The Pearl - Queen of gems
The oldest gem known to man, the pearl, has been a source of fascination.
Said one oyster to a neighbouring oyster,
“I have a great pain within me
It is heavy and round
and I am in distress.”
And the other oyster replied with haughty complacence,
“Praise be to the heavens and to the sea,
I have no pain within me.
I am well and whole
both within and without.”
At that moment a crab was passing by and heard the two oysters,
and he said to the one who was well and whole both within and without,
“yes, you are well and whole;
but the pain that your neighbour bears
is a pearl of great beauty.”
- Kahlil Gibran
This poem does describe the basic fact of how a pearl is formed.
Natural pearls form under a set of accidental conditions when a microscopic intruder or grain of sand enters an oyster (mollusk) and settles inside the shell. The oyster, being irritated by the intruder, secretes the pearl substance called nacre, a combination of crystalline and organic substances, to soothe its irritation. This process is repeated for many years, thus producing a real pearl. For a natural pearl to form with a nice round or oval shape and be free of any flaws is a miracle as chances of getting a perfect natural pearl are one in a million.Pearls are one of the oldest of gems and the only gem made by a living entity.
Modern-day cultured pearls are the result of discoveries made in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by Japanese researchers Tatsuhei Mise, Tokishi Nishikawa and Kokichi Mikimoto, the son of a noodle maker. Cultured pearls can be distinguished from natural pearls through the use of X-rays, which reveal the inner part of the pearl though both natural pearl and cultured pearl are sea dependent.
The environmental pollution has caused great concern to pearl culture entrepreneurs throughout the world. In the light of the hazards that sea-based pearl oyster / pearl production practices face, the only and safer option is to go for a technology, which is not sea water dependent.
Tuticorin, is one of the famous pearl producing cenres in the world. The natural pearls produced by the pearl oysters from the Gulf of Mannar and Persian Gulf were considered to be the best Orient Pearls and are more valuable than pearls from other countries.
Slice of history
Pearl fishing flourished during the Sangam age. The Pandian port city of Korkai was the centre of pearl trade. The inferior variety of pearls that the Tamils discarded was in demand in foreign markets. Pearls were woven along with muslin cloth, before being exported. The royal chariots and the horses were decked with pearls. Convicts were used as pearl divers in Korkai.
Tuticorin earlier was a converging point for natural pearls extracted from pearl oysters from the beds by organizing periodic pearl fishery. The last pearl fishery was conducted in 1961 in the Gulf of Mannar and in 1966 in Gulf of Kutch. In view of its famous “Orient Pearls”, Tuticorin is named as “Pearl City”.
The main reason for the failure of pearl fishery was non-revival of pearl oyster population in the natural beds which may be due to environmental impact and the modern fish nets being used by trawlers. Therefore the availability of natural pearls has become a rarity. Trained technicians are giving hands-on training to members of women self-help group at Chippikulam and Vellappatti villages for pearl production,” says Dr. M. S. Madan of CMFRI, ( Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI)
This Institute has well trained divers to collect oysters from natural resources for experiments and also for survey. This centre of CMFRI is a recognised centre for giving SCUBA diving training.
Pearls of history
The oldest surviving pearl necklace is nearly 2000 years old and was found in the sarcophagus of a Persian Princess.
Pearls symbolised purity and chastity.
A pearl earring was believed to have paid for one Roman general's political campaign.
Cleopatra reportedly dissolved a pearl in wine and drank it to prove her love to Marc Antonius.
Thanks: www.thehindu.com
