Did Julius Caesar Invade Britian Because of Pearls?

by Kari
(Muscatine, Iowa)

Abernathy Pearl -- Perth, Scotland

HIstorians speculate that, Yes, pearls may have been one of his main reasons for invading Britain. The Scots resisted the Romans, however, and that's where some of the most valuable pearls were found. (Read more about the Abernathy Pearl affectionatly known as "Little Willy".) Hadrian's wall was constructed for protection against this resistant people....apparently the Scots weren't too excited about Caesar getting their pearls.

Enjoy this Los Angeles Times article and learn more about pearls.

Brock Purple Pearl in the News

by Kari
(Muscatine, Iowa)

Leslie & George Brock's Purple CherryStone Clam Pearl

Believe it or not....there are quite a number of purple pearls "out there," but few make the daily news. Leslie and George Brock's purple pearl that they found at Dave's Last Resort & Raw Bar in Lakeland, Florida, made headlines at several news stations today and yesterday.

Watch a video of Leslie and George Brock at the restaurant where they found the pearl:
http://www.news12now.com/video/index.php?bcpid=1137883291&bclid=1143359274&bctid=1361619897

What most folks don't realize is that any mollusc can make a pearl....even a sand snail. Of course, not all are valuable, but natural purple pearls are getting lots of attention these days and the price levels for natural purple pearls will be determined partly on what a famous Quahog brooch sells for at the Natural History Museum.

Leslie Brock uploaded this photo and story of their new purple pearl find here on KariPearls.com:
http://www.karipearls.com/purple-pearl-cherrystone-clam-find.html

She has also added her phone number on that page and is interested in any information about CherryStone Clam pearls.

Check out the pearls other folks have found here:
http://www.KariPearls.com/finding-a-pearl.html

Stone Crab Pearl

by Kari
(Muscatine, Iowa)

Bay City resident, Kathy Miller, has found what is believed to be a pearl in a stone crab claw.

Kathy says, “It’s about the size of an English pea. I’ve shown it to some people, and they said it’s a really nice pearl. It’s white with orange specks.”

A graduate gemologist, Allen Green, of Bay City said it was a pearl "of a type" and probably the only one of its kind. He said some irritant must have caused the crab to secrete calcium carbonate and make a pearl.

Green was not able to find any other references to such a pearl and calls it a stone crab pearl.

Miller plans to put her pearl on a pendant.

“It’s unbelievable because nobody’s every heard of it,” Miller said. “But I swear I found a pearl in a stone crab claw.”

DPE and Gem-A collaborate to offer new course on natural pearls

DUBAI: Here is some good news for all jewellery lovers, aspiring designers, gem traders and cultural tourists. The Gemological Association of Great Britain (Gem-A) is collaborating with the Dubai Pearl Exchange (DPE), a subsidiary of the Dubai Multi Comm odities Centre (DMCC), to develop a comprehensive education programme for Natural Pearls.

The curriculum on natural pearls with 15 subject areas will be conducted in Dubai by the DPE and will provide a combination of detailed pearl knowledge leading to a Completion Certificate presented by DPE and Gem-A.

Recognising the importance of Dubai's pearling heritage, DPE aims to impart knowledge about the beauty and history of natural pearls and their fundamental place in the region's heritage.

Read entire article here.

26 Pearls Found in One Oyster

(Tyre, Lebanon)

A LEBANESE woman working in a restaurant kitchen found 26 pearls in an oyster she was preparing for the table and will submit the find to the Guinness Book of Records.

Amal Salha, 50, said she was helping out her son in his Al Fanar restaurant on the waterfront in the southern port of Tyre, when she made the astonishing find yesterday evening.

"I couldn't believe it," she said.

"I was in the process of opening the shells when I found a number of shining pearls inside one of them," she said. "I was so startled I screamed.

Read entire article here

The above link opens up a new window.

One of the Most Celebrated Pearls

by Rob Kircher
(Panama)

If you like a good saga look no further then the one that began in 1513 when an African slave reportedly discovered a magnificent pearl while diving off the coast the isle of Santa Margarita, one of the Las Perlas Islands in the Gulf of Panama, and in turn was granted his freedom by Don Pedro de Temez, the administer of the Spanish Colony in Panama.
It has been known by many titles for well over 500 years, such as the “Wanderer”, “Pilgrim” and the “Incomparable”, but it is most widely recognized by a very different name. See if you can guess its identity.
Imagine a natural pearl the size of a pigeon’s egg (55.95 carats to be exact) that not only is one of the most celebrated pearls in the world, but also has one of the most intriguing histories of any world-class jewel.

Read entire article here.

Natural pearls are a true gift from nature

The natural pearl has captivated generations like no other stone. It is an elegant and beautiful jewel on its own, a true gift from nature.

A natural pearl begins life as a foreign object lodged inside the oyster. Nacre, a smooth, hard, crystalline substance, forms in layers around the object. Over time, the ultimate result is the precious stone called a pearl.

Most pearls sold today are cultured products of pearl farmers. The difference between cultured pearls and natural pearls is that man carefully implants the irritant and nature creates a miracle.

Stories about the discovery of pearls are many. For centuries it was believed that oysters rose to the water's surface in the morning, opened their shells to absorb a few dew drops that became pearls -- but only at certain times of the year.

Read entire article here.

Thieves Destroy rare Pearl Beds in Scotland

by Caroline Davies

Pearl thieves raiding Scotland's freshwater mussel beds are threatening to bring the endangered shellfish to the brink of extinction, police have warned.

