Pearls: A Natural History

This well written book explores society's interest in pearls, from their prehistoric use to the recent environmental impact on pearl producing invertebrates. Six of the eight chapters of the book are devoted to a thorough survey of how pearls are utilized by humans throughout history. The authors provide both primary and tertiary sources, including discussion of pearls documented by contemporary observers as far back as Cleopatra's time. Later chapters devoted to the science of pearl growth are written in a style accessible to the layman enthusiast. This is a book that can be mined for its scholarly information, but its popular interest to those who enjoy pearls for their decorative use should not be ignored. Illustrations include extant artifacts, artwork from throughout history, maps describing pearl growth and trade locations, and comparisons of the different pearl producing species. Taken as a whole, Pearls: A Natural History gives us the first definitive book on the history and science of pearls since The Book of the Pearl, by George Frederick Kunz, published in 1906.

A beautiful book with great information and many gorgeous pictures. The history and pearl formation information was very helpful.

This is an excellent, well illustrated book with everything you could want to know about pearls - how they occur naturally, the biology of this, how they are induced artificially ( cultured pearls), how they are faked, the optics of their appearance and how they have shaped history and , of course, pearl jewellery.The hard bits are explained without jargon, in intelligeable words but without losing detail.

This truly is a history book, written in a very accessable style with lots of great photos and illustrations. If there's anything else to know about pearls then I suspect it might just about fill up the back of a postage stamp with room to spare. A great resource for amateurs and professionals alike; I thoroughly enjoyed it and it's well worth the money.