Pearl
June's classic birthstone, the only gem made by a living animal. Persian Gulf natural pearls ruled until Mikimoto cultured them at Ago Bay, Japan (1893); French Polynesia's black Tahitian pearls and Broome's Australian South Sea pearls crown today's market.
Known origins & mines
Ago Bay Pearl Farms · Japan
Where Mikimoto perfected cultured akoya pearls in 1893, revolutionizing gems forever — Mie prefecture rafts continue the birthplace of moder…
Bahrain Natural Oyster Beds · Bahrain
The original pearl banks of antiquity — Bahraini divers free-dived 30 m for natural pearls that ruled world markets until Japanese culturing…
Hepu Beibu Gulf Pearl Coast · China
The fabled "Southern Pearls" (Nanzhu) of Hepu — tribute gems since the Han dynasty and subject of the proverb "pearls return to Hepu"; round…
Tuamotu Tahitian Atolls · French Polynesia
Black-lipped Pinctada margaritifera lagoons grow naturally dark pearls in peacock, aubergine and pistachio tones — Tahitian cultured pearls …
Broome South Sea Pearl Fields · Australia
Eighty Mile Beach silver-gold Pinctada maxima produce the largest cultured pearls on Earth — Broome pearling port history spans pearl-shell …
Lombok Sumbawa Pearl Farms · Indonesia
Indonesia is a primary South Sea pearl origin: sheltered Lombok and Sumbawa bays grow gold- and silver-lipped Pinctada maxima that supply to…
Palawan Golden South Sea Farms · Philippines
The golden-lipped oyster capital: Palawan lagoons produce deep-golden South Sea pearls prized as the rarest body color, anchored by Jewelmer…
Mergui Archipelago Pearl Beds · Myanmar
Royal pearl fishery of Siamese kings for centuries, the 800-island Mergui archipelago now hosts South Sea farms growing silver-gold pearls i…
Sea of Cortez Pearl Oyster Beds · Mexico
La Paz banks made Mexico a pearl legend until overfishing closed them in 1936; Guaymas' "Perlas del Mar de Cortez" now cultivates rainbow-li…
Suakin Red Sea Pearl Banks · Sudan
Natural Pinctada margaritifera beds off Suakin fed pharaonic-to-Ottoman pearl trade routes for three millennia; dredging wars exhausted them…