Grade Level: Grade 4-12

Subject: Physical Education

Keywords: Pirates of the Caribbean, Pirates of the Caribbean the movie, black pearls, the curse of the black pearl, history of the black pearl, black pearl, black pearls, Tahitian black pearls, Catherine the Great, black pearl necklace, cultivation of black pearls, Baja California black pearls, California black pearls, ClassBrain, movies in the classroom, pearl oysters, teaching with film, movies in the classroom, ClassBrain

Author: Courtesy of the Body Conditioning class at Orange County High School of the Arts

Affiliation: ClassBrain, Inc.

Date: 20 May, 2003

Duration: 1 class period

Film: Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl © Disney

MPAA Rating: Not Yet Rated

Film Information From IMDb.com: Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl


The History of the Black Pearl

Pearls have a long history as a prized gem. In the middle ages and Renaissance times, the nobility wore them as a sign of their status. They even passed laws so that the nobility were the only ones that could wear them.

Pearls also were thought to have a protective quality. They were worn by knights to protect them on the battlefield, and they were used medicinally, internally and externally, to cure everything from indigestion to bad dreams.

The nobles’ lust for pearls was further piqued when the black pearl was discovered. Some of the first black pearls were natural pearls that came from the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish had sent explorers to look for the “sea of pearls.” They found them when they found the Gulf of California, which they called “Mare Bermejo de Cortes.” Others were found later in Tahiti, which is known for some of the most beautiful black pearls in the world, although most of these are cultured pearls.

The color of a pearl is largely determined by the type of oyster in which they grow and the water. Pearls range in color from “pearly” white to pink to brown to black, and everything in-between. The giant black-lipped oyster is the one that creates the rare Polynesian black pearl. The rainbow-lipped pearl oyster has created some of the beautiful black pearls from the Baja California region.

Two of the most famous jewelry pieces created with black pearls were Catherine the Great’s necklace of 30 black pearls, and the Austrian crown from the 1700’s which was also set with 30 exquisite black pearls. Past or present, these unusual gems attract attention wherever they’re found.

Source: GemCart.com, For Pearls.com, Tahiti Legends, Bernadine Fine Art Jewlery, Perles de Tahiti