Pearls in Modern Times

During the Gilded Age, wealthy industrial barons often bought pearls which were favored by wealthy Americans as well as Europeans. By this time preferences had shifted more towards solid white.

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As the century progressed pearls became associated with a more casual sense of fashion. Long strands of pearls were often worn by flappers during the Roaring 20s and the Art Nouveau and Arts and Crafts movements adopted pearls (often irregularly shaped fresh water pearls) into their designs. The introduction of cultured pearls also played a part in making pearls a less formal jewel.

Some time in the early 20th century a British expatriate living in Australia, named William Sawville-Kent, discovered the process for creating cultured pearls. He died soon after, but not before passing along the knowledge to Tatsuhei Mise and Tokichi Nishikawa who brought it to Japan. Nishikawa was granted the patent for creating cultured pearls in 1916. Nishikawa married the daughter of a man named Kokichi Mikimoto. Mikimoto further refined and perfected the process. Furthermore he worked hard to convince the public of the value of cultured pearls. He became known as the Father of the Modern Cultured Pearl Industry.

When cultured pearls hit the market in the 1930s, the once rare jewel became more available and more affordable than ever before. Some initially rejected cultured pearls, but a handful of designers, including Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel, embraced them. By the 1950s, cultured pearls were a common accessory for women's formal attire in the United States and Europe. In the past few decades, designers have been incorporated a broad range of colors and sizes of cultured pearls to create both sophisticated jewelry as well as less formal pearl-decorated objects. Despite the proliferation of pearls, they are still regarded as objects of value. Pictures of movie stars, first ladies and supermodels wearing pearls have increase the desirability of pearls in today's market.