The Story of the Pearl

For its luminescent beauty and timeless elegance, the pearl has been prized for centuries, from ancient civilizations and royalty to society girls and Hollywood celebrities. Not only a symbol of wealth, status and power, this rare gem is a moon-like talisman associated with healing, protection and purity.

Weaving myth and history, art and literature, the sacred and the secular, this book unfolds the fascinating 4,000-year-old story of the pearl, including tales of pearl-divers in the Pacific, the jewellery of ancient Rome and legendary pearls such as the 500-year-old La Peregrina and the 14-pound Pearl of Allah. Here you will learn of the various types of pearls, both cultured and costume styles, how to wear and care for them, as well as pearls in popular culture and in fashions through the ages.

Caroline Young is a writer and author specialising in fashion, pop culture and film history. Originally from Edinburgh, where she still lives, her works include Hitchcock's Heroines, The Fabulous Frances Farquharson: The Colourful Life of An American in Paris, The It Girls: Glamor, Celebrity and Scandal, and Welbeck's The Colour of Fashion, Audrey in Paris, and Little Book of Chloe.

This is the 4,000-year-old history of the pearl, but also includes detailed practical information on collecting, buying and wearing pearls. For its luminescent beauty and timeless elegance, the pearl has been prized for centuries, from ancient civilizations and royalty to society girls and Hollywood celebrities. Not only a symbol of wealth, status and power, this rare gem is a moon-like talisman associated with healing, protection and purity. Weaving myth and history, art and literature, the sacred and the secular, this book unfolds the fascinating 4,000-year-old story of the pearl, including tales of pearl-divers in the Pacific, the jewellery of ancient Rome and legendary pearls such as the 500-year-old La Peregrina and the 14-pound Pearl of Allah. Here you will learn of the various types of pearls, both cultured and costume styles, how to wear and care for them, as well as pearls in popular culture and in fashions through the ages.

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