When the full moon spreads its silvery light over the waves of the boundless ocean, the pearl oysters leave their sandy beds in the deep and rise to the surface of the sea Here, caressed by the gentle rocking of the waves, they open their shells and allow themselves to be impregnated by the night dew and the pure light of the moon From this union pearls are born

No sparkling stone, no glittering jewel has so fascinated and entranced people for thousands of years as the softly shimmering pearl. It is perfect in its natural state, it needs no further cutting or polishing, and this makes it different from any other precious gem. The pearl is very old and it is young at the same time. It has passed through thou­sands of fashions and has always remained the same.

From India, Persia and China, the distant lands from which pearls originate, come the myths and legends that have grown up around the wondrous birth of the pearl. They are as mysterious and fascinating as the shimmering pearl itself, with its seductive charm.

Pearls were gifts of the gods and revered as such. For how else, if not through divine power, could a simple creature like the insignificant oyster produce so captivating a jewel? Pearls reflect the radiant light of the sun and the soft glow of the moon. They were believed to have magic power, to heal the sick and bless the healthy.

According to an old Indian belief dew is changed by divine power to pearls inside the oysters. In Persian mythology the stones from the sea are tears of the gods, transformed by oysters into pearls in the depth of the sea. A Persian name for pearls is children of light, and in that form they come to mankind as gifts from the gods.

The ancient Chinese believed that moonlight had the power to make pearls grow. Another legend ascribes their birth to the rain god himself. He rushes storming over the seas, the dragon of heaven, and when he causes it to rain a fine dew drops from his jaws. Some oysters catch a drop of this, and nurtured by moonlight a pearl grows inside them.

The Greeks adopted the myths of the orient and they also believed that pearls were created by dew from the moon penetrating the opened oysters in the night while they are swimming on the surface of the sea. But they also believed that a flash of lightening could create a pearl if it struck an oyster during a night storm. Hellas revered the pearl as the gift of Aphrodite, the goddess of sensual love, beauty and seduction. Her birth, as the legend went, also gave birth to pearls, for when the goddess stepped from a shell, born radiant of the froth of the sea, drops of water cas­caded from her body and were transformed in the glitter­ing light into pearls.

The Romans followed the Greeks and ascribed to Venus, their adaptation of Aphrodite, the delightful honor of being responsible for the birth of the pearl. The Roman also took from their teachers the oriental myths on the impregnation of the pearl oysters by heavenly dew.

The myths on the creation of the pearl extend almost into our own time. Now we know the secret, and farm oyster are producing cultured pearls of ever more intoxicating beauty. Today, as thousands of years ago, the pear entrances us with its luster, charm and discreet eroticism In the subtle play of its inner light it reflects the eternal mystery. It has preserved the aura of the divine gift. It is the ideal embodiment of natural beauty, aesthetic perfection and sublime modesty.

When the first drop of rain fell from the clouds into the boundless blue ocean, it was so tiny that it was overwhelmed by the waves and cried out in alarm:
“How small and insignificant I am in this huge expanse!” And the billowing se answered:
“Your modesty does you credit, little drop o water, and you shall be rewarded. I will change you into drop of light — you will be the purest of all jewels, queen of all, and you will have power over women. “And so the peal was born....
Imperial Delta