June Birthstone Jewellery - Pearl

June’s birthstone – Pearl

Adored for its pearly and iridescent lustre, pearls are also the anniversary gemstone for 30 years of marriage. June has two other birthstones; alexandrite and moonstone. A symbol of innocence, purity and faithfulness, pearls have also come to represent a happy marriage. Originating from the French word ‘perle’ which means led, referring to the leg shape of a mollusc shell, pearls were once thought to be the tears of the gods.

Formed by living organisms within oysters and mussels; when a foreign object enters their shell, the oyster will surround the object with layers of nacre – which forms the exquisite pearl. Natural pearls form naturally, whilst cultured pearls are the result of humans inserting the foreign object into the mollusc by hand. Only 2.5 on the Mohs hardness scale, pearls are soft and can be scratched.