Pearl jewelry has gained a rejuvenated sense of popularity in the past couple of centuries, but it has been around hundreds of years before that. Since the ancient times, pearls have always been recognized as a symbol of unblemished purity and unmatchable perfection. As a perfectly round, natural gem of the sea, folks have long been fascinated with taking the pearl and turning it into assorted pieces of pearl jewelry.

The origins of pearl jewelry are fairly ambivalent, but most folks trace pearl jewelry back to 520 BC, when pieces of what is thought to be pearl jewelry were found in the personal chambers of a Persian princess. That fine artifact is currently on display at the Lourve in France. In those days, pearls were harvested as a bit of a novelty item for royalty. They also held some magical powers, as their round and light appearance led people to believe that pearls were somehow related to the moon, which they thought to have some sort of mystical influence. Back then, only people with substantially high social status were allowed to wear pearl jewelry.

After those times, pearls remained popular, but became a little more readily available to the masses. Because of this, the popularity of pearl jewelry has slowly grown to the point where it is today. Pearl jewelry has remained one of the most fantastic gift ideas for people who are going to be married. Because of the natural beauty and apparent perfection of the pearl, it becomes something of a symbol.

Native Americans popularized the gem’s role as a common part of jewelry when they began to make beautiful necklaces with the pearls. For long the pearl had been a nice gift for rings, but the natives thought of stringing pearls together to make a necklace. In that sense, they were ahead of their time, as today’s pearl buyers are often looking for pearl necklaces.

Pearls are expanding into different types of jewelry, though. As people begin to accumulate lots of pearl jewelry, they are constantly coming up with creative ideas for what to do next with the pearl. This has forced jewelers to come up with ways to market the pearl. Today, the pearl necklace remains very popular, but items like pearl rings, pearl earrings, and even pearl bracelets have become almost as popular. In addition to that, more people are now wearing pearls as it has become much easier to get a hold of the gem.

Though pearls have gone through an evolution of sorts from their beginnings as mystical symbols of royalty, they have remained the symbol of beauty and grace that they always were. Whether given as a gift of love or for someone’s wedding, pearl jewelry still represents the same level of commitment that it did in the old days. With creativity of jewelers at an all-time high, it’s a good bet that pearls will continue to become more popular as they move into different sectors of the jewelry world.