Culturing Conch Pearls

[jshepherd]

I have kept this secret for about a year now, but Jeremy Norris and I took a trip over to Florida last year to take a look at the world's first successful conch pearl culturing program with Wuyi Yang from the New York GIA lab.

Pearl-Guide's very own Hector Acosta-Salmon has discovered a method to successfully culture both beaded and tissue conch pearls.

They finally broke the news today.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091104000927.htm

 

[GemGeek]

Oh well, same timing! You can delete my thread. I knew it had been done in the past, but I didn't know about the new effort.

 

[pattye]

That is beyond exciting! Congratulations to all those involved!!

 

[SteveM]

Ken Scarratt let this slip during our little breakfast meeting last month, I guess it was just too imminent to hold back any longer…

He couldn't confirm if the strombus gigas is hemophiliac (like abalone), unfortunately neither does the article.

Jeremys: From your visit, can you tell us what technique is used to insert the bead/tissue? Is it through the shell?

The article mentions that conchs are measured in carats, but as with other pearls I would assume that would only continue to be applicable to the naturals and not the cultureds.

 

[GemGeek]

It's especially nice to know that they don't have to kill the host to harvest the pearl!

 

[jshepherd]

Well, it has been a year since my visit, but I do remember some of it.

The seeding operation is not done through the shell. The animal is "relaxed" by placing it in magnesium chloride solution for 20 minutes. When relaxed, the conch shows an extended mantle and a relaxed foot.

There are several places in the animal where tissue grafts produce pearls, but as I understand it, only one place where a bead-cultured pearl can be grown.

 

[hacostas]

It's been a year already!? time flies.
It was a good experience for us at HBOI to have Jeremy Shepherd, Jeremy Norris and Wuyi Wang touring our little queen conch research facility. We've had other important guests but I'm not sure if I can disclose their names.
I'm happy that finally FAU decided to release the news to the general public. Some information had been previously released in the form of a Lecture and also a month ago some results were presented at the 'pearl culture session' of the World Aquaculture '09 conference.
I'll post a summary of this shortly.
To answer some of your questions, S. gigas is far from being hemophiliac. They are hardy animals and none has died after the operation. Not only the host stays alive after the harvest, but also the donor is kept alive too. it regenerates the tissue back in a few months.
The techniques are property of FAU and have not been disclosed to anyone
These results are from approximately 3 years of work. There is much to be done to improve especially pearl quality and retention.
Hector

 

[hacostas]

This is a summary of what was presented at the World Aquaculture ’09 conference.

The juvenile conch (90-110 mm shell length) used to grow these +200 pearls were hatchery produced. They were –as Jeremy mentioned- relaxed in 30 g per L of magnesium chloride in seawater. They were seeded and then we waited. We have 6 and 12 weeks old pearls, and 6 and 12 months old pearls.
So far, pearl growth rates suggest a mean culture time of 16 months for non nucleated pearls to reach a size of 1 ct (200 mg)
Culture time to produce cultured pearls (nucleated) seems to be around one year
Growth rate increased with time in CP, whereas it stayed constant in NNCP
CP became more off-round with culture time

As you have probably seen in the GIA eBrief, Gemological analyses were conducted earlier this year. More details on the results (success rates, pearl growth rates, and of course, the gemology) will be published soon in G&G.

 

[GemGeek]

Congratulations on an outstanding achievement!

 

[pearlescence]

indeed, a remarkable achievement which I salute, even though the pearls leave my boat unfloated. Do they look more exciting in person?

 

[hacostas]

indeed, a remarkable achievement which I salute, even though the pearls leave my boat unfloated. Do they look more exciting in person?

I'll post some of my photos tomorrow. They are not professional quality, but will give some idea of the colors and flame. In the mean time, there is one photo of a conch cultured pearl and a close up of the flame in the GIA eBrief. There is also two photos in the FAU press release.

 

[Hanaleimom]

What a great breakthrough! Congratulations to Dr. Acosta-Salm?n and Dr. Davis, as well as the university. I look forward to seeing more photos tomorrow.

 

[Amrita]

What a great breakthrough! Congratulations to Dr. Acosta-Salm?n and Dr. Davis, as well as the university. I look forward to seeing more photos tomorrow.

I want to say the same as Cathy!

 

[Hanaleimom]

I am assuming saltwater is pumped into aquaculture tanks just like at some aquariums in California. What kind of food or nutrients are given to them?

 

[Marianne]

Hi Wendy,
Jeremy Norris has a strand gorgeous enough to float the Titanic! If we say please, maybe he will post a picture.
Pretty please
Marianne

 

[Nerida]

Oh, that strand was very lovely.... My boat was also unfloated until seeing the strand at the ruckus. I thought our friend smetzler might have taken that one home, too.

 

[SteveM]

Oh, that strand was very lovely.... My boat was also unfloated until seeing the strand at the ruckus. I thought our friend smetzler might have taken that one home, too.

No but I've got some nice shots, alongside Pteria X 2. Pteria X 2 was just as rare and infinitely more beautiful to me at less than 10% of the price (neither am I a fugitive Wall Street bonus baby with secret offshore accounts in the Bahamas and spoiled teenaged daughters to hush. Got to be prudent!).

 

[hacostas]

these are 6 months old pearls. different colors and qualities. shapes are very consistent, I was impressed.

 

[hacostas]

this is a 3 month old non-beaded. with very nice flame

 

[hacostas]

an unusually symmetrical (and white) non beaded with also very nice flame. I like this one a lot.