Tokki is a Japanese term to describe a protrusion or bump. Occasionally, oysters will produce a pearl with curious shapes. These are the result of an accident during growth. Oysters definitely have a mind of their own.
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After the pearls are harvested from their oyster home, they are brought back to the main area for cleaning and grading.
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After oysters are nucleated approximately 70% retain the nucleus after 30-40 days. The process of coating the nucleus begins with 10-20 layers a day! Other oysters won't survive disease and predators and that would leave about 50% of the oysters to grow pearls to harvest stage.
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When the oysters are three years old, they are ready to be grafted. You know by now that when I speak of oysters, I am talking about saltwater pearls. Freshwater pearls are a little different, cultured in mussels and I will get into that in a later blog.
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We have been following the development of the pearl growing oysters from conception to their producing and nurturing years in the last couple of
Blogs. I want you to be able to understand the complicated and very specific culturing of these beautiful saltwater oysters.
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When I visited The Fiji Pearl Farm in Savu Savu Fiji, Justin Hunter was beginning to create an in-house oyster hatchery. It is now in full production, I am proud to report. His goal was to selectively reproduce pearl oysters in a man-made environment.
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For a truly vertical pearl farm, wild spat have to be ecologically collected from the surrounding waters in the South Seas. This is called natural spat collection. In the months of October and November, pearl oysters produce sperm and eggs in to a water column. It is here that they fertilize and form free swimming larvae.
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There isn't a simple answer to this question. There are many factors that determine how long a pearl must grow in a mollusk.
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I love to write to you about fabulous historical pearl jewelry. As you can see with this brooch, the artist has made superb use of a Baroque pearl to resemble the torso of this dramatic Merman or Triton. There is intricate enamel work and masterful setting of table cut diamonds and rubies
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