7 Pearls of Pearl Wisdom

As providers of Pearl Producers & Wholesalers insurance, we love all things pearls, so we have collated some interesting pearl facts for you to peruse!

To find out more about Pearl Producers & Wholesalers insurance, check out our Quantum Academy article: it discusses what the insurance consists of, who it covers and what Quantum can provide. In the meantime, here are 7 pearls of pearl wisdom for you...

1. Pearls are the only jewels created by a living animal. A natural pearl of value is found in less than 1 in every 10,000 wild oysters.
2. You can have saltwater and freshwater pearls. Saltwater pearls are made by oysters, whereas freshwater pearls are usually made by mussels.
3. Interestingly, all pearl oysters are born male and transform into females at approximately 3 years-old. 
4. The time it takes for pearls to fully develop depends on the size and type of the mollusk, as well as the water conditions. They can take anywhere from a few months to a few years to develop.
5. 'La Peregrina' (pictured left) is one of the largest and most famous pearls in the world. The pear-shaped pearl is over 500 years old and is the size of a large pigeons egg. It has had a host of famous owners, including: Philip II of Spain, Mary Tudor of England, Napoleon III and Elizabeth Taylor.

6. Approximately 95% of all pearls harvested today are cultivated pearls. This means the mollusks are both farmed and artificially implanted with small seeds. Cultivated pearls ensure  increased size, quantity and quality, whereas naturally formed pearls are unreliable and often produce much smaller pearls.
7. Jacques Cartier traded a double-stranded natural pearl necklace valued at $1.2 million for a mansion on 5th Avenue in NYC where he opened a Cartier store and headquarters in 1916.

​Learn more about Pearl Producers & Wholesalers insurance

To see how Quantum can help protect your business, why not contact one of our specialist underwriters today?​
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Facts sourced from National Geographic and Spruce Crafts