June’s birthstone is the pearl, so we’ve put together a short list of facts for our June birthday friends!
- Pearls are the only jewel made by a living thing.
- The largest pearl ever found weighs nearly 75 pounds and is valued at $100 million dollars.
- Cleopatra was said to demonstrate her wealth by dissolving large pearls into her wine or vinegar, depending on the source.
- Ground pearls and mother-of-pearl are often used in beauty products for a shimmery finish, a practice in use since ancient times.
- The earliest fake pearls were made in ancient Rome. Bead-makers would take a glass bead, cover it in silver, and then cover it in glass again.
- Julius Caesar once passed a law saying that only the ruling class could wear pearls.
- Pearl color is determined by the species of mollusk the pearl forms in, but many pearls on the market today are dyed or bleached.
- Pearls symbolize purity, which is one of the reasons they’re so popular for weddings.
- Cultured pearls are made by introducing an irritant into the mollusk, either in the form of a bit of shell or a shell bead. This is almost identical to how a pearl forms in nature.
- The oldest pearl ever found was unearthed from a grave in the United Arab Emirates, and dates from around 5500 BCE.
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