Pearls get their lustre from the many tanslucent layers that make up their structue and the resultant effect of light. The thinner and more numerous the layers in the pearl, the finer the lustre and the very best pearls have a metallic mirror-like lustre.

In today’s market, cultured pearls may be dyed to produce various colours including yellow, green, blue, brown, pink, purple, or black.

For thousands of years most seawater pearls were retrieved by divers working in the Indian Ocean, in areas like the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea, and in the Gulf of Mannar. Starting in the Han Dynasty (206 BC–220 AD), the Chinese hunted extensively for seawater pearls in the South China Sea.

Natural pearls occur rarely in the wild and are very valuable, whilst most pearls used today are cultured or farmed. These may be from the sea or freshwater and lack the irridescence of a truly natural pearl.

Some natural pearl fishing still occurs in the Persian Gulf and off the Australian coast in the Indian Ocean. Crushed Pearls have been used in the cosmetic industry, for medicinal purposes and even in paint.

It is one of the birthstones for June.