SOUTH SEA PEARLS
MAIN CHARACTERISTICS
South Sea pearls can be quickly identified because of their large size. Generally, they range from 9mm to 17mm in diameter. Only in very rare cases do they grow larger.
The South Sea pearl is a noble pearl and tends to have a very strong and healthy nacreous coating around the implanted mother-of-pearl nucleus. It is this thick coating that helps keep its natural color, luster and beauty, and allows it to be worn with pride from generation to generation.
South Sea pearls are generally worn in a completely natural state as they come out of the oyster; they need no artificial enhancement or coloring whatsoever. That is why they are treasured as “The Queen of Pearls and the Pearl of Queens.”
GEOGRAPHICAL ORIGINS
There are two basic groups: white and dark. Those from the white group are cultured in a large geographical range stretching from Australia, Indonesia and the . Philippines to Thailand and the Mergui Archipelago of Burma (Myanmar). In the northeast, this range reaches all the way to Okinawa at the southern tip of Japan. Australia, Indonesia and the Philippines are the main producing countries.
South Sea pearls from the dark group, among which are the legendary Tahitian natural colored black pearls, are most frequently cultivated along a broad band the South Pacific that stretches eastward from the Cook Islands through Tahiti Tuamoto Archipelago and the Gambier Islands of French Polynesia. Minor production sites can also be found in Indonesia, the Philippines, Okinawa, the Big Island of Hawaii, Fiji and New Caledonia. But Tahiti is by far the world’s largest producer.
OYSTERS
Pearls from the white group are cultivated in a type of mollusk called Pinctada maxima. This oyster is one of the largest of the thirty or so species of pearl oysters found throughout the world. Its shell can grow to a diameter of 25cm to 35cm, and it can weigh up to 5kg. This large mollusk produces a correspondingly large pearl, usually from 9mm to 17mm in diameter. It also deposits over a period of up to three years a thicker nacreous coating than most other oysters.
Pearls with a golden champagne or light yellowish hue are mainly from the northern part of the above-mentioned geographical range, and their shells are often referred to as “gold-lipped” or “yellow-lipped’ Shells found in Australia and the southeastern part of Indonesia are often referred to as “white-lipped” or “silver-lipped” because the edges of the inner valves are a gleaming silvery-white. The pearls from these oysters are known for their silvery shades and are sometimes shot through with bluish or metallic tints.
Pearls from the dark group are cultivated in a type of mollusk called Pinctada margaritifera. This oyster is slightly smaller than its white counterpart, growing to a diameter of 12cm to 15cm, with the largest sometimes exceeding 20cm. The pearls it produces are usually 8mm to 16mm in diameter, and the edges of its inner valves are usually very dark, even black. The largest and darkest of these “black-lipped” shells are of a sub-species called cumingi, and are found around Tahiti. “Black-lipped” shells from the nearby Cook Islands are slightly smaller, and tend to be more brownish. Those found in other tropical waters such as around Indonesia, the Philippines and
Okinawa are smaller and lighter in color, and are often of a different sub-species. Tahiti, therefore, seems somehow to be the predestined producer of the world’s finest black pearls because of the nature of the superb shells that thrive there.
Still today, the most common method for obtaining Pinctada maxima in Australia is by fishing for them. Divers collect the shells at a depth ranging from 8 meters to 30 meters. Pearl shell hatchery developments are, on the other hand, progressing rapidly and a method for propagating shells might eventually replace today’s divers. Already, countries like Indonesia and the Philippines are propagating most of their pearl oysters in hatcheries.
For black-lipped Pinctada margaritifera oysters, the most common method is collecting spat in the open sea or in lagoons. Free-floating larvae settle and grow on collectors. Once grown to about 2cm, the baby oysters are then collected and carefully raised to adulthood. This takes place in the open sea in “nurseries” or “grow-out farms.
CULTIVATION
The process of cultivation begins with the selection of a mature, healthy mother oyster. It is carefully raised up from its growing environment, gently opened, and kept open with the help of a small wooden wedge. A tiny sliver of tissue called a “mantle” from another pearl oyster of the same species, along with a small, spherical mother-of-pearl bead, or nucleus, is then surgically implanted. Simple as this operation may sound, it is actually a very delicate and painstaking procedure.
After the seeding operation, the oyster is returned to its natural growing environment. Within a few weeks and under optimum conditions, living graft tissue forms a pearl sac around the nucleus and, hopefully, a pearl begins to grow.
A fair percentage of seeded oysters will invariably reject their implants. Also, out of every 100 South Sea pearls harvested from host oysters, only a few will be perfectly round; a significant number will come in a whole variety of other shapes. There are many reasons for this but it can be said the skill of the technician is directly reflected in the quality of the pearls produced and the quantity of the pearls harvested.
For South Sea pearls, the cultivation period, or “breeding time’ is usually two to three years. During this period, the oyster is tenderly protected and cleaned at regular intervals. But because it is in its natural environment, it does not have to be fed.
Only one nucleus is inserted into each oyster. But when it
is harvested, instead of discarding it, another mother-of-pearl bead is
delicately positioned inside a healthy oyster’s sac from which a pearl had been
extracted just moments before. The oyster is then returned to its natural
environment in hopes that it will bear one more beautiful South Sea pearl when
it is opened a few years later. In exceptional cases, the pr
ocedure
can be repeated a third time, depending on the health and age of the oyster.
COLORS
South Sea pearls come in a very wide variety of colors. The white group from Pinctada maxima shells produces pearls from silver-white to dark gold, including pink, cream, champagne, yellow, green and blue. The dark group from Pinctada margaritifera shells has an even wider kaleidoscope of colors including jet black, peacock green, green, blue, grey, brown, red, yellow and, in rare cases, silver and white.
SHAPES
For seeding, the operator always inserts a mother-of-pearl bead that is spherical. Yet only a small percentage of harvested pearls are perfectly round. As previously mentioned, a significant quantity will come in various shapes including near-round, oval, drop, button, circle and baroque.
This variety of shapes combined with the virtually unlimited range of natural colors make the South Sea pearl an incredibly attractive gem. Consumers have the option of acquiring a one-of-a-kind pearl which becomes theirs alone, and designers worldwide are presented with a window of unrestricted creativity in the shaping of rings, pendants, earrings, brooches and pins.
VALUE
South Sea pearls command high prices throughout the world. With their relative scarcity, large sizes, extended cultivation period, thicker nacreous coating and natural colors, why shouldn’t they? Yet their owners aren’t all millionaires. In fact, to own one of these rare treasures, it takes in some cases only a few hundred dollars. However, large, perfect pieces can command thousands of dollars. For an entire set of ring, pendant and earrings, it will of course cost considerably more. And for an entire necklace, be prepared to pay tens of thousands of dollars for some of them.
For pricing, a good rule of thumb is to compare South Sea pearls with Japanese Akoya pearls which are much smaller in size. On average, one single South Sea pearl commands just about the same price as one Akoya cultured pearl necklace.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Within your budget, buy quality. Don’t, for example, base your selection on size. Rather than a large, dull pearl, choose a smaller one with an attractive luster. The luster is more important than size, color, shape or surface spots.
Fine pearls don’t have to be round. An elegant drop, an attractive button or a unique baroque-shaped pearl can be lovely too.
The same applies to color. A fine-quality pearl need not be silver-pink or peacock-black. Buy the color that you find appealing. Remember that the colors of South Sea pearls are the way Mother Nature created them — perfect in their own way. Lustrous pearls with greenish, bluish or yellowish hues and shaped attractively can and often do become exquisite pieces of jeweler.
Also, be fairly tolerant when judging the smoothness of the pearl’s surface. Obviously, deep and serious surface blemishes should be avoided. But a pearl with surface that is only slightly spotted, (touches of nature, by the way) should not detract you, especially when you are charmed by the luster, color, shape, size...and price.
Special thanks to Andy Muller for permission to use parts of his book
By Andy Müller