The History of Cultured Pearls
The method of artificial cultivation of pearls was first mentioned in Pang Yuanying's miscellany of Wenchang (1083). After that, Japan and other countries began to cultivate artificial pearls. In the Southern Song Dynasty, craftsmen used "Little Buddha elephant" made of lead and silver to be inserted between the outer mantle of mussels, which became a unique "Buddha elephant pearl". In the 13th century, Chinese Buddha like pearls were introduced into Europe, which caused a sensation all over the world and aroused the research of scholars all over the world. In 1761, Linnaeus, a famous biologist, invented the Pearl with handle. In 1894, Japan began to cultivate half round pearls, and in 1907, the cultivation of full round pearls was successful. Since then, Japan’s pearl breeding industry has developed rapidly. The annual output of Pearl River Delta is 11 tons in 1939 and 68 tons in 1962, ranking the first in the world. Pearl culture has a very long history in China, but in the old society of China, it was not paid attention to, the aquaculture industry was dying, and the precious experience accumulated by the working people for thousands of years was almost lost.
In pearl culture, Mikimoto plays a key role in promoting the technology of pearl culture. In 1888, Mikimoto built his first oyster farm in a small bay of Zhimo peninsula. With a commercial vision beyond ordinary people, he began to try to cultivate pearls artificially. After numerous failures, in July 1893, Mikimoto finally cultivated the world's first cultured pearl. By 1918, the commercial production of spherical cultured pearls had begun to take shape.
In 1919, Mikimoto began selling spherical cultured pearls in London, the central market of European natural pearls. However, it is not easy for cultured pearls to enter the European market. Cultured pearls have an impact on the interests of European jewelers. Cultured pearls have become the target of attack for jewelers. European jewelers claim that cultured pearls are fake pearls. In Paris, fraudulent attacks on cultured pearls have been so intense that an embargo has been proposed. The incident developed into a lawsuit later known as the "Paris trial", in which the French Chamber of Commerce and industry tried to prove that the cultured pearls were fake. However, famous scholars such as Professor H. Lyster Jameson of Oxford University and Professor Louis Boutan of Bordeaux University have confirmed the scientific view that there is no fundamental difference in the formation and structure between natural pearls and cultured pearls. In 1924, the French court ruled that there was no difference between cultured pearls and natural pearls. Through the process, cultured pearls are finally recognized as gems of the world jewelry market. Nowadays, the term “Pearl” generally refers to cultured pearls. In the world jewelry market, pearls are widely known and recognized as gems, among which the cultured pearl market created and formed by Japan accounts for a large part.
