The story behind the Souffle cultured pearl is incredible. Souffle pearls are definitely a fluke in pearl culture techniques. Genius and luck combine to create original colors, shapes and metallic luster that can only be seen in Souffle pearls.
The special method used to produce these pearls was conceived as an intermediate step towards growing large, round pearls.
Let's dive into the process of growing pearls.
After the smaller cultured pearl is taken out, a dried mud ball is inserted into the released pearl "pouch". Placed back into the water, the mud ball begins to grow in size. When the core absorbs water, it expands the pearl sac.
The point of this step is to stretch the pearl sac just enough to accept the large round core. With the hope of growing a large round pearl.
If the farmer forgoes this step (and implants a large core without first stretching the pearl sac), he will eventually kill the host mussel.
Thus, the Souffle gem was never meant to be sold. And because they are so much lighter than traditional pearls, they were considered to have no value (pearls are sold by weight at the wholesale level).
Purposefully focusing on large round pearls, farmers considered them marriage. Who needs a pearl of such a strange shape?
Ironically, it turns out that the metal oxides present in the "pond mud" that is put into the mussel provide an incredible metallic sheen and iridescent colors.
But this pearl, against all odds, won the hearts of many women!
