Without doubt, your 1st wedding anniversary is a significant milestone. A whole year together as man and wife! For a woman, it is a super special anniversary and one she looks forward to with eagerness and, yes, anticipation. And, it is your acid test as far as romance and creativity go.
There are many things that you might want to give your better half on this momentous occasion, but jewellery always tops the list for women. Luckily, choosing the right jewellery just became easier as each wedding anniversary also has a traditional gemstone associated with it.
The 'gemstone' for the first anniversary year is the lovely Freshwater Pearl. Learn a little more about this fascinating gemstone...
What is a pearl?
A pearl is perhaps the only gemstone that is formed within a living, breathing organism -- so it is not actually a gemstone at all! When an irritant penetrates the tissue of the mussel or oyster, the mollusc starts secreting a substance in sheer self-defence. This substance is known as nacre -- a combination of crystalline and organic substance secreted by the mollusc as a defence mechanism to counter the foreign body that gets lodged within the mantle tissue. The nacre spreads itself around the irritant in concentric layers till a few years later it finally becomes a pearl!
Basic forms of pearls
Pearls come in two basic forms and two classes: freshwater and saltwater; natural and cultured. While natural pearls are, more or less, an 'accident' of nature, cultured pearls owe their existence entirely due to human intervention. Similarly, freshwater pearls grow in freshwater mussels in non-saline environment such as ponds and lakes, while salt water pearls are formed in salt water molluscs such as oysters.
Freshwater pearls vs. Saltwater pearls
The good news is that freshwater pearls are not as exorbitantly priced as their saline water cousins. What is more, the freshwater pearls come in a variety of shapes, sizes and colours ranging from white to pink, green, grey, silver, lavender and every rainbow hue! Since they are not 'beaded' with a nucleus, these pearls are made entirely of solid nacre. This makes freshwater pearls more durable, and more resistant to any wear and tear and degeneration.
Natural freshwater pearls are formed in various species of freshwater mussels which inhabit lakes, rivers, ponds and other fresh water bodies. Although these freshwater pearl mussels occur in hot and cold climates, most freshwater cultured pearls sold in the market today come from China.
Cultured saltwater pearls are mostly round while freshwater pearls appear in almost every imaginable shape: round, drop, rice, button, oval, semi-round, circle or ringed, baroque and semi-baroque.
Japanese researchers create cultured freshwater pearls
Today, most pearls sold in the market have been artificially created -- in other words, they are cultured pearls. A series of experiments and discoveries made by Japanese researchers Tatsuhei Mise, Tokishi Nishikawa, and the son of a noodle maker, Kokichi Mikimoto in the late 19th and early 20th centuries led to a revolution in the pearl industry. There was no need now to wait for 'accidental' pearls to happen. One could do so just as easily! A tiny foreign object was inserted inside a mollusc, which would then automatically respond the way it did in nature -- by secreting nacre, the basis of all pearls. The mussel is then returned to the water and tended for 2-6 years till the pearl is formed.
Biwa pearls
The most famous type of freshwater cultured pearl is the Biwa pearl which came from mussels grown in Lake Biwa, Japan's largest and most ancient freshwater lake. During 1971, these Biwa pearl farmers produced as many as six tons of cultured pearls. Sadly, growing pollution levels have now rendered the lake incapable of supporting this enterprise.
China takes over Japan in freshwater cultured pearl production
Today, China has raced ahead of Japan and has become the world's largest producer of freshwater pearls, producing a staggering 1,500 metric tons of these fine gems per year.
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