City Of Pearls

  I Was born 400 years ago, as Hyderabad, a city of pomp and riches.  The Mogul emperor Aurangzeb captured me and place Asaf Jah-I  as my Governor in 1687 AD. Asaf Jah the first Nizam, in 1724 declared me independent from the Moghul empire and thereafter, his descendants somehow ensured peace prevailed  over the next two and half centuries,by aligning with  powerful kingdoms. I joined the Indian union in 1948,after a dispute.

Peace & prosperity are my twin names. The last Nizam of Hyderabad was considered the richest person on the earth, during the early part of 20^th century. I do remember my rich legacy with nostalgia. The Golakonda Diamond  mines located on the banks of river Krishna gave the world the  finest diamonds ever mined in the history of the mankind. …To name a few, Kohinoor, Orloff, Regent & Hope are the pride possessions of the super rich who own them. Kohinoor has a rich legacy and several tales woven around it. The great Mogul emperor Babur, in the 12^th century had said, “with the Kohinoor’s value in the market, the entire world could be feed for at least 02 days”.  Presently, Kohinoor it adores the crown of Queen of England. 

I wonder despite my location hundreds of miles away from the sea coast, and standing firmly 600 Mtrs above the sea level, I hold one of the prominent markets of the world for the pearls. The Indian fascination for pearls is legendary, as per Megasthenes, the Greek historian during Emperor Chandragupta Maurya’s rein in the 4-3^rd century BC had said, “ Indians prefer Pearls to Gold, pearls would sell three times its equivalent  value in terms of gold” In those days pearls came from Basara….and the supplies continued over the next two  Millennium from Persian gulf  till oil was stuck in Arabia in 1930. The traditions of the orient ensured heavy demand, wearing of pearl ornaments was considered as a remedy for mental illness and ensures intellect growth. Ayurveda, the traditional form of Indian medicine, uses pearl extracts for the treating various illness.

Pathergatti, located near Charminar was the market for pearls over two centuries,  trade with Persian gulf ensured adequate supplies and the rich Nawab’s(Noble men) formed the ready buyers. Interestingly, value added by the local artisans ensured pearl trade continued to prosper.  The artisans clean the raw pearls, and drill holes in them. The process is intricate and entirely done through the hand operated drills; it’s laborious and requires very high skills. The village of Chandampet and other villages in the vicinity of Chegunta Mandal(A county) are well versed in the  trade of drilling and grading of pearls. Pearls can broadly be classified into two categories, natural and cultured.

With the stoppage of free diving(hold breath diving) by the Arab tribes in 1930, on the advent of discovery of oil, the source for natural pearls  dwindled. The great Australian reef, Gulf of Mannar, lagoons around Hawai islands are now the regions for natural pearls, but over fishing of mussels, clam and oysters ….has made it impossible to allow growth of natural  pearls in these region.

All most all the pearls in the market today are cultured variety, composition and by the looks, cultured pearls are  no different then the natural pearl. However, the cost difference is enormous, therefore, differentiating them through a naked eye is nearly impossible.

A closed examination through an X ray machine can differentiate, the natural pearls have smaller nucleus as compared to the cultured pearls. The entrapped external  body(irritant) would have shrunk much more due to large time span it takes for the formation of a natural pearl.

  Process of pearl making starts with impregnating an oyster, mussel, or a  clam with an external body either in the form of a organic or inorganic material. The external body acts as an irritant. Layers of insulation of a secrete containing highly laminated crystals of calcium carbonate and Concholin(a organic compound) gets deposited. The out come once completely cover through such a layer is what we see as a pearl.

The cultured pearls are of fresh water variety. The bulk pearls land in SEPZ Mumbai, from China, Japan, Taiwan & Australia. They are bought in bulk by major traders. Segregated and cleaned they get auctioned.

The process for cleaning pearls in a specialization by itself, the raw pearls are dipped in boiling water and then the pearls are placed in glass tubes containing Hydrogen peroxide for 4 days. The de-scaling takes place giving out the natural shine and luster. The pearls are graded as per size and shape.

The best pearls are those which are spherical in shape with high luster. The bigger the pearl, better is the price.

There are few tips to judge the quality of a pearl, one can see one’s own reflection in a good pearl. Pearl when placed in hot water, should not loose its luster. The pearl should drop to the bottom if placed in the water; Its specific gravity is generally between 2.6 & 2.8. An ultraviolet light test can further confirms the quality, a good pearl if placed before ultraviolet lamp a steady blue  

Hoe gets emitted.

I would recommend buyers to take note of the size and shape as well as luster, to determine the price. Don’t forget to ask for a hefty rebate! It’s a norm to get 25 to 30 % discount on the quoted price, if the purchases exceed over a certain value, don’t hesitate to ask for a discount of 40%. Remember there is no fixed price shop for pearls. One needs to be cautious of buying natural pearls….there can only be a resale of old heirloom. Unless very sure of the quality never attempt to buy natural pearl anywhere in the world.
 

Note: Madds123! thanks the below mentioned site for providing free photo download........

The above photograph is a free download can be seen at http://www.fotosearch.com/DGV085/200390665-001.