Fiji J Hunter pearls Savusavu

[JerseyPearl]

Welcome to the forum Justin! Your pearls are beautiful!

 

[Justin Hunter]

Thank you - look forward to seeing you guys down here.
I will post some shots of my favourite pearls from this harvest soon.

jh

 

[CathyKeshi]

Welcome Justin! LOTS of appreciation for your beautiful pearls on this forum

 

[pinkjewel]

Justin, so glad you stopped by to comment. I am a Huge fan of your pearls!!!! And hopefully someday (soon), I will have the opportunity to visit your pearl farm and lovely island.

 

[Katbran]

Justin ! Welcome !! Such fabulous pearls !!! The photos are so amazing I I've been trying to get my husband to Fiji for years - he's now afraid that I'll want to fill my pockets with pearls..

 

[kelluvpearls]

Thank you KaySD!
Welcome Justin! Fiji was great, thank you for showing us your beautiful pearls and operation. If you do post again could you please tell us Fiji Pearls' size range?

 

[Icyjade]

Thank you - look forward to seeing you guys down here.
I will post some shots of my favourite pearls from this harvest soon.

jh

Oh pls share lots of pretty pics with us. I love your pretty candy coloured pearls.

 

[CathyKeshi]

Justin, it would be a great delight to see photos of some of your favorite harvest pearls!

 

[Justin Hunter]

Our Chocolate Diva

Our Chocolate Diva

This particular pearl really stood out in our last harvest. Satin finish - large size (15mm x 17mm). Makes me smile.
Our first operation pearls average between 10.5 and 11 mm.
Because we push size we end up with circles - but they are gorgeous circles and we get a great price for them. Ill post some of our sexy circle pearls.

 

[Justin Hunter]

These shots were taken a couple years ago in Hong Kong with Jorg Gellner.
Our circles - (which some farms try not to produce) have the best colours and lustre!
These would be our "high" 10 - 11 mm rounds and circles.
Cees is too kind - hope the shells reach you soon.


[ATTACH

 

[Justin Hunter]

Some pictures of our shells - where the magic starts.
Our oyster is a different sub species then what is used in Tahiti. Much smaller numbers of shells - but our colours are just funky. (Actually Dr. Paul Southgate looking at the genetics of our oyster - it is unique, official findings about a year away.)
It is not easy farming pearls in Fiji.
this harvest. Some of the more dramatic shells we get in.

 

[CathyKeshi]

Justin, your shells, your pearls and your photos are breathtakingly beautiful! I love the baroque, keshi and circle pearls best THANK YOU for sharing.

 

[Justin Hunter]

the story of pearls

the story of pearls

Most welcome Cathy - we had a photographer here for the last week.
jh
Photographer got some great shots with drone. This is our hatchery - below.

Harvesting spat collectors

Not only is income derived from pearling but also food. When we harvest our spat collectors - women usually follow behind (on bamboo rafts) our barge. She is collecting edible seaweed and other shellfish. Pearling done properly is a vital industry in our rural communities.

Part of the farm - photographer looking to see how best to capture the beauty. Beautiful pearls come from some of the most beautiful places in the world. Provides income and gives value to a pristine environment.

 

[Marianne]

Thank you for posting these beautiful photos, Justin!

 

[kelluvpearls]

Wonderful photos Justin, Fiji is a beautiful place and its beauty conveys through your pearls.

 

[Happy Huku]

Magnificent, thank you for sharing.
Fiji and a trip to your pearl farm is about to hit my wish list!

 

[JerseyPearl]

Gorgeous pearls, beautiful environs, and magnificent to see it all from my computer...so many thousands of miles away, along a different coastline!

 

[Icyjade]

So beautiful and thanks for sharing.

Will love to see more of your beautiful pearls and especially a 'colour palette' if you have one.

 

[pattye]

Justin, welcome! Wonderful to have more photos of your colorful pearls and exotic islands! A question, do you nucleate your oysters for 2nd and 3rd times (if healthy), per usual for Tahitians? Are you doing any mabes?

 

[Justin Hunter]

Bula guys, I must admit i spent quite a bit of time reading through the Pearl Forum last night. Thoroughly impressed with some of the technical knowledge. I can definitely assist with some insight in what we produce in Fiji and why:
Fiji Oysters are very special.

Oyster supply is Fiji?s greatest constraint, It Is also its greatest asset. The size and nacre color of our oysters are key to our industry, being able to use these unique characteristics gives Fiji Pearls a special niche in the pearling world.


There are 7 different varieties of the ?Black lipped Pearl Oyster? found in the Indo ? Pacific Oceans.

typica: Ryukyus, Taiwan, Australia, Micronesia and Melanesia; cumingi: Cook Islands, French Polynesia; mazalanica: Panama Bay, Baja California; erythraensis: Red Sea; persica: Persian Gulf; zanzibarensis: East Africa, Madagascar, and the Seychelle Islands; galtsoffi: Hawaiian Archipelago. (Sims, 1993; Yukihira, et al., 1999)

In the South Pacific there are two varieties:

1. Pinctada magaritifera cumingi : Known as the Tahitian Black lipped pearl oyster. These are found primarily in the central Pacific Ocean. Characteristics of this oyster is its large size, dark coloration, and huge populations that thrive in atoll environments of French Polynesia.
This oyster is central to Tahitian pearl production.

2. Pinctada magaritifera typica: The oyster is found in the Western islands of the Pacific Ocean. It has a very broad distribution from Fiji / Australia all the way to Southern Japan.
While the cumingi is known as ?the black lipped oyster? the same cannot be said for the typica which often comes in unique body and shell colorations. Note the orange body colour of the photo's of our oysters above.
Typica is also found in relatively low numbers compared to its cousins found in the atoll?s.
Typica is also a smaller oyster then the cumingi.
They have a higher tolerance to suspended particulate matter and can be hound around high island?s.


Research in the 90?s showed that oysters in and around the Fiji group showed an interesting mix in genetics combining both cumingi and typica traits:

Ref: For example, Benzie and Ballment (1994)
Justin?s summary:
Oysters from Great Barrier reef (typica) and those from French Polynesia / Cook islands (cumingi) showed significant genetic variation. While oyster population roughly between these two subspecies of oysters showed a combination of genetics from both these subspecies. Fiji oysters naturally show a unique blend of characteristics not found in other populations.
Research we are involved in, results have shown that there are distinguishable genetic differences between orange and black colour morphs of P. margaritifera. ? Will be confirmed when study is completed.

Basically we don?t have many oysters but we have:
Size that normal typica oyster?s do not.
Colors that are not normally found in cumingi populations.

Combining these two traits we have some pretty special oysters that produce very special pearls.
According to Professor Paul Southgate, a regional expert on sustainable tropical aquaculture at the University of the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia, ?Fiji oysters naturally show a unique blend of characteristics not found in other populations.?
- We have been working with his students for the last couple of years, specifically genetics of our oysters.