Have you ever wondered how a pearl that resides inside the shell of a mollusc become a part of your much loved pearl necklace. The process of the transformation is much an art. After many trials and errors, jewellers all over the world have perfected the process of converting the pearl into a piece of jewellery.
You will love the pearl string even more, once you know the amount of effort that has gone into getting the small stone from the sea onto your neck. In addition, you will take care of them even more.
The Process of Preparing a Necklace:
- The first step in the process is harvesting the pearl from its natural resting station, inside the shell of the mollusc.
- Once harvested the pearls are judged for size and quality. Based on this they are categorised.
- Pearls are then compared to get the most closely resembling ones for a single piece of necklace. The shape of the pearl will never be a complete round and the idea is to get the most closely resembling pearls together for a single string.
- Next task is difficult. It includes boring a hole into the pearl. The hole must be perfectly aligned and symmetrical otherwise the pearl will not lie properly on the string.
- Care needs to be taken, while boring the hole to ensure that the pearl does not get damaged or chipped. Such pearls are discarded from the lot.
- Once the holes have been made in the pearls, they are strung together on silk threads. Silk is used because it is strong and beautiful.
- A small knot is made, after inserting each pearl. This is done for various reasons – to avoid the pearls from rubbing against each other and getting damaged, to ensure that if you lose one pearl the others are saved. Moreover, it gives more flexibility to the necklace while wearing, as all the pearls will not be packed tightly.
- The final step is the attachment of the clasp on the string. This makes the necklace complete.
Pearls are Safe for the Environment:
Unlike the process that is used on many of the other metals used for making jewellery, pearl is something that happens through the natural process. Not only that, if the environment of the pearls farm is not well maintained than the quality of pearl suffers. It is therefore in the interest of the pearl farmers to ensure that the environment around the pearls is well maintained.
Buying pearl is one decision that will not be solely for the purpose of art and beauty but will be an environmentally safe decision.