Heusch - Perlas Majorica S.A.


	Majorica - The Story of the Finest Imitation Pearls in the World !


	The Spanish Royal Family visits the Pearl Factory




	Throughout the centuries, pearls were admired for their beauty and uniqueness. During the XVIth century in England, pearls were used by both men and women as fashion accessories. Because genuine pearls were so rare, only wealthy people could afford them. In the 17^th century a Parisian rosary maker named Jaquin discovered that the sticky material found on fish scales could be used to coat the beads. This gave the rosary beads iridescence which resembled the sheen of genuine pearls. During the next centuries other methods were discovered to resemble pearls by various Parisian industries.

Before the end of the 19^th century, Eduard Hugo Heusch was also working on his own methods for creating artificial pearls and he formed the Société des Perles des Indes E. Heusch & Co. While continuously perfecting his techniques Mr. Heusch moved his pearl making to Barcelona and then permanently to Manacor on the island of Mallorca Spain. To run his factory Mr. Heusch hired Mr. Pedro Riche, an ex-journalist from France.

When Mr. Eduard H. Heusch died in 1937, his son Edouard Camille Heusch was appointed President. During World War II, the pearl factory was able to continue its production, as the war was primarily confined to the European mainland. General F. Franco had managed to keep Spain out of the war. Buyers from many parts of the world began to recognize the superlative quality of these artificial pearls and demand increased rapidly.

When Mr. Mauricio Heusch died in 1963, Mr. Alberto Heusch was appointed President. Through his leadership the factory was expanded and continued scientific research was devoted to improve the quality of the pearls. Technological and quality control improvements were added to maintain the highest quality standards of Majorica pearls. Visitors to the factory can enjoy seeing the pearls being created from start-to-finish by way of an observation gallery.

Today, the reputation of Majorica® pearls is known worldwide. It is the oldest continuous pearl manufacturing company in the world. The quality for producing Majorica pearls has never been duplicated by another manufacturer. It takes a trained eye to distinguish the Majorica pearls from the pearls that oysters produce. Consuelo Musy-Heusch had a special four-strand necklace made which contained one strand of the finest natural pearls and three Majorica strands. Many professional jewelers had difficulty telling the real strand from the three others. However, Consuelo never embarrassed anyone by telling them that they had picked a Majorica strand instead of the real pearls !.

The Majorica pearl does not change or yellow with age and its luster remains constant. These pearls are highly resistant to perfumes, skin moisture and garment dyes. Its manufacturing process is complex and every attention is given to quality control with every production step.

Eduardo Hugo Heusch's vision of making superlative pearls has been made a reality due to the perseverance of his four children and the dedicated employees of Majorica S.A.


	How is a Majorica Pearl made ? How can you distinguish it from a cultured pearl ?






	Majorica simulated pearls easily pass for nature's own creation. The technology and skills used in its manufacture is complex. The process begins with highly trained workers who make the opaque nucleus of the pearls by melting the tip of the a translucent glass rod over a torch. The hot glass flows onto a coated copper wire which is electromechanically rotating. The size of the pearl is regulated by the intensity of the flame, the melting time and the speed of the rotating wire. Highly skilled operators produce exact sizes (filière = 1 mm) by eye-hand coordination. After the pearls are removed from the copper wires, they are sized and dipped in natural pearl essence made from the scales of fish. The exact formula of this essence is closely guarded. After receiving approximately 30 carefully applied layers, the pearls are dried in a time and atmosphere controlled environment. Then they are drilled and assembled into necklaces by specially trained workers. Although many steps in the pearl production is done by hand, specially designed machinery is used to increase the production capabilities of the plant. The quality control department of Majorica rejects any pearl with the slightest imperfection. Only perfect pearls will be used to create the finest simulated pearls in the world ! By the way, did you guess which pearl strand was cultured ? .....(it was the third down from the top).

This site is does NOT sell Majorica pearls, and it has NO current connection with Perlas Majorica® - Barcelona - Spain

		heusch@orbisenterprises.com

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