Scotland is home to approximately 60% of the world's population of freshwater mussels. But their future is under threat. Pearl mussels were once a major industry in Scotland, and they have been extremely sought after throughout Scottish history.

Local pearls are among the crown jewels in the vaults of Edinburgh castle, and legend has it that the pearls were one of the reasons Julius Caesar thought of invading Britain.

But over-exploitation has resulted in stocks being almost wiped out. Given their critical status, freshwater pearl mussels were given full protection in 1998. The molluscs are seen as being an important part of Scotland's biodiversity. But today, apart from illegal fishing, they are also threatened by pollution and declining salmon stocks.

Read entire article here.

Large Imperfect Pearls Added to Vatican Cross

VATICAN CITY — One of the gems of the Vatican's priceless religious art collection — a 6th century reliquary containing the purported fragments of the cross on which Jesus was crucified — has gotten a new look after being restored to its Byzantine-era glory, experts say.

Most significantly, the restoration corrected a botched 19th century restoration that threatened to corrode the piece. And it replaced the brightly colored gems that were added in previous centuries with the large, imperfect pearls that are emblematic of Byzantine-era imperial masterpieces, said restorer Sante Guido.

A circle of 12 pearls now surrounds the relic, and pearls around the cross' edge now alternate with emeralds and sapphires — the two other gems most often associated with Byzantine emperors, he said.

n addition to the relic inside, the cross itself is an important piece of early Christian art: it's a rare example of an imperial gift and expression of the emperor's Christian faith. Across the piece is written in Latin: "With the wood with which Christ conquered man's enemy, Justin gives his help to Rome and his wife offers the ornamentation."

Read entire article here.

EGL Authenticates One of World's Largest Pearls

by nationaljewelernetwork.com/njn/con
(New York)

5 Pound Pearl (photo used with permission)

New York—A five-pound blister pearl found in the waters off the Philippines has been authenticated as one of the largest, most valuable pearls ever to be discovered and documented, according to EGL USA.

The brain-shaped specimen—a giant, non-nacreous natural blister pearl—was found in the giant clam Tridacna Gigas and measures over six inches in length.

A team of EGL USA expert gemologists, led by Nicholas Del Re, analyzed the pearl using a combination of advanced technologies including digital radiography, close magnification and data provided by a handheld X-ray fluorescence unit.

Quahog pearl ‘theoretically possible but extremely rare’

by SHERRY MARTELL
(The Truro Daily News)

TATAMAGOUCHE — It’s not unusual for Carmen Miller to grab a raw quahog fresh off the beach, shuck it open and eat it. But something out of the ordinary did happen recently when the Tatamagouche man did just that.

“I wanted a snack so I opened a couple up and the second one I had, my tooth hit something hard in it,” he said.

“I didn’t know what it was at first, but it was this.”
Miller held up the rare natural wonder he had almost swallowed, a purple-coloured pearl about the size of a dime.

Read entire article and see photo here.

Kuwaiti Pearl Divers Sing the Fidjeri

by Cindy
(DiveNews.com)

The 18th Memorial Pearl Diving Trip held its traditional closing ceremony at the Kuwait Sports Sea Club (KSSC). The families of the young divers involved in this year's dive excursion met at the club to welcome their sons home. The women, especially the older ones, welcomed the seafarers with a high-pitched chant, known in Kuwait as 'Yebab'. Some brought flowers.


The divers sang traditional pearl diving songs, (the fidjeri) as a folk group played the traditional Kuwaiti drums. The divers then opened the oysters they had harvested during their eight-day pearl diving trip. This event is known as the 'Flaq' in Kuwait.

The divers after collecting the pearls presented them to the representative of the Amir-the Minister of Social Affairs and Labour Sheikh Sabah Al-Khalid Al-Sabah. Finally, the Kuwaiti flag was lowered, folded and given to the representative of HH the Amir, signaling the end of the diving season, known as 'Al-Ghaus' in the local dialect...


Read entire article here.

Kuwait City Water Towers on Seafront, Kuwait, Kuwait
Photographic Print

Keribar, Izzet


Buy at AllPosters.com

Natural Pearls -- Better Investment than Gold

by LAYLA HAROON
(City Times)

Since time immemorial, pearls have been endowed with unparalleled elegance. Being cognizant of this, Christie’s calls forth one of the most significant collections of pearls ever to have appeared on the market at its forthcoming Contemporary Jewels and Watches sale in Dubai.


The 30 lot strong selection of ‘gem’ quality pearls, valued, researched and sought by specialist David Warren, are distinctly noteworthy due to their superb shape, beautiful colour and large size — the three major factors that influence collectors preference.

“Natural pearls and oil have distinct similarities,” says Warren, who is the Director of Jewellery Christie’s. “Both are dwindling resources that have great significance to people of the Gulf region and in each case it is hard to imagine the long term value falling. It is fitting that Christie’s will bring some of the rarest pearls back to the region that they originally came from, giving local collectors a wonderful chance to buy some of the finest gemstones in the world.”

Read entire article here.

Scots pearl poachers face £1.3m fine over mussel deaths

by James Moncur
(Scotland)

PEARL poachers who killed 130 protected mussels in a Scots river could be fined £1.3million if they're caught.

The possible penalty for each dead mussel is £10,000.

The poachers' crime was uncovered last week on the South Esk river near Brechin, Angus. Experts found that a third of the freshwater mussels on a stretch of the river had been illegally fished and prised open.

Read entire article here.

Enjoy this page about the Scottish Abernathy Pearl which I photographed in Perth, Scotland.