June Birthstone - Pearl

Healing Properties and Interesting Information

---

Healing

Pearl or Moti is used to remove the evil effects of Moon and it strengthens the mind force, increases good sleep and cures insomnia. It also gives better memory, cures uterine disorders, heart and eye troubles, as also is helpful in host of other diseases like TB, constipation, hysteria, pleurisy, etc.

Where Found

Pearls form in either salt or fresh water environments in several species of bivalves (clams) that are members of the Phylum Mollusca. Fresh water pearls have been found in several species of clams that inhabit rivers in the United States. Most of these have been related to species of Unio and these are now becoming the basis of a fresh water cultured pearl industry in parts of the United States. Until the twentieth century natural forming pearls were highly prized and harvested in the Persian Gulf, Indian Ocean, and Red Sea. In the early 1900s the Japanese perfected a means of creating round and smooth pearls by inserting a piece of nacre or a bit of mantle from a shellfish into an oyster and allowing the pearl to form over three to seven years. These cultured pearls are made primarily in Japan, China, and Australia.

History, mythology

Pearls were exceedingly popular in Roman times and were cherished by Byzantine royalty. Robes and cloaks of the royalty may have been studded with thousands of pearls. Historically most of the pearls that were used in the jewelry trade came from the marine bivalves Pinctada vulgaris and P. margaratifera that were abundant in the Persian Gulf. Chinese legends suggest the pearl is the symbol of wealth, power, and longevity. In classical times, people believed that pearls were formed when moonbeams lit upon shellfish that opened up and received drops of dew. Egyptian Queen Cleopatra favored both emeralds and pearls, and she once purposely dropped a pearl into her drink while dining with Mark Anthony to demonstrate the wealth of her rule. Pearls have a fairly long geologic history---the oldest examples have been recorded from rocks of Triassic age in Hungary and the Cretaceous age in California but all had lost their luster. The oldest pearls with luster have been recorded from rocks of Eocene age in southern England.

Back to June Birthstones Summary Page