Tahitian Pearls

Nowadays the black-lipped oyster is principally known for its valuable product – Tahitian pearls, which are one of the most beautiful and large pearls in the world. It is quite possible that the most valuable and splendid jewellery of the antiquity, for example the legendary earrings of Queen Cleopatra were made of Tahitian pearls. In their homeland, Tahitian pearls had certainly been used as jewellery for many centuries: pearls, as well as shark's teeth and flowers, were woven into dancing costumes. Pearls were also given to gods as sacrificial offerings. At the end of the 18th century pearls were noticed by the Europeans who visited Tahiti. This is how pearls first appeared as exhibits in the museums of Cambridge and Göttingen.

The increasing interest in Tahitian pearls could not but have a negative impact on the fate of the pearl oysters inhabiting the Polynesian Coast. American and European traders started pearl exploitation and by the beginning of the 19th century the natural sources of Tahitian pearls had been almost exhausted. Luckily enough, at that time strong hurricanes used to drive wood, stones and coconut tree stumps into lagoons. Therefore the last remaining mussels were provided with a basic food supply, which saved them from extinction. At the beginning of the 20th century a new Tahitian pearl growing technique was developed: in accordance with it, the mussels' larvae are attached to plastic ropes, where they can grow undisturbed. In two or three years they are big enough to be used for pearl growing. Tahitian pearls are not only associated with the commercial use, but also with a particular myth: According to the Polynesian history of creation, it was in pearls that Tane – the creator of the world and God of Beauty, had brought the first light to the world. The form and brightness of Tahitian pearls inspired Tane to create stars. Afterward Tane gave pearls to Rua Hatu - God of the Ocean so that he could lighten his domain with them. A peacock-green and a baroque pearl were given as a gift to an earthly woman by Oro - God of War and Peace. But it was not until Oro and the earthly woman had conceived children that the God of War and Peace finally presented mankind with pearls. Ever since, the lagoons have been the home of Tahitian pearls. hide information