The Cartiers and the Pearl Market

One hundred and ten years ago, Jacques Cartier arrived in Bahrain for the first time. He wrote home to his brother:

"My dear Louis, if I have understood correctly, the most important mission bestowed on me during this trip to the East is to investigate the pearl market and to report back on the most effective way for us to purchase pearls."

As Cartier was well aware, natural pearls were like magnets for the wealthiest women in the world. Since the opening up of the South African diamond mines, the price of pearls had soared compared to diamonds based on their relative rarity.

In the early 20th century, a good-quality pearl — valued more for its round shape than its sheen — was priced four times more highly than a diamond of the same weight, and a pearl necklace could be more expensive than a Rembrandt painting. Perfect natural pearls were almost impossible to find, but the best, the Cartiers believed, came from the Gulf.

Jacques Cartier in Bahrain, 1912.

The problem was that the Cartiers were a bit late to the scene. Another group of jeweller brothers, the Rosenthals, had already gained the pearl sheikhs' trust via a very clever trick involving thousands of gold coins and several donkeys. As the only European firm permitted to buy pearls directly from the source, the Rosenthals had grown extraordinarily wealthy — and the Cartiers, fed up with looking on from the sidelines, wanted a share of the action too.

Pages from Jacques Cartier's travel diaries.

Next week, I'll be following in my great-grandfather's footsteps, using his travel diaries as a guide. I imagine communication will be easier this time round. Jacques wrote: "The conversation wasn't very fast because I gave my message in English, the translator translated it into Hindustani, while amplifying it slightly, and then Sheikh Youssef translated it into Arabic for the head sheikh, also adding his own comments. In this way, a discussion of 50 words took half an hour. And then the response came by the same chain, so the exchange went on for quite a while!"

For those in the area, I'll be speaking and signing books in Oman and Bahrain — and hoping to re-enact some photos from Jacques' albums. Watch this space!