gems, pearl, pearls, natural pearls, Persion Gulf, oriental pearls, pearl history

Segura examines the history and commercial world of pearl merchants, tracing the networks through which natural pearls passed from fishing grounds to the great jewelry markets. Particular attention is given to the Persian Gulf and its long-established pearling centers, the organization of the pearl trade, and the successive intermediaries involved in fishing, sorting, grading, valuation, and international distribution. The publication evokes the merchants, divers, dealers, and trading families whose specialized knowledge sustained the industry, while explaining the exceptional value attached to pearls according to their size, shape, color, orient, and quality. Historical photographs, documents, and objects illuminate the commercial and human dimensions of pearling and the links between the Gulf, India, Europe, and the major jewelry houses. Presented in French, English, and Arabic, the work documents a trading culture profoundly transformed by the introduction of cultured pearls in the twentieth century and preserves the history of the people and practices associated with the natural-pearl trade.