Drape yourself with a dyed green pearl necklace!
Part One
Pearls have been around for centuries and are still considered timeless elegance – gracing the necks of icons like Jacqueline Kennedy, Louise Brooks, Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly and many more ladies that have been considered fashion icons.
Pearls are formed when a particle, irritant, or piece of an organic matter enters the shell of some oysters, mussels or shellfish. Nacre, which is secreted by the mussels in response forms on the foreign object to eventually produce a pearl. There are natural pearls, those that are formed as a accident of nature and there are cultured pearls, those that formed with human intervention.
Myth
According to the Roman writer Pliny, Cleopatra dissolved a priceless pearl earring in her wine and drank it as a testament of love for Antony(Pockets Gemstones – written by Emma Foa)
Freshwater cultured pearls
Freshwater cultured pearls are cultivated primarily in China, then Japan and the United states. Pearls that are cultured in non-saline fresh water, ponds and lakes by fresh water mussels are known as freshwater pearls. Production of freshwater cultured pearls started in Japan, but China has since become the biggest producer of freshwater pearls. Freshwater cultured pearls are cheap and readily available for everyday wear.
