I’m a pearl girl so this is very exciting for me. How about a whole necklace of freshwater pearls and agates? You laugh but during our 50 Plus 2 in 52 excursion I purchased one in honor of South Dakota’s Fairburn Agate. So hooray for Kentucky for putting these two wonderful “stones” together.
In 1986, schoolchildren in western Kentucky petitioned their state representative to propose the freshwater pearl as the state gemstone and it became official on July 15, 1986. The stories don’t tell why the children specifically thought this should happen but since, historically, freshwater pearls were naturally found throughout the Mississippi and Tennessee River valleys, they probably wanted to salute a beautiful local resource.
Presently, mussels with freshwater pearls are cultivated through man-made processes on "pearl farms" along Kentucky Lake. Pearl cultivation in Tennessee is a multi-million dollar industry, providing pearls, primarily, to the Japanese cultured pearl industry. Okay, I don’t know about you but this shoots down my illusion of Japanese pearls. They’re actually from Tennessee….. Really?
Freshwater pearls are thought to bring love, money, protection, and luck. They are believed to keep children safe. (Maybe the children of Kentucky were hedging their bets.) The Greeks believed that wearing pearls would promote marital bliss and prevent newlywed women from crying. (Is this why so many brides wear pearls? And why my parents gave me a pair of baroque pearl earrings on my wedding day. This explains so much.)
Pearls are symbolic of purity, innocence and faith as well as love, success and happiness. I don’t know about the rest but they make me happy and if you ever saw my Mother’s pearl collection you would think she was the happiest woman on earth.
A pearl added to my necklace would improve endurance and emotional stability and help balance body rhythms and hormone levels with the natural world. It would also aid stomach, spleen, intestinal tract & ulcer problems.
The Kentucky agate is a variety of Fortification agate which is an agate that has a pattern where all bands connect to each other resembling a medieval fortress and its protective moat. These agates typically sport bands of red, black, yellow, and gray and are often discovered along river and creek drainage.
Stringing yet another agate onto my necklace will promote courage, emotional strength, self-confidence, and will dispel fears. Agates enhance healing of all kinds by bringing the elements of the wearer into harmony. Physically, agate is helpful in healing tooth and gum issues, stomach problems, and insomnia.
The Freshwater Pearl became Kentucky's "Official Gemstone" in 1986 and the Kentucky Agate it’s "Official State Rock" in 2000.
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