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.
Read more
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.
Read more
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.
Read more
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.
Read more
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.
Read more
There isn't a simple answer to this question. There are many factors that determine how long a pearl must grow in a mollusk.
Read more
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
Read more
Keshi Pearls are a little known form of, what I like to describe as, "pearls gone wild". Keshi Pearls are smaller and grown as a second growth of a cultured pearl or if the first nucleation is rejected.
Read more
The Pearl industry has made a major effort to educate the public about cultured pearls for the last 50 years. It has been 100 years since the designation of the word "cultured" to the farmed pearl. So, why is the lab grown diamond using the designation of "cultured" to market its synthetic diamonds?
Read more
All pearls are unique, but there are some historically significantly unique pearls and The Hope Pearl is one of them. Of course you have heard of the Hope Diamond, but there is the Hope Pearl, as well.
Read more
