To convince Mark Antony that Egypt
To convince Mark Antony that Egypt is above conquest, she showcased her land’s wealth and heritage by giving the most expensive dinner in all history. During the said dinner, Queen Cleopatra crushed a piece of a large pearl from a pair of pearl earrings. She dissolved the pearl in a goblet of wine or vinegar and drank the liquid down. This account ended with Mark Antony declining the dinner and the matching pearl earring. He then gave the admittance that the queen won.
The popularity of pearls rose at the height of the Roman era. On one account by Suetonius, he mentioned that the General Vitellius sold a single pearl earring and used the money to finance an entire roman army campaign.
The Romans are the craziest with regards to pearls but the Arabs have the deepest love for the gem. This affection over the pearl is evident in the Koran, especially in the section where the Paradise is being described.
All these craze on pearls had run down in history due to the gem’s rarity. However, by the turn of the century, pearls became practically a common jewelry. Most present users actually no longer appreciate the values of their pearl necklaces, pearl earrings and the likes. This is brought forth by the mass production that has revolutionized the status of the most valued gem.
The great irony in the most glorified gem is that even the lesser priced cultured pearl rivals the quality of the most expensive natural pearl there is. In a sense, its value was lost over the “synthetically” produced pearls. Though this became a very welcomed source of the rare pearls, this resulted to unfair treatment of the once exulted gem.
Are you familiar with jewelry?
Tags: guangzhou city, mark antony, pearl earring, queen cleopatra, rare pearls
