Pearl Meaning (2022)
by Suzanne Sachs • 5 min read
THE BASICS --
With everlasting appeal and a timeless versatility, a pearl is a wonderful choice for an engagement ring to represent your one of a kind relationship. With its unique iridescence a gorgeous pearl engagement ring will flatter any skin type. It has a special meaning, and symbolism, that will help to make your proposal magical. By recognizing and understanding these meanings and symbolisms, it can help you decide if it is the perfect ring to best exemplify your beautiful journey together.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW--
Pearl Meaning?
Nearly every culture associates pearls with love and marriage. Pearls also mean wisdom, renewal, treasure, and purity. In Western cultures, brides often wear pearls, usually as a necklace, but also on headpieces or even embroidered on the dress.
Pearl Symbolization
• Love and Purity
The ancient Greeks associated pearls with Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, because both emerge from the sea, and because pearls also represent flawless beauty. Saint John Vianney said in the early 19th century, “A pure soul is like a fine pearl. As long as it is hidden in the shell, at the bottom of the sea, no one thinks of admiring it. But if you bring it into the sunshine, this pearl will shine and attract all eyes.”
• Nature
Unlike almost every other gem, pearls are already perfectly shaped by nature and do not need cutting or polishing to bring out their beauty. This, as well as the typical white color and blemish- free surface, evokes purity and truthfulness.
• June Birthstone & 3rd Anniversary
Pearl is the June birthstone as well as the gemstone used to symbolize third anniversaries. Pearls are often associated with innocence, purity, chastity, modesty, and of course, romance and love, all of which are ideal traits for wedding jewelry.
Pearls Represent the Divine
In many Asian cultures, a flaming pearl is a symbol of divine wisdom. In Chinese mythology, the flaming pearl is a pearl made of chi, the life force, and is one of the Eight Auspicious Objects. Dragons pursue pearls because of the wisdom and energy that they symbolize.
Moses Ibn Ezra, a medieval Jewish poet and philosopher, used similar imagery about pearls and wisdom, saying, “Dive into the sea of thought, and find there pearls beyond price.”
In ancient Vedic texts, pearls were created when the energies of the heavens and the waters combined in a flash of lightning.
Pearls are a Symbol of Something Precious
Pearls also represent treasure. We often refer to wise advice as “pearls of wisdom.” In the Bible, a parable references “a pearl of great price” and another Biblical passage warns against casting “pearls before swine,” in other words, avoid wasting something valuable on those who can’t
appreciate it.
For the poet Rumi, pearls symbolize something of great value that’s worth striving for, asking in one poem, “How could you reach the pearl by only looking at the sea? If you seek the pearl, be a diver,” and saying in another, “Love is the pearl lost on the ocean floor.” Similarly, Shakespeare described Helen of Troy as a pearl in his play Troilus and Cressida. “Why she is a pearl, whose price hath launched a thousand ships, and turned crowned kings to merchants.”
Pearls are Associated with the Moon and Renewal
Pearls’ round shape and pale glow evoke a full moon, and the moon is a symbol of renewal and rebirth. Pearls also form as a response to an irritant in a mollusk’s shell, so pearls are also associated with turning something bad into something beautiful. Pulitzer Prize-winning author Andrew Sean Greer asked in his novel, The Story of a Marriage, “Does love always form, like a pearl, around the hardened bits of life?” Along the same lines, celebrated filmmaker Frederico Fellini once commented, “All art is autobiographical; the pearl is the oyster’s autobiography.”
Make a vintage pearl ring part of your autobiography today, so you can enjoy its beauty and symbolism for the rest of your life.
Pearl Engagement Rings For Everyone:
No matter which era is your favorite, these time-honored rings have a rich history and individualized character and will continue to have a timeless beauty and elegant appeal that is part of a legacy to pass on to future generations.
Find The Perfect Engagement Ring:
Vintage engagement rings are prized not only for their beauty but also for their exquisite attention to detailing and faceting. If you’re looking for a ring with a sense of glamour, sophistication and vintage charm, explore our collection of pearl engagement rings today!
Suzanne Sachs
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