50 shades of pearls
«A women needs ropes and ropes of pearls» said beautiful Coco Chanel and she was right. Chanel has carried out a revolution in the minds of women all over the world. Now, naked woman is not considered as a nude woman, but woman without a pearl necklace is. Have you ever thought about the origin of this jewelry? These pellets have a long and interesting history that began much earlier than Coco erected pearls on the throne of elegance and beauty.
The name “pearl” supposedly comes from the East, where it was found, but there are a lot of legends about the birth. According to old Chinese legend, when dragons were fighting on the sky during storm, pearls fell from the sky with raindrops. In Greek myths, it was the tears of a sea nymph, but there are a lot of theories. According to the Greek legend Aphrodite was born from the depths of the sea. When she appeared from the sea, falling drops of water from her beautiful golden hair became precious pearls.
Today this amazing stone has a very simple explanation, that is based on facts. Initially, the mollusk gets a foreign body or any grain of sand . Pearls are formed inside the shell as a defense mechanism. The mollusk creates a pearl coating in response to irritation. The combination of coverage is called nacre, which makes up mother-of-pearl. Typical irritants could also be organic materia or parasites. There are eight forms of pearls that appear in the wild. This is the only stone in jewellery used without any special treatment.
In ancient times, the pearl was a symbol of unblemished perfection. Several lines of research were presented that the most ancient sources of pearls in the world are the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea, the Gulf of Mannar, ancient Egyptian civilization and the ancient Sumerian civilization of Mesopotamia. The oldest pearls were discovered in the Persian Gulf area and mother-of-pearl artifacts comes from As-Sabiyah, Kuwait (late stone age, 6000-5000 BC). The main custom of 5000-4000 BC was the burial of people with a pierced pearl in their right hands. However the oldest pearl jewelry was found in the sarcophagus of a Persian princess from the 6 century BC. By the way, in ancient Rome, pearls were considered as the symbol of wealth, social standing and origin. Only persons above a certain rank were allowed to wear jewelry with these stones.
In India pearls were mentioned in the 15 century BC, when inhabitants wore pearls as an amulet. People believed that it protected them from deamons and evil spirits. In the Hindu religion, the process of an undrilled pearl and its piercing is a part of the marriage custom, because from the ancient time it symbolized purity and innocence. The Indian Maharaja always wore pearl jewelry as a symbol of royalty and beauty. In our time, it looks strange, but for Hindus men wearing of pearls is not femininity.
In the Middle Ages, pearls were exclusively worn by Royalty. Women decorated their dresses, hair and accessories with pearls. There was even invented a new style of embroidery with pearls, which became a historical value. Pearls were so highly regarded that some of European countries created laws forbidding not a noble person to wear it.
In England in the 16th-century, Henry VIII (1491-1547), the second monarch of the House of Tudor bestowed lavishly pearls for his queens. Each of the six wives wore an amazing pearl necklaces and elegantly embroidered clothing, and of course, a tiara. Anne Boleyn, 2nd wife of Henry VIII, was famous for her excellent taste and love for pearls.
The Queen Elizabeth I wore a pearl embroidered dress with rows of pearls along the edges of the hands and front piece. An integral part of her hairstyle were also pearls. Often artists portrayed the queen in the wonderful pearl collar, which is turned her into a really fairytale character.
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The Age of Enlightenment was also called the Age of Pearls, because at that time, pearls became widely distributed and became absolutely available. Today pearls are known as «The Queen of Gems» that makes designers to create new and new kinds of jewelry. It is a symbol of unblemished perfection, modesty, and purity. We can say it’s the personification of The House of Chanel, who is always in a hurry to create the main trend of the future — large beads.Chanel SS`13 collection shocked the idea of the modesty and low-key attire.
What to wear with pearl necklace such a non-standard size? «I feel undressed if I don’t have my pearls on. My pearls are my security blanket» — said Lady Sarah Churchill. Yes, no one will notice if you will be without clothes with such gems. It can be used as a safety cushion, but the fact that this necklace is very heavy — it’s very sad. Despite this shortcoming as weight this necklace is very feminine and fits in any look from the casual design to glam chic.
Chanel suggests wearing it with classic jackets, dresses and shorts. In my opinion, pearls with leather are very interesting combination. Leather was used in skirts and decoration of the jackets . I think the necklace will look gorgeous with a leather biker jacket. With regard to the form of clothes you can wear anything from the mild forms and massiveness to the skinny silhouette.
Today a lot of mass-market brands offer similar accessories with a large pearls. I chose a necklace from ZARA and bracelet from LINDEX. They are lighter than Chanel jewelry, and of course more affordable.
