The Ancient History of Pearls - Paris Exhibit 2025

Henri Vever, Corsage ornament, 1900, Mississipi pearls, diamonds, enamel, gold, silver

“During the 1920s, pearls were Queen. And why Paris is the center of a very complex saga that unravels through the exhibition”, Gay-Eckel explains. Her colleague, Leonard Pouy, completed a research project about the connection between Paris and the pearl producers in the Middle East. He found evidence from 8000 BCE that the region was rich in pearls; they were integrated into ancient funerary rites and even worn by Cleopatra. Historians as far back as the Roman author Pliny the Elder noted that the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean were famous for pearl fishing.

Gay-Eckel says, “Every time there is a new archeological discovery, we find even earlier proof that humans in the Middle East understood pearls, were using pearls, revered pearls, and even used them in ceremonies.” What Pouy discovered is that the French, through the agency of independent merchants, established themselves in the Middle East. Political and business alliances facilitated a natural flow between the source of pearls and manufacturers in Paris. “This meant that Paris was literally the capital of pearls. You could see this in the hundreds of women in the workshops of Rue Lafayette who were specialists; each stringing hundreds of natural pearls every day. This is just crazy considering the rarity of natural pearls.”

Pearls have always been the first jewel. Ornamentation started with shells and stones, but when the pearl was found inside a shell, jewelry began. According to Gay-Eckel, the move from pearls as the gem of choice to diamonds perfectly encapsulates the development of modern jewelry. With a pearl, nature has done the hard work and created a jewel. The jeweler’s relationship with the diamond, however, involves the challenge to unlock the secrets of its inner fire.

“The earliest civilizations were built on the sea. Mother of pearl was extremely important to our ancestors in making tools–fishhooks, sewing tools, everything was made from it. As they did, one in 10,000 times, they would find a pearl. That’s nature’s first gem. The diamond was always there as a symbol. Adamas means ‘invincible’ in ancient Greek. But when we come to revealing its optical properties, that is when we have the arrival of science.”

The exhibition showcases the history of pearls through many spectacular photographs and art pieces displaying the fashionable wearing pearls. One gorgeous example is a photograph of Princess Mathilde wearing a string of pearls, which were then the most expensive ever made. And made where else, but in Paris. The next room showcases the stylish advertising of the day which all incorporated pearls to denote modish luxury.

SOURCE: https://www.naturaldiamonds.com/culture-and-style/history-of-pearls/