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The Pearl

By Ramon Cortes, Graduate Gemologist (GIA)

The Pearl is a complete encyclopedia of the only major gem born of a living creature. The book follows the pearl from the biology that creates it to the hands that wear and pass it on.

It opens with the science of nacre (aragonite, conchiolin, the layered architecture that produces luster and orient) and with the way pearls form inside the mollusk, from the first disturbance to the pearl sac. It then explores natural pearls and their historic beds, the rare non-nacreous pearls (conch, Melo melo, giant clam and abalone pearls), and the invention of pearl culturing, from Mikimoto and the Japanese pioneers to grafting, nucleation and farming. The major cultured varieties (Akoya, Tahitian, South Sea and freshwater) are compared without ranking them. Later chapters examine quality factors (shape, luster, orient, color, surface, size, nacre thickness, matching), harvesting and treatments, the world market and its geography, the myths and symbols the pearl has carried across cultures, famous pearls and historic jewels, the pearl in jewelry, its care and restoration, and finally the ethics and sustainability of pearl farming in a changing climate. A photographic gallery accompanies the book.

The book is published freely online, in French, with no advertising.

A note for English-speaking readers. The book itself is written in French. Modern browsers translate its pages on the fly, and the figures, tables and structure remain fully usable in translation. The table of contents below is an accurate, human-checked translation: each entry links to the corresponding chapter in French.

Introduction