Myths and Pearl History

Pearls have a long history and stories, many Cultures throughout time have not only prized pearls, but they've also created many myths involving pearls and have assigned great meaning to them. Some of the myths associated with pearls feel larger than life.

For example, during the 1st century B.C., famed Egyptian Queen Cleopatra once bet Marc Antony that she could host the most expensive dinner in history. In her attempt to impress Antony, she crushed a large pearl from one of her earrings and dissolved it in a goblet of wine before drinking it. At the time, pearls were considered the pinnacle of luxury and wealth, and Antony was stunned by Cleopatra’s bold gesture.

Old beauty

Delicate and mysterious, pearls are undoubtedly the oldest gemstones. Ancient paintings tell the story. One of the most advanced references is written by the hand of the tragic Homer — the Iliad and the Odyssey, books as if from the beginning of the world. And the oldest archaeological evidence is on display at the Louvre Museum: a wonderful necklace made of 216 pearls, found inside the sarcophagus of a Persian princess, which dates no later than the fourth century BC.

 And In ancient Rome, pearl jewelry was considered the ultimate status symbol. So precious were the spherical gems that in the 1st century BC, Julius Caesar passed a law limiting the wearing of pearls only to the ruling classes.

The ancient Greeks associate these bright gems with Aphrodite, to symbolize her charm. They believed that the goddess of love was born out of the sea completely naked, but with pearls around her neck. Greek mythology also suggested that pearls were the tears of gods, a concept that prevailed for thousands years.
The belief that pearls originated from solidified water drops, helped by the sun or moonlight, in Europe became the dominant thought of the origin of these gems, to which then supernatural and magical powers were conferred.

Mina D Jewelry bringing the myths, history and lore of the pearls in our beautiful designs whether the natural white pearl or our colored favorites.

Wear a part of culture and history with our stunning pearl collections.