Natural Mabe Pearl and Sterling Silver Pendant

Origin: Bali

Sterling Silver and Pearl

This magnificent Mabe Pearl (pronounced MAH-Bay) comes from Lombok, in the South Seas.

It is stunning in both size and brilliance. The size is 22-25mm (almost 1") long. Unlike some Mabe Pearls which have a flat back side, this pendant is the whole pearl, completely oval in shape.

Pearls have a great deal of symbolism throughout history, and in many cultures.

They begin as an obstacle, a grain of sand. The oyster secretes Nacre over the sand, and over time, more and more layers of nacre result in a larger and larger pearl. This represents what we can do with obstacles in our path. We can choose to make something good of the initial obstacle, and over time, create something beautiful in our lives that would not be possible had that obstacle not crossed our path.

Pearls also symbolize spiritual transformation. As time passes, each layer is created and formed. The beauty on the surface is identical to the beauty within.

Mabe Pearls are able to grow so much larger as they are not limited to a small space within oyster itself. They are cutlured and grown on the shell inner surface, allowing them to reach this extra large size within a few years. By removing our own self-imposed limitations, we can achieve greatness in many areas of life in a much shorter amount of time.

Pearls are representative of women and purity. This is why they are a traditional wedding gift for the bride.

They have been admired for their rarity and beauty for thousands of years:

-In Ancient Rome, only people above a certain social rank were allowed to wear pearls.

-They were reserved for Royalty in many places throughout history as well. The earliest known pearl jewelry is over 4,000 years old and was found in royal ruins of Ancient Persia.

-The last Queen of Egypt, Cleopatra, was known to love and wear Pearls

-Christianity holds that the Gates to Heaven are made of pearls, another symbol of both purity and spiritual transformation.

This pendant is hand detailed in Sterling Silver 0.925 vine and leaf design in Bali by master jewelry artisans.

This pendant comes gift boxed.



For those unfamiliar with "cultured" versus "non-cultured" pearls, cultured pearls are no different than non-cultured pearls, except that the initial grain of sand introduced to the oyster is placed there manually. The oysters are then returned to the water and the pearl develops naturally by the oyster.

Non-cultured pearls are much more expensive as the process of finding them is more difficult, and many oysters do not contain pearls of any substantial size.

Essentially, it's similar to farming versus catching wild oysters. The pearls are not different, but the method of obtaining them is more costly with non-cultured pearls.