While diamonds used to be a girl’s best friend, pearls may now be the wiser purchase because we are in the middle of a Pearl Renaissance and everyone from Michelle Obama, Beyonce, Ellen DeGeneres, Kris Jenner, and Angelina Jolie to Rihanna and Keira Knightly are sporting the pearl look.
Scarlett Johansson and pearls.
While pearls are soaring in popularity, so is their price. You should buy them now, as they show no signs of slowing down, experts say. “It’s the perfect storm for pearl prices, and it’s happening right now,” says Leon Rbibo, President of The Pearl Source, an online retailer doing $10 million annually in pearl jewelry sales.
But why? Rbibo points to the following:
1) Escalations in the South China Sea – Some of the world’s most valuable and high quality pearls come from this region, and unfortunately things are very tense there. The main players – China, the Philippines, the U.S., Vietnam and Malaysia – have conflicting views on to whom that territory belongs, and that equals bad news for trade/importing.
2) The Environment – Natural, high quality pearls are becoming scarcer on the market. Oceans that are growing increasingly acidic are making it very difficult to cultivate high quality gemstones. Put simply, oyster/pearl farms aren’t producing what they used to, putting a premium on the good stuff.
One of the world’s most expensive pearls- The Pearl of Lao Tzu also known as the pearl of Allah.
3) Demand – The gemstone has never been more popular in the fashion world. Celebrities are using pearls to build new, edgier looks using different colors and shades: white, black, pink, peach, green, gold and peacock.
The Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Saturday ended its 14th session recently which took place in the Colombian capital under the Chair María Claudia López Sorzano. The Committee adopted guidelines for the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage in emergency situations such as conflict and disaster (both natural and human-induced).
The guidelines build on the research and experience acquired by UNESCO in recent years, including among Syrian refugees, internally displaced populations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and disaster risk reduction strategies in the Pacific Islands.
During the last day of the session, the Committee decided that its 15th session was to be held in Kingston under the chair of Jamaica’s Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Olivia Grange this month.
The Committee also inscribed five elements on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding and 35 on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
For the first time, the Intergovernmental Committee removed one element from the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
The session which brought together more than 1,000 participants was opened on 9 December by President Iván Duque Márquez of Colombia and UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay.
Additions to the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding:
The List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding features elements of living heritage whose viability is under threat. It mobilizes international cooperation and assistance to strengthen the transmission of these cultural practices, in agreement with the concerned communities.
Additions to the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity:
The Register of Good Safeguarding Practices allows States Parties, communities and other stakeholders to share successful safeguarding experiences and examples of how they surmounted challenges faced in the transmission of their living heritage, its knowledge and practice to the future generation. These methods and approaches should be useful as lessons and models that can be adapted to other circumstances, including those in developing countries.
Featured images- Jacques Perler,2017 Fondazione Processione Storiche di Mendrisio, 2008
