PHILIPPINES: MANILA: SOUTH SEA PEARL IS NAMED COUNTRY’S NATIONAL GEM

(27 Dec 1996) English/Nat Many say the quickest way to a woman’s heart is through jewellery, but for the Filipinos that jewellery should include a south sea pearl. The jewels of the sea have recently been named the country’s national gem. These could easily be some of the world’s finest and biggest pearls. Either black or white, these gems make beautiful pieces on their own, or they can be set with other precious stones. They are Philippine south sea pearls -- the so-called pride of Filipino women. Compared to other kinds of pearls, south sea pearls are bigger in diameter and have a variety of colours. Produced from Pinctada oysters, they can only be cultured in tropical waters. Last October, in a presidential decree signed by Philippine President Fidel Ramos, the south sea pearl was named the country’s national gem. The Philippines is one of the world’s main sources of south sea pearls. Most of t