| Pearls are one of the oldest types of gems, and | | | | from harm. |
| continue to be popular today. Some legends and | | | | - In Renaissance Europe, several countries passed |
| history about pearls: | | | | laws forbidding anyone but the nobility to wear pearls |
| - The oldest surviving piece of pearl jewelry is a | | | | or have them in their possession. |
| necklace that was found buried with a Persian | | | | - The ancient Inca and Aztec cultures valued them for |
| Princess. It is estimated to be over 2000 years old. | | | | their beauty and magical powers. |
| - Historians believe pearls were worn in ancient Middle | | | | - Native American men and women of the Atlantic |
| East and Asian societies 3500 years ago. | | | | coast and Mississippi river region wore freshwater |
| - They were highly regarded in ancient Rome and | | | | pearl pendants and earrings. |
| very valuable. A Roman general reportedly sold one | | | | - The discovery of pearls in the waters off Central |
| pearl earring and financed an entire military campaign | | | | America brought great wealth to Europe during the |
| with the earnings. | | | | years of expansion. The 'pearl rush ' was so great that |
| - Legend has it that Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, | | | | practically all of the American pearl oyster population |
| dissolved a pearl in wine and drank it to prove her love | | | | was gone by the end of the 17th century. |
| for the Roman Marc Antony. | | | | - Famous French jeweler Jacques Cartier traded two |
| - The Bible refers to pearls several times. | | | | pearl necklaces for valuable property on New York's |
| - The ancient Greeks valued them not only for their | | | | famous Fifth Avenue, and built his famous jewelry |
| beauty, but for their associations with love and | | | | store there in 1916. |
| marriage. | | | | - Pearls remained very expensive and only the very |
| - The Medieval world valued them and they were | | | | wealthy could afford them until the early 20th century |
| worn not only by women but by knights going to battle. | | | | when pearl cultivation began. |
| These knights believed that pearls could protect them | | | | |