Wow--that's really something! What a discovery under that ugly surface! Congratulations!
To answer the question--yes, I have done some pearl peeling. In fact, some years ago, in Burlington, WA, I worked for Charles Yousling, a jeweler from Redondo Beach who referred to himself as "The Pearl Doctor." He had even made a video that demonstrated the process. Charles had a copy of the book "The Book of the Pearl" by Kunz and Stevenson which I borrowed and read. There is a good description of the process and it's history starting on page 375. In doing a little quickie research just now, I found that there is an entire copy of this rare book that one can read online! It may be found on
Farlang at:
http://www.farlang.com/gemstones/kunz_book_of_the_pearl/page_001
The page number search works oddly. This may be explained by the pages with illustrations not being numbered, though still accounting for a page in the search function. Page 375 can be found by typing in the number 446 or simply by going to:
http://www.farlang.com/gemstones/kunz_book_of_the_pearl/page_446
There is even an illustration of peeled pearls after page 376 (search for p. 448) or:
http://www.farlang.com/gemstones/kunz_book_of_the_pearl/page_448
For those who wish to pursue this skill, there are some interesting details in this book that will undoubtedly be of help.
Although I have experimented with some cheap pearls just to try the technique, I have found it useful in dealing with