Hi Friends,
This just might be our most exciting newsletter yet. We have HUGE news.
New Shop Update
It’s officially happening! Please see below for some important dates regarding our move:
Our last day of trading at our Murray St premises will be Thursday the 16th of June.
Our first day of trading at our new Mt Hawthorn premises will be Monday the 27th of June.
This gives us a week between to move ourselves in and ensure a smooth transition.
Any urgent enquiries during that intermediate period can be directed to info@steliosjewellers.com.au however please be aware we’ll be operating at a lesser capacity that week. Mainly unpacking and beatifying our new palace.
As of Monday the 27thJune our new address is as follows:
145 Scarborough Beach Rd, Mount Hawthorn, WA, 6016
We are ridiculously excited to get in there and can’t wait to look after you from a shiny new location. Please come in and visit as soon as you can.
And thank you in advance for your patience as we move our business across. We can’t wait to unveil it all to all our gorgeous, loyal clients.
Pearls
Pearl is the gemstone for June and the gem of the third and thirtieth anniversaries.
One of the best loved gems of all time, Pearls are an organic gemstone; they grow inside the bodies of molluscs such as oysters.
Natural Pearls
Natural pearls form in the bodies, or mantle tissue, of certain molluscs, usually around a microscopic irritant, and always without human help of any kind.
Cultured Pearls
The growth of cultured pearls requires human intervention and care. Today, most of the molluscs used in the culturing process are raised specifically for that purpose.
To begin the process, a skilled technician takes mantle tissue from a sacrificed mollusc of the same species and inserts a shell bead along with a small piece of mantle tissue into a host mollusc’s gonad, or several pieces of mantle tissue without beads into a host mollusc’s mantle. If a bead is used, the mantle tissue grows and forms a sac around it and secretes nacre inward and onto the bead to eventually form a cultured pearl. If no bead is used, nacre forms around the individual implanted mantle tissue pieces. Workers tend the molluscs until the cultured pearls are harvested.
There are four major types of cultured whole pearls:
Akoya Cultured Pearls
Akoya cultured pearls are a saltwater cultured pearl. Japan and China both produce akoya cultured pearls.
Freshwater Cultured Pearls
Freshwater cultured pearls are the most produced pearls worldwide, this is due to their remarkable range of sizes, shapes, and colours, plus their commercial availability at lower price points. They are usually cultured in freshwater lakes and ponds, often with many pearls grown in one oyster. China is the leading source for freshwater cultured pearls.
South Sea Cultured Pearls
Australia, Indonesia, and the Philippines are leading sources of these saltwater cultured pearls. South Sea cultured pearls can be white to silver or golden, depending on the type of oyster. Their large size and thick nacre, due to a long growth period, plus their limited critical growing conditions are all factors contributing to their value and make them the most sought-after pearls in the world. Most white south sea pearls come from Broome, Western Australia, right on our doorstep!
Tahitian Cultured Pearls
Cultivated primarily around the islands of French Polynesia (the most familiar of these is Tahiti), these saltwater cultured pearls, sometimes referred to as black pearls, have a wide colour range. They might be grey, black, or brown, and they can have blue, green, purple, or pink overtones. These also fall under the South Sea Pearl umbrella.
People have coveted natural pearls as symbols of wealth and status for thousands of years. A Chinese historian recorded the oldest written mention of natural pearls in 2206 BC. As the centuries progressed toward modern times, desire for natural pearls remained strong. Members of royal families as well as wealthy citizens in Asia, Europe, and elsewhere treasured natural pearls and passed them from generation to generation.
From those ancient times until the discovery of the New World in 1492, some of the outstanding sources of natural pearls were the Persian Gulf, the waters of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), Chinese rivers and lakes, and the rivers of Europe.
During Christopher Columbus’s third (1498) and fourth (1502) voyages to the New World, he repeatedly encountered native people adorned with natural pearls. His discovery of natural pearl sources in the waters of present-day Venezuela and Panama intensified demand in Europe. However, within a hundred years, these natural pearl sources had declined due to overfishing, pearl culturing, plastic buttons, and oil drilling.
The first steps toward pearl culturing occurred hundreds of years ago in China, and Japanese pioneers successfully produced whole cultured pearls around the beginning of the twentieth century. These became commercially important in the 1920s (about the same time natural pearl production began to decline). From the 1930s through the 1980s, pearl culturing diversified and spread to various countries around the world.
Pearls are treasures from the Earth’s ponds, lakes, seas, and oceans, and they’ve always embodied the mystery, power, and life-sustaining nature of water. The spherical shape of some pearls led many cultures to associate this gem with the moon. In ancient China, pearls were believed to guarantee protection from fire and fire-breathing dragons. In Europe, they symbolized modesty, chastity, and purity.
At Stelios Jewellers we design primarily with South Sea Pearls. We have a large range of South Sea Pearl jewellery in store or come in and select from our loose pearls and start a bespoke journey with us. We love pearls!
Lastly: Client Safety & Goodbye from Murray St
We would like to take this opportunity to let you know that all Stelios staff members are triple vaccinated and happy to mask should you request this for your time in the showroom. We trust you will continue to feel safe and comfortable with us as we navigate this unusual period and wish you and your loved one’s good health.
Thank you for the ongoing love and support you’ve shown our Murray Street store the past 12 years. We are now excited for a new chapter and look forward to seeing you in Mount Hawthorn – bring it on!
Until next time,
Much Love,
The Stelios Team
