Pearls Symbols of love and beauty To protect against foreign bodies like sand, shells form a layer of mother-of-pearl, the conchiolin layer. Thus pearls are formed. As the layer becomes thicker, it takes on a magical shine (the luster) of pearl. Pearls are cultured by introducing a foreign body into the shell or producing tiny alterations in the shell tissue. The freshwater pearls preferred by Bernd Wolf originate from China, where the culture of pearls has advanced enormously over the past 20 years. The most important pearl shapes in the Bernd Wolf Collection are the round pearls, baroque pearls, rod-shaped pearls and Keshi pearls. Large, round Chinese pearls are cultured by removing the pearl after a certain time, grinding it round and implanting it again. Keshi pearls are irregular in shape, occurring randomly, for example by the shell filling out a space where a pearl had grown previously. Depending on the size and type of pearl, the pearls are harvested after 15 to 72 months. Bernd and Yvonne Wolf travel to China twice a year to discover new pearl cultures and select high quality pearls. Pearls symbolize femininity, perfection, preciousness, perception, and purity. In Ancient Greece, the pearl was a symbol of Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty. Bernd Wolf Card Pearls: print 6 cards DIN A4 bw_cards_6x_pearls.pdf print 4 cards US Letter bw_cards_4x_pearls.pdf print 1 card US Letter bw_cards_1x_pearls.pdf