June's Birthstone is the "Queen of Gems"-the pearl

Pearls today are an affordable adornment for most women-and even some men. But it has not always been this way. Back in ancient times, only royalty was able to afford the pearl. Rumor has it that Cleopatra wagered Marc Antony to see who could throw the most expensive dinner party. Cleopatra took one of her pearl earring and ground it into a powder only to dissolve it in a goblet of wine and drank it down. Marc Antony was forced to admit defeat-the pearl was supposedly valued at 60 million sesterces-the equivalent of 1.87 million oz of fine silver. You do the math and realize why Marc Antony HAD to admit defeat.

We can thank Mikimoto, amongst others, for helping to make cultured pearls available to all. In 1896 he received his fist of many patents in Japan reagrding the creation of pearls using "artificial semination"-the placing of an irritant in the lining of the oyster stimulating the production of nacre. This nacre layers and layers upon the irritant to create something truly remarkable...A pearl, full of luster and beauty.

Going back a few more years. Pearls were thought to originate from the brains of fighting dragons in ancient China. Or from moonlit dewdrops being swallowed by oysters as they were lured to the surface by the moon in Arab legend. Or they are the hardened tears of the Goddess of Love as she was born of the sea. All of these are just as amazing as the scientific way pearls are formed in Nature.

Regardless of what you think is the origination of the first pearls, there is no denying their beauty.

Traditionally they have been a symbol of purity and truth. They are historically given as gifts to brides in order to bless the marriages. Or as the gemstone gift on the 3rd and 30th anniversary.