Hyderabad is considered the main pearl trading centre in India, because of which the city is also known as the "City of Pearls". The most notable area devoted to the trade is the village called Chandanpet just outside

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India ...

, wherein almost the entire population is engaged in the delicate art of drilling

pearl A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle) of a living shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is composed of calcium carb ...

s, a skill they have practiced for generations. This practice also makes the city one of the largest pearl drilling locations in India.

Background

The pearl industry in Hyderabad flourished due to the patronage of the Qutub Shahi kings and the

Asaf Jahis The Asaf Jahi was a Muslim dynasty that ruled the Kingdom of Hyderabad. The family came to India in the late 17th century and became employees of the Mughal Empire. They were great patrons of Persian culture, language, and literature, the fami ...

, who were said to have an affinity for sparkling jewels. The pearls were not only part of the traditional regalia of this royal clientele but the pearls' crushed form are also believed to have healing and beautifying properties. Princesses were said to be weighed against their pearls during their birthdays while

Mir Osman Ali Khan Mir Osman Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VII (5 or 6 April 1886 — 24 February 1967), was the last Nizam (ruler) of the Princely State of Hyderabad, the largest princely state in British India. He ascended the throne on 29 August 1911, at the age o ...

, who is considered the richest among the Nizams, was said to have hoarded sacks of pearls in the basement of his palaces. Prior to the pearl trade in Hyderabad, pearls were sourced from

Basra, Iraq Basra ( ar, ٱلْبَصْرَة, al-Baṣrah) is an Iraqi city located on the Shatt al-Arab. It had an estimated population of 1.4 million in 2018. Basra is also Iraq's main port, although it does not have deep water access, which is han ...

. The pearls from this city were prized for its hardness unlike those found in the

Bay of Bengal The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean, bounded on the west and northwest by India, on the north by Bangladesh, and on the east by Myanmar and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India. Its southern limit is a line betwee ...

, which are softer and, thus, less durable. However, the discovery of oil and the later establishment of the oil industry polluted the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The bod ...

, led to the decline of pearl trade in Basra. Henceforth, pearl merchants gravitated towards Hyderabad. Many pearl artisans from Basra have also moved to Hyderabad centuries ago.

Processing

Once the pearls are drilled, they are boiled for about four days to bleach them and rid them of their dark color. They are placed in glass bottles containing

hydrogen peroxide Hydrogen peroxide is a chemical compound with the formula . In its pure form, it is a very pale blue liquid that is slightly more viscous than water. It is used as an oxidizer, bleaching agent, and antiseptic, usually as a dilute solution (3%� ...

, water, and

ether In organic chemistry, ethers are a class of compounds that contain an ether group—an oxygen atom connected to two alkyl or aryl groups. They have the general formula , where R and R′ represent the alkyl or aryl groups. Ethers can again be ...

. Then they are sunned for four or five days in glass sun boxes with a mirror base. Finally they are washed and separated through series of different shapes and sizes. Pearls are also graded according to color. While pink pearls and black pearls are also considered to be of good quality, white pearls have traditionally been most popular. A good quality white pearl reflects a lovely sky blue color under

ultraviolet light Ultraviolet (UV) is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelength from 10 nanometer, nm (with a corresponding frequency around 30 Hertz, PHz) to 400 nm (750 Hertz, THz), shorter than that of visible light, but longer than ...

while a poor quality one has a green or mustard-colored sheen. Black pearls that have a green sheen and baroque (irregular shaped) pearls that reflect a rainbow of colors are also amongst the more valuable varieties. While black and pink pearls are also rare and beautiful, most traditional Hyderabad jewellery is made with white pearls. Recently, several pearl makers are exporting processed pearls to markets in Europe and the US. With the capital that they gain from this marketing, they are able to purchase machinery for advanced refinement. In particular, equipment that uses enzymes present in

thermophiles A thermophile is an organism—a type of extremophile—that thrives at relatively high temperatures, between . Many thermophiles are archaea, though they can be bacteria or fungi. Thermophilic eubacteria are suggested to have been among the earl ...

is able to substantially improve the process of refining pearls.

References

External links

Current pearl industry
{{Commons category, Hyderabad Pearls Economy of Hyderabad, India Pearls Hyderabad State