Pearl Education

The family Pteriidae is composed of three or four genera, and pearl oysters belonging to the Pinctada and Pteria genera are -of course- the most important from our point of view.

Taxonomy

An old name for this species is Magnavicula, which means “Large Wing”, with the “new” -Pteria- name originating after the Greek word “Ptero” which translates into “wing”, hence the name of “Winged oysters”.
These species are identified by a more elongate shape than that of Pinctada species, thus their...

Sustaining Life with Pearl Farming

One of the most important aspects of pearl farming is its inherent ability to protect and create more life than the one that was available previously. And what do I mean by this? When you start a pearl farm in a location, you begin with a resource that has already been “pillaged & plundered”, probably for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. As an example, we have the pearl fisheries of the Persian Gulf -whose pearls were adorning the ancient rulers of...

Tahitian Pearls Defined

Tahitian pearls are bead-nucleated pearls grown in the gonad of the Pinctada margaritifera mollusk in French Polynesia.

Tahitian Pearls - Among the Most Beautiful in the World

Tahitian pearls are produced in the black-lipped oyster Pinctada margaritifera, in and around Tahiti and the French Polynesian islands. This oyster itself is quite large - sometimes over 12 inches (30 cm) across and weighing as much as 10 pounds (4.5 Kg) - which often results in much...

Cultured Pearls Defined
A cultured pearl is any pearl grown with the influence of human intervention.

Cultured Pearl Formation
A pearl is formed when a something penetrates or lodges in the mantle tissue of a mollusk. In response, a substance called nacre is secreted, and the creation of a pearl begins. Nacre is a combination of crystalline and organic substances. The nacre builds up in layers and after a few years, this buildup of nacre creates a pearl.


Natural Pearls vs. Cultured Pearls...

ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL IMPACT OF THE CCCP

There was a positive ecological aspect of this venture: the pearl farm itself acted as a gigantic breeding station for the pearl oysters. When you consider that this farm contained between 8 to 10 million pearl oysters and let us say that at least one-third of these had reached sexual maturity (2.6 to 6.6 million individuals), it is very evident to see the astounding positive impact that this commercial operation would have in restocking the Gulf...

THE FIRST COMMERCIAL PEARL OYSTER FARM IN THE WORLD

It is at this particular crossroad that we find a Mexican-French Medical Doctor by the name of Gastón Vivès, attempting what very none had tried before: initiate a commercially viable, large-scale pearl oyster farm to produce shell and pearls. The Vivès family owned a pearl fishing armada in La Paz, Baja California Sur, and they were experiencing diminishing profits every year, thus wanting to revert this trend we find Gastón Vivès...