06 · JuneCultured Pearl Stud Pair 7 mm
Cultured freshwater pearls, 7 mm, on silver posts. Mohs 2.5 — handle accordingly.
- Cultured
- Untreated
- Mohs
- Wear
- 2.5
- Delicate
£85incl. VAT
Section: June
June — Pearl and Moonstone
Pearl and moonstone — the two softest materials on this site
Delicate. Both materials are softer than ordinary household dust, which is largely quartz at Mohs 7. Special occasions only.
4 pieces in this month, ordered by how often they can sensibly be worn — the most forgiving first.
Mineralogy
Pearl is not a mineral in the usual sense: it is aragonite platelets bound in conchiolin, laid down by a mollusc, Mohs 2.5 to 4.5. Moonstone is orthoclase feldspar with albite lamellae; the blue sheen, adularescence, is light scattering off those layers. Mohs 6 with two directions of perfect cleavage.
What the trade does to it
Every pearl on this site is cultured — grown inside a living mollusc around a deliberate implant — and is labelled Cultured, never natural and never imitation. Moonstone here is untreated. Neither material tolerates ultrasonic cleaning.
Documented history
Pearl has held June since 1912; moonstone and alexandrite were added as alternates later. Cultured pearl production was patented by Kokichi Mikimoto in 1896 and reshaped the pearl trade within three decades.
June pieces
From £85 · all prices include VAT
Nothing in June reaches Mohs 8, so no piece in this month is graded for daily wear. If the piece needs to be worn every day without special care, look at April, July or September instead. We would rather say that than sell you something that will not survive the way you intend to wear it.
06 · June
Wear grades in this month
Suitable for daily wear
0 pieces in June
- Remove before contact sports and heavy manual work
- Remove before swimming pools and hot tubs — chlorine attacks the metal, not the stone
Occasional wear — avoid knocks
0 pieces in June
- Remove before gym equipment, gardening, DIY and washing up
- Do not stack against harder stones, which will abrade this one
- Avoid sudden temperature change
Delicate — special occasions only
4 pieces in June
- Remove before any physical activity — knocks will chip this stone
- Keep away from perfume, hairspray, cosmetics and hand sanitiser
- Avoid sudden temperature change and prolonged dry heat
- No ultrasonic tank, no steam, no soaking