Throughout history, Myrtle flowers have been symbolic of love, fidelity, innocence and youth. The famous painting Venus by Botticelli depicts the goddess of love stepping out of her shell holding a sprig of Myrtle. The Romans would weave crowns of myrtle for brides during the day of their wedding.
Later these commemorative keepsakes would be displayed in frames and handed down to later generations. Vintage solid silver and gold myrtle crowns are today worth thousands of dollars as both metals are still incredibly precious, and the crowns themselves pretty rare!
Later the idea of giving your wife an anniversary gift would spread throughout Europe, and the Victorians would pick this idea up and run with it!
Soon other anniversaries became cause for celebration, like the 5th, the 10th the 15th and the 20th.
After that retailers and jewelers began to add gift ideas to each year, creating the list we know today. Bigger “milestone” years were traditionally flagged as years deserving of precious metals or gemstones, each one infused with symbolism and meaning.
The 30th Anniversary is reserved for pearls.
Our Top 10 Gift Guide showcases some of our most popular and loved pearls, perfect for your special occasion.
Hanadama Akoya pearl necklaces are traditionally certified in 18 inch hanks (called the princess length) as these are easily the most popular and versatile length to certify.
Each PSL Certificate is individually numbered for that specific strand of pearls. It features a photograph of the entire strand so you can count the exact number of pearls on your necklace.
Guess what happens when we remove or add pearls to Certified strand?
Yep ...
We just invalidated that certificate because the pearl count no longer matches the pearl necklace in the picture! Re-certifying the pearls would be EXTREMELY labor, time and money intensive ... we'd need to send the pearls back to Tokyo, wait 4-8 weeks and spend an additional $300!!
So, in a nutshell that's why you won't find alternative Hanadama pearl lengths like the 16, 22 or 36.
Learn More About Hanadama Pearls Here.
Each set of Hanadama pearl earrings comes with a numbered certificate issued by the Pearl Science Lab of Japan and has undergone a lengthy testing process to ensure each set of earrings meets the strict standards necessary to receive a Hanadama grade.
These pearls have the thickest, cleanest nacre out of any Akoya pearl on earth, and it is this thick nacre that produces the truly breathtaking luster exhibited.
Hanadama pearls represent the top .01% of the Japanese harvest, which makes the supply of these pearls very limited and unpredictable.
