Majorica pearls, part by part: the core, the coats and a founding date nobody agrees on

By Porter Lang

A pearl that is described as a Majorica pearl is a manufactured one. That is not a criticism. It is the first fact on the label that a buyer should read, and it is the one that most affects what the piece is. This guide goes through what the sources say it is made of, how it is built, and where they conflict on the story.

What the product is

Wikipedia describes Majorica as a Spanish company that makes hand-made imitation pearls, now based in Mallorca. The company’s own site calls its product an artificial pearl and says it was first made in Mallorca in 1890. An antiques-education page, Lang Antiques, names the founder as Eduardo Hugo Heusch and the company as Majorica S.A. All three are describing a glass-based bead with a pearl-like coat, not a pearl grown by a mollusc.

Wikipedia’s separate article on imitation pearls draws the line clearly: they are not to be confused with cultured pearls, which are real pearls made through human intervention. It lists glass, plastic and mollusc shell as typical materials.

The build, as three sources describe it

According to the company’s own page on how its pearls are created, the sequence is:

A small core of opaline glass, opaque or coloured, is the base.
The core is immersed in a liquid made from ground fish scales or other marine animal particles, which gives the iridescence.
The coating is applied “between 30 and 40 times”, with each coat dried and polished to remove imperfections.
A last coat is applied and the pearls are treated against UV radiation, gases and other substances to reduce fading and improve durability.

The page says the exact formula and process are confidential.

Wikipedia’s Majorica article says the pearls are made on solid balls, “likely glass”, coated with a proprietary coating made partly of fish scales, dried, polished, and then dipped in a chemical, possibly cellulose acetate and cellulose nitrate, to harden the surface against discolouration, chipping and peeling. The words “likely” and “possibly” are Wikipedia’s, and we keep them.

Lang Antiques calls the coating a paste of oil and fish scales, called “essence d’orient”, says the glass cores are dipped repeatedly until the desired colour and thickness are reached, and adds a final protective coat. It gives no number of coats.

Side by side: where and when

Source	Where	When
Wikipedia, Majorica pearl	founded in Barcelona, now based in Mallorca	1890
Majorica’s own site	began producing in Mallorca; the founder first worked in Paris on an artificial pearl process	1890
Wikipedia, Manacor	a factory in Manacor	founded 1897
Lang Antiques	“the Spanish island of Majorica”	1890

The company’s page names the founder as a German engineer and says he emigrated to France before moving the company to Manacor, with no year given. Three of the four sources agree on 1890. The Manacor article says 1897, and the Wikipedia company article puts the founding in Barcelona. We do not resolve this, and the move from the mainland to the island has no date in anything we read.

A patent and a family of copies

The company’s page says the founding family’s patent expired in 1948, which led to other manufacturing companies opening. It means that a bead that looks like a Majorica pearl may not be one. Our reading is that the brand name on the clasp or the box is the evidence, and shape alone is not.

What the word “pearl” asks of you

Wikipedia’s imitation-pearl article says the pearlescent coatings can contain essence d’orient, isinglass, fish scales, oyster scales or mother-of-pearl powder, and that some plastic beads are coated to imitate nacre. That is a list of what the category contains, not of what Majorica uses. We list it so that a buyer knows the vocabulary: glass pearl, plastic pearl, shell pearl, cultured pearl.

None of the sources we read tells a buyer how to separate an imitation from a natural or cultured pearl by hand, and we will not invent a test.

A magazine verdict from 1990

Wikipedia reports that in 1990 the journal Gems & Gemology described Majorica pearls as the most widely marketed and meticulously manufactured imitation of the time. We have not read the journal itself.

What kind of sources these are

The company’s page is the producer’s own account of itself, so promotional. Wikipedia is open to anyone. Lang Antiques is a dealer’s education page. The Manacor article is also Wikipedia, so two of our four sources are the same encyclopaedia.

Questions a buyer would ask

Is the piece sold as imitation, and does the label say so? What is the core: glass, plastic or shell? How many coats, and is that stated by the maker or by the seller? Is there a maker’s mark? We name no seller and give no prices.

What we left out

The company’s later financial history, named executives, employee numbers, prices and any care instructions we could not source.

Quick answers

What is a Majorica pearl made of? According to the company’s own page, an opaline glass core coated 30 to 40 times with a liquid made from ground fish scales, dried and polished between coats.

Is a Majorica pearl a cultured pearl? No. Wikipedia describes Majorica pearls as hand-made imitation pearls, and says imitation pearls are not to be confused with cultured pearls.

When was Majorica founded? Sources differ. Wikipedia and the company say 1890; the Manacor article on Wikipedia says 1897.

Roam first. Shop later.

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