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I find them somewhat fussy ... I think the article may be aimed at the deep-pocketed Russian Oligarch market! : )

Hmmm - the price is not so astonishing - as you initially flagged - when you consider that it could raise the value of some cheap pearls in the hands of an unethical seller by a couple of thousand dollars ... thanks for considering the buyer at the end of a sell/buy/restring/sell process! Kudos...

Amanda, I am happy to respond to your post, and I am glad it was framed as a question! The PNG population consists of amazing people, many of whom helped the Allied War Effort during World War II and we are forever indebted to them. PNG is an influential, highly valued and respected neighbour...

Wow! That is great info, thanks. PNG has many wonderful surprises, as well as fantastic people. It looks as though much of the pearling might be Papua (part of Indonesia) though, rather than PNG. I'll look at the maps!

Does anyone know whether Papua New Guinea has a pearl industry, even a nascent one? I would think it would be a suitable industry for PNG (my reservations about safety standards notwithstanding!)

It's pretty bad form to post PMs without clearance, but I actually feel I have to in this instance, because this is some misrepresentation! I suggested to you - offline out of courtesy - that any posts responding to the bereaved parent should perhaps be softened with condolences (clearly they...

I'm not an industrial expert, but the Australian Government takes a dim view of quasi contractors - e.g. if people are only contractors by name, but treated as employees (one main marker would be equipment being supplied (er, such as a boat!). So while you or I might like to regard a diver as a...

Pearlescence I am tending to agree! How sad especially in this context.

Dave, I'm afraid that IMO wild-frontierism such as some of this (partially interesting) tract has no place in the modern industrial world. People who "freedive" privately for pearls - or are simply running their own business - are in a different category from employees ...

Well said pearlescence!

Hi Tony, Thank you so much for your post - this last week, as you know, there have been other grieving Australian parents, trying to make sense of their sons' deaths, and trying to compensate at least a little bit, through trying to prevent further deaths. If, in time, it turns out that new...

As always on this board there's great factual expert contributions and some robust discussion. Thank God for the combination of good governance in developed countries (albeit needing constant, skeptical and ongoing scrutiny), a free press, and freedom of speech on this board! May the poorer...

Yes, they have very similar investigatory and inquisition powers, and can of course recommend prosecution. Thank heaven for the British governance system so many countries inherited! And, while the remote "Wild West" in Australia is very much beyond the law on the ground in some ways, anyone...

Exquisite! I guess the size adds to the authenticity ... Victorian women were so much smaller than we are!

Australia has the Maritime Union, covering pretty much the gamut of workers who work in/with the sea ... including divers. I'd say, though, that piece workers in remote Australia would be less likely to belong to the union than most ...

In Australia we regard a single death in 20 years as a valuable life lost, particularly as this appears to have been a preventable death, and any coroner will go to endless lengths to discover the truth, and apply that knowledge to preventing further deaths. I don't think "Pouf!" is in the...

Thanks Nerida - see my post too on the Four Corners report. I'm hoping people outside Australia can view it on ABC's Iview ...

I think empathy for the bereaved family is in order, along with respect for the professionalism of the ABC journalists, and a mind to the importance of free speech. Perhaps you might watch the program online before making a judgement about whether it's "led by the family"? I would think it's...

Hi Pearlescence, Four Corners is Australian Public Television's most respected investigatory journalism program. They check their facts, there's a big legal team at the ABC, it's all highly professional. No, I disagree, there's no need to wait for a coroner's report for an investigative...

Paspaley diver's death raising safety questions Paspaley diver's death raising safety questions Australian Broadcasting Corporation investigation into the death of a young Paspaley diver. It looks as though their safety standards do not befit a wealthy country... Australia's biggest pearl...