Pearl Cutivation in French Polynesia
CONTACT ME HERE -- POLYNESIAN WEATHER AND LIVE CAMS -- HOME PAGE -- DRENNON's POLYNESIAN JUKEBOX
Return to Feb 17 - Mar 2 French Polynesian Excursion
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We visited a Pearl farm on the Island of Taha'a. I documented the procedure of producing the famous black pearl with photos... to be loaded with text later.
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A reject oyster was sacrificed to show where
the perl would be seeded or found in a live oyster
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An equiped work table with today's bounty
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An oyster is pulled from the sea with mesh bag
If the seed is in the bag, the oyster rejected it
and no pearl will be made
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The anatomy of the critter that produces black pearls
Pinctada margaritifera, the black-lip oyster
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Some recent pearls harvested from oysters
Labor-intensive on part of man and oyster
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Few oysters make marketable black perls.
Even fewer produce spherical pearls
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Perls are graded and sorted by size, shape, imperfections, and color
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Don't even ask what these would cost!
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After seeds are planted in oysters, they are tied
together and placed in a mesh bag, later checked
to see if the seed was rejected
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The tool used to check a live oyster
It is used to pry open the shell of a live oyster
without killing it.
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Pearl hunting inside a live oyster
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Seeding an oyster that seems promising for pearl production
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A perl is plucked out of a live oyster
If the perl is nice, the oyster will be reseeded several times
It takes a 12-18 months to make a perl after seeding.
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The color of the oyster's mantle
shows the potential colors of the black perl it could produce..
notice hues of green, blue, puple, and black.
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VAIMA contains your best buys of real black perls
This view is seen from the ship in Papeete
However, the prices at the perl farm on Taha'a
with Bruno's tour was also good
with outstanding selection...
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...Photo of Sara standing next to perl
that I bought her at the Taha'a Perl Farm...
I am sad to report that it was so heavy...
...that it sunk the boat.. so she was not able to
bring it back to the states. Sigh! Poor Sara!
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CONTACT ME HERE -- POLYNESIAN WEATHER AND LIVE CAMS -- HOME PAGE -- DRENNON's POLYNESIAN JUKEBOX
Return to Feb 17 - Mar 2 French Polynesian Excursion