Pearls are unlike anything else we carry at Walton's. Every other gem begins as a mineral, formed under pressure, cut from stone. A pearl begins as an irritant. A grain of sand, a tiny intruder, a fragment of shell finds its way inside an oyster or mussel, and the creature responds the only way it knows how: it wraps the intruder in layer after layer of nacre, that luminous substance made of aragonite and protein, until something beautiful emerges. It takes years. Sometimes decades.

That origin story may be part of why pearls have captivated people for so long. They are the only gem produced by a living thing. And they carry that aliveness with them. They warm against the skin. They change subtly with the light. They age along with their wearers. Throughout the centuries, pearl jewelry has symbolized elegance, purity, wealth, and refinement, allowing it to adapt gracefully across changing fashions and centuries.

Yet despite their familiarity, pearls continue to inspire curiosity. What makes one pearl more valuable than another? Why do antique pearls often have a creamy glow? And how should vintage pearl jewelry actually be cared for?

What is the difference between natural and cultured pearls?

A natural pearl forms entirely on its own, without any human involvement. An irritant enters the mollusk by chance, and the pearl that results is a pure product of nature. Natural pearls were extraordinarily rare even before the twentieth century, which is why they commanded such extraordinary prices. It could take thousands of oysters to produce a single gem-quality pearl, and pearl divers in the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Mannar, and the waters off Venezuela and Panama risked their lives for them.

A cultured pearl begins with human intervention. A technician carefully implants a nucleus into the mollusk's tissue. The mollusk then coats that nucleus with nacre, just as it would with a natural irritant. The process takes anywhere from one to several years. The result is a pearl that is, in every measurable way, a real pearl. The nacre is genuine. The luster is genuine. Cultured pearls are not imitations — they are simply pearls whose formation had a human assist at the start.

Why are some pearls perfectly round and white while others are irregular in shape and color?

Because no two mollusks are alike, and no two growing conditions are alike. A pearl's shape, color, and surface are all determined by the species of mollusk, the water it lives in, and a fair amount of chance.

Roundness is the rarest quality to achieve. As a mollusk coats a nucleus with nacre, even a slight irregularity in that coating can cause the pearl to develop unevenly, producing what the trade calls a "baroque" pearl. Baroque pearls are actually far more common than round ones. A perfectly spherical pearl is statistically unusual, which is part of why matched round strands command such a premium.

Color is equally variable and entirely natural, produced by the pigments in the mollusk's nacre, not by dye. Japanese Akoya pearls tend toward cool white or cream. South Sea pearls run white, silver, and gold. Tahitian pearls, grown in the black-lipped oyster off the coasts of French Polynesia, produce the distinctive dark body colors (charcoal, green, peacock) that make them immediately recognizable. Freshwater pearls cover the widest range of all: lavender, peach, white, and shapes that can be almost sculptural.

In antique jewelry, the tiny natural "seed pearls" common in Victorian pieces show all of these variables at once - slight variations in size, shape, and color that are part of what makes them unmistakably old and unmistakably real.

What made pearl jewelry so popular in the Victorian and Edwardian eras?

Several things converged. Pearls had always been precious, but the Victorian era brought them into new cultural contexts that amplified their appeal. Queen Victoria herself was a devoted wearer of pearls, and in an era when royal fashion set the standard for all fashionable dressing, that mattered enormously.

Pearls also carried deep symbolic meaning. Their association with purity made them a natural choice for wedding jewelry and mourning pieces alike. Seed pearls were used to spell out names and messages in memorial jewelry, worked into hair wreaths, and set into lockets with extraordinary patience and skill.

The Edwardian era brought pearls to perhaps their greatest cultural moment. Jewelers were working primarily in platinum, and the combination of white metal and white pearl against pale silks and high lace collars was enormously fashionable. This was also the last decade before cultured pearls entered the market, which meant natural pearls were at peak scarcity and peak price. Edwardian pearl pieces that survive today are some of the most historically significant jewelry we carry.

How should pearl jewelry be stored and cleaned?

Pearls are organic gems and relatively soft, which makes them more vulnerable than most gems to everyday chemicals, oils, and abrasions. Pearls can lose their nacre through exposure to hairspray, makeup, and perfume. Harsh cleaners and ultrasonic machines should always be avoided.

For strung necklaces and bracelets, the silk thread should be inspected periodically and restrung when it shows wear. Traditional pearl strands are knotted between each pearl, which protects the pearls from rubbing against each other and prevents a full strand scattering if the thread breaks.

Pearls should be wiped with a soft cloth after wearing, stored separately from harder gemstones that could scratch their delicate exterior, and laid flat on a soft surface. Antique pearls, particularly in Victorian jewelry or earlier pieces, benefit from careful handling.

What do pearls symbolize in jewelry history and folklore?

Few gems have accumulated as much symbolic weight as the pearl, and the meanings have shifted considerably across cultures and centuries. In ancient Greece, pearls were associated with Aphrodite and believed to bless marriages with harmony, while in Western tradition, pearls became closely tied to purity, modesty, and femininity - qualities that made them the gem of brides across centuries of European culture.

They also carried a more melancholy dimension: because they come from water, pearls were long associated with tears and mourning in the Victorian era, which is part of why they appear so frequently in memorial jewelry. Some folklore warned against giving pearls as a gift, believing they portended sorrow. Others held that pearls brought good luck to those born in June. Like the mollusk that produces them, the pearl has always held something hidden at its center, which may be why people have never stopped reading meaning into them.

At Walton’s Jewelry, we have more than 50 years of experience serving Historic Downtown Franklin and the greater Nashville community. Each member of our team has trained at The Gemological Institute of America and has a deep passion for preserving the history and beauty of antique jewelry. Whether you are a Tennessee local looking to stop by our showroom, or prefer to view our selection virtually, we invite you to explore our newest arrivals and reach out with any questions you may have.