PEARLS DEMYSTIFIED & YOKO LONDON KNIGHSTBRIDGE
Pearls, beautiful in all their forms, come in all shapes and sizes. Have you ever wondered what the difference is between natural and cultured pearls? It’s just one of the questions I am often asked. Natural pearls form in the bodies of certain mollusks, usually around a microscopic irritant and always without human help of any kind. These natural pearl sources have declined over the past century, mainly due to over fishing, pearl culturing and oil drilling. In contrast, creating cultured pearls needs intervention and care. It was the ancient Chinese who first discovered how to ‘create’ a pearl. They did this by inserting an object into the oyster to help grow the pearl. Kokichi Mikimoto, first brought these cultured pearls to a wider international audience at the beginning of the 20th century. In most cases, unless one’s pearls came from an auction house or have been handed down through the generations, it’s most likely to be cultured pearls.
I am also always asked about the major types of cultured pearl available. One may have heard about Akoya cultured pearls from Japan and China. Another type of cultured pearl is the well known South Sea. These are found in countless colours, including a vibrant yellow from Australia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. My absolute favourite pearl is the Tahitian, found in the islands of French Polynesia. These range in colour from the luscious black pearls to the brighter white variations. One can also find that these pearls take on spectacular green, blue even aubergine surface shades, of which are in my own jewellery box! Freshwater cultured pearls are another important type, they are found in freshwater lakes and ponds throughout China and the US. To learn more about pearls visit GIA or sign in into online GIA pearl course here.
By now you may be holding up your string of cultured pearls and wondering just what makes it special? (Apart from it’s obvious beauty that is) Firstly check its color, although white is most classic hue, I prefer more unusual natural colors. Then it’s lustre or surface reflections – pearls with high lustre give off sharp bright reflections from it’s surface making them very pretty to look at!
The number of blemishes or marks on a pearl’s surface is also used to judge it’s overall quality. Then there is the shape, completely round pearls are highly valued but asymmetrical drops are just as special. How well pearls match when in a strand or multi-pearl piece will affect the value too.
Pearls make for some of the most exquisite and unusual jewels, so observing them is fun to do- especially if they happen to be unusual!
I visited the Yoko London Knightsbridge boutique and was literally swamped with pearls- Well this is the largest pearl specialist company in the world! Michael Hakimian, the man behind Yoko London, specialises in rare and unusual colours of pearl as well as exceptional sizes of South Sea, Akoya and Freshwater cultured pearls. He travels across the globe to source pearls with exactly the right size, colour and lustre directly from pearl farms.
It was way back in 1740 that the Hakimian family began it’s long association with jewellery when Nadit Shah of Persia asked them to guard and protect his jewelled treasures.
Today, Yoko London sources the most unusual pearls in the world.
The brand’s close relationship with the pearl farms has helped them secure these most unusually coloured pearls almost as soon as they are extracted from the water.
A most magical process! It never ceases to amaze me just what beauty mother nature can create. On the photo above – large round freshwater pearls in elegant, rare feminine pink hues and diamonds from the Blossom Collection. Particularly exciting are these latest purple and lavender freshwater pearls. Exceptional in size and with the most amazing lustre, these pearls are in themselves an extremely rare occurrence: Michael Hakimian himself said of the pearls: “In 35 years in the business, I have never seen pearls with such an intense purple colour, these pearls form a once in a lifetime collection.”
By 2005 Yoko had accumulated a unique collection of exquisite pearls. This encouraged Michael and his family to create the first of their exceptional pearl jewellery designs. It’s here in the head office where thousands of pearls are sorted, graded and matched every single day. Thus ensuring that only the finest pearls are selected for Yoko London’s collections. Some of the more elaborate pieces can take years to create and every pearl in the Yoko London collections to sit perfectly in balance with the other pearls.
A Chinese historian recorded the oldest written mention of natural pearls as far back as 2206 BC. The round shape of some pearls has led many cultures to associate this gem with the moon. In ancient China, pearls were believed to guarantee protection from fire and fire-breathing dragons. In Europe, they modesty, chastity, and purity.
Getting in to the details, there are a number of factors that determine the type of cultured pearl. Firstly the different species of oysters and mussels they come from, each produces their own characteristic type and colour of pearl.
Here I am trying on some fabulous rare golden South Sea cultured pearls from the Yoko London collection.
Trying on Mayfair bracelets complete with 12-14mm South Sea cultured pearls.
The Capri collection ranges from deep pinks to calm pastels and warm grey. I am gemming my favourite piece complete with naturally coloured Baroque pearls! Breathtaking necklaces make for a perfect gift!
Not content with the conventional way of setting pearls? Yoko are also passionate about celebrating these natural phenomena in much more contemporary settings. This design has been pioneered by Dior, I prefer it in gold with rare pink freshwater pearls and diamonds!
In 2013 Yoko London was chosen to represent modern pearl jewellery at the ‘Pearls’ exhibition at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum. The exhibition traced the history of pearls back from the Roman Empire to the present day. I was delighted to try on the special Yoko pearl set from the exhibition!
Recommended reading: discover more about pearls at Pearls book by Victoria and Albert Museum and in my talk about pearls at INHORGENTA Munich.
Thanks for stopping by! Leave me a comment below! You might also like to solve my famous pearl crossword by GEMOLOGUE!
I am extremely happy to announce that my new jewelry book – GEMOLOGUE: Street Jewellery Styles & Styling Tips – is now on Amazon. I’m so excited. It’s the first book of its kind solely dedicated to jewellery.
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GEMOLOGUE jewelry blog by Liza Urla is a celebration of fine, fashion and vintage jewellery featuring talented jewellery designers, trendy urban street style, exclusive interviews and rare jewellery reviews. This jewellery blog’s goal is to encourage and educate about jewellery online in a fresh and original fashion to inspire women and men across the globe in a fashion and travelling context.
Jewellery blogger, writer Liza Urla, the founder of GEMOLOGUE, is a London-based and NYC-educated gemologist, who has travelled to and lived in many countries. She is now one of the most influential digital jewellery tastemakers. Her jewellery influence has been acknowledged by Financial Times, The New York Times, Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar.
*Photographed by Flit Photography. Styling and Art Direction by Liza Urla. All photos belong to GEM Kreatives for GEMOLOGUE.
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