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When Spanish conquistadors arrived in the Western Hemisphere, they discovered that around the islands of Cubagua and Margarita, some 200 km north of the Venezuelan coast, was an extensive pearl bed (a bed of pearl oysters). One discovered and named pearl, La Peregrina pearl, was offered to Philip II of Spain who intended to give it as a gift ...
A slave who discovered a great pearl could sometimes purchase his freedom. [3] The Great Depression in the United States in the 1930s made it hard to get good prices for pearl shell. The natural pearls found from harvested oysters were a rare bonus for the divers. Many fabulous specimens were found over the years.
Pearls were first gathered in Western Australia by Aboriginal Australians. [5] The European pearling industry began in the 1850s at Shark Bay where pearls (called the 'Oriental, or Golden' Pearl) were found in the Pinctada albina oyster in relatively large numbers. The industry soon folded however.
The atoll is named for the ships Pearl and Hermes, which were wrecked upon it in 1822. [10]The Hawaiian-language name for the atoll, Holoikauaua, was established in the late 1990s by the Hawaiian Lexicon Committee following an effort to restore traditional Hawaiian names which had been lost, misspelled, or replaced with foreign names. [11]
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The Pearl of Lao Tzu was once considered the world's largest known pearl. The pearl was found by a Filipino diver in the Palawan sea, which surrounds the island of Palawan in the Philippines. It is not considered a gemstone pearl, but is instead known as a "clam pearl" or "Tridacna pearl" from a giant clam. It measures 24 centimeters in ...
The original weight of this pear-shaped pearl was 223.8 grains, (55.95 carats, 11.2 g, almost .4 oz.). At the time of its discovery, it was the largest pearl ever found. In 1913 the pearl had to be drilled and cleaned to secure it firmly to its setting. After drilling and cleaning, the pearl's weight decreased to 203.84 grains.
None of these visits were of political consequence, the islands being in the sphere of influence of the Pomare dynasty of Tahiti. At the beginning 18th century, the first Christian missionaries arrived. The islands' pearls penetrated the European market in the late 19th century, making them a coveted possession.