The most beautiful myths revolve around the origin of the pearl, and you have certainly heard of the popular fairy tale that a grain of sand starts the process of pearl creation in the wild. However, the matter is far less mysterious: On their way into the oyster, parasites usually cause some cells of the mother-of-pearl-producing mantle tissue to reach where they are out of place: inside the oyster. Once there, these cells continue to produce the shiny substance. Layer by layer, a small nucleus develops from this, which is constantly covered with mother-of-pearl. Over months and years, beauties grow in the isolation of fresh or salt water.
ORIGIN OF PEARLS
Because in nature this process happens very rarely – with just one in 15,000 oysters – the Japanese Kokichi Mikimoto developed a method in the late 19th century in which the growth of a pearl was no longer left to chance. He introduced it to the public for the first time at the 1920 World's Fair in Paris. Since then, cultured pearls have been the product of intense interaction between mankind and nature: At first, a piece of the mantle tissue of a donor oyster is implanted into a cultured oyster. This creates a small pearl sac that can be filled with a small nucleus during a second cycle of cultivation.

The mother-of-pearl now begins to continuously coat the nucleus – a pearl is growing. The result may look round, oval, baroque, ribbed, white, black, pink, iridescent or colourful. But all pearls have one thing in common: They mature in the most beautiful places on earth, and they are always unique pieces that have come a long way. We take you on a journey to Northwest Australia for the harvest. Far away from the tourist trails in the Aboriginal region of Kimberley, the most beautiful South Sea pearls in the world come into being.
AKOYA PEARLS
In the cold Japanese waters, the fine Akoya cultured pearl grows in the oyster with its biological name Pinctata martensii, or, as it is also called in Japan, in the "Akoya oyster". It is one of the absolute classics, the most sought-after pearls in the world, and is known for its distinctive lustre, its rich, smooth surface and its brilliant radiance.
With a maximum diameter of ten millimetres, this type is small compared to other pearls. However, its almost perfectly round shape and delicate pink shimmering glow remain outstanding. Akoya cultured pearls are mostly white, but can also appear in shades of silver, cream and rose.
TAHITI PEARLS
Tahiti cultured pearls are famous for their metallic range of colours: from silver-grey to charcoal-green, aubergine, and peacock-blue to even black, they shimmer in no hi the most seductive hues, changing within a single pearl depending on the light. They grow to perfection in the warm waters of French Polynesia's lagoons in the black-lipped oyster Pinctada margaritifera. With a diameter of up to 18 millimetres, Tahiti cultured pearls are among the largest pearls in the world and are sought after and precious for their mystical and deep shimmer – especially when their shape is perfectly round.
SOUTH SEA PEARLS
Referred to as the "Queen of the Seas" or the "Queen of Pearls", the white South Sea cultured pearl is considered to be the most precious among the pearls. Its breeding is complex and only succeeds in the warm waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
There, in the undisturbed nature of dreamlike places, the South Sea pearl matures in the largest of all pearl oysters, the Pinctada maxima. As luminous and beautiful as soft moonlight, this pearl has a high mother of pearl thickness and comes in soft shades ranging from silver-white and pale pink to delicate hues of cream, champagne and gold, as well as hints of green and blue. Its remarkable size of up to 20 millimetres in diameter and its enormous variety of shapes make the South Sea pearl a magnificent and unique jewel.
