards (click on photo for more information)