The First of June’s Birthstones – Pearls

June’s Birthstones  – Pearl, Moonstone and Agate

Those lucky enough to be born in June have a choice of four different varieties of June’s birthstones 

Pearls, Moonstone, Agate & Alexandrite

1.  Pearls

The first of  June’s birthstones, pearls symbolise a woman’s purity, chastity, integrity and all round perfect beauty.  It is also linked with charity, loyalty, truth, faithfulness, friendship and love and is therefore the perfect gem for wedding accessories.

Pearls are produced by oysters and an ancient Arab legend tells the tale that pearls are formed when dew drops filled with moonlight fall into the sea and are ingested by oysters. The ancient Greeks thought that pearls were the hardened tears of happiness from Aphrodite, the goddess of love.

Since ancient times, pearls have been worn as a form of adornment by royalty and celebrities alike. They were one of the most admired gemstones of the Roman Empire and then in Tudor England. The 1500s were known as the pearl age because when  Spanish explorers discovered the New World, they also discovered prosperous pearl fisheries run by Native Americans in the Tennessee, Ohio and Mississippi River Basins, as well as in the Atlantic Ocean.  This New World became known as the "Land of Pearls” when large numbers of pearls were sent back to Europe.

Akoya Pearls

 
Pearls have a shiny, creamy texture with a delicate iridescent reflection. Unlike other gemstones, they do not require faceting or polishing to reveal their natural beauty. But because they are so delicate pearls need special care to keep them beautiful and lustrous. For instructions on the Care of Pearls Read My Blog 17/8/2014

Tahitian Pearls

The traditional metaphysical properties associated with pearls are modesty, chastity and purity. They enhance personal integrity and help calm the mind. Associated with courage, pearls are thought to warn people of imminent disaster. A pearl’s  healing properties relate to diseases of the heart, spleen, stomach, intestine, ulcers and emotional imbalances.

South Sea Peals

 Since the early 1900s commercial culturing of round saltwater pearls has almost completely replaced natural pearls in the marketplace. The most popular saltwater pearls are Akoya Pearls, South Sea Pearls, Tahitian Pearls. Saltwater pearls are very beautiful and quite valuable. The market is however flooded with Freshwater Cultured Pearls which are produced en masse in China and are very affordable.

Freshwater Cultured Pearls

 Who comes with summer to this earth
And owes to June her hour of birth
A pearl should wear against her skin
Who's innocence many a heart shall win