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Visiting Freshwater Pearl Farms
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Rings & Things has carried freshwater pearls for years. We worked with Hong Kong-based firms that "farmed" large areas in the Pearl River delta. On this visit, Russ & crew saw a different side of freshwater pearl farming. In this region of China, people have wisely built houses and workshops in rows between little farms so they can continue to raise much of their own rice and produce. Pearl farmers here work on small lakes covered with rows of recycled soda bottle floats. The lakes sit along the highways and back roads and can be as small as a few hundred feet wide and as large as a half mile.
The green bottle floats hold nets of freshwater oysters some 20 centimeters below the surface - shallow enough for the mollusk to get its required sunlight, making its shell and pearls a good color, and deep enough for the nutrient-rich water to flow across it. The shellfish is implanted with shell nuclei that become pearls when the creature is quite small, perhaps only 3 to 5cm across. The finished pearls are harvested two to eight years after implanting. Like feeder calves, the young oysters are sometimes moved to better "pastures" after the first year or two, where they grow and mature. This farmer demonstrated the process by pulling three algae-covered shellfish from the middle of his lake.
With a sharp knife he deftly opened the shell to reveal 20 to 30 pearls of various sizes and colors under a mucous layer. These were 5-year-old pearls. Each had acceptable nacre and good color, though the quality varied. The sizes ranged from tiny 2-3mm pearls to some 13mm-long ones. The shapes included many of the common styles: round, near round, button, oval and potato. The two oysters contained all the common color tones of natural freshwater pearls.
Staffers said they were a little surprised by the quantity of pearls in each oyster. The pearls Emba, Dee and Karin are examining came from two shells. The triple or butterfly shape they got is quite unusual.
The group's host farmer took them to a regional pearl market where locals sold finished pearl jewelry, animals and figurines made of pearls, as well as thousands of loose pearls on strands. They first went to the upper level of the market, where unfinished pearl products were sold. Karin and Emba bought display shells with a cluster of pearls glued in place, which looked very much like the oysters their host opened at the lake. Many of the loose-pearl sellers were busy sorting piles of freshly harvested pearls by size, quality and color. Some of the goods appeared to be made for tourist trade, but most were available in large quantities for export. Nearly all the goods they saw that day were natural-color pearls. Dyed, treated, irradiated or otherwise colored pearls were produced by specialists elsewhere.
The pearl-drilling machine used at the market (pictured left) only has one drill bit in it, while similar machines in the U.S.A. at "pick-a-pearl" booths at fairs and the Seattle Center usually use two drill bits. The vice in the center holds the pearl so drilling will be dead center every time. The pearl dust produced by the drilling is saved for reuse as a beauty aid. It's popular for skin care in Japan.
Among the shapes staffers purchased at the market were some center-drilled toggle pearls (sometimes known as "dog bone" or "barbell" shape.) This shape is very popular in stone and glass. We're hoping to have a consistent supply of this kind of pearl.
The lower market level featured finished goods. Small shops around the outside had ready-to-wear strands of pearls and pearl jewelry. One group of booths displayed menageries of animal figurines made primarily of natural pearls. Other booths carried beads made from oyster shells, health and body products made from pearl dust, and a variety of other pearl-related goods. As the group left the building, they were offered some very large, exceptionally nice round pearls by a few men sitting or standing near the exit. Our staffers found this to be a pleasant change from the peddlers on Nathan Road in Hong Kong, who offered "copy watch," "fake Rolex" or "Bombay Tailor" to every tourist walking down the street.
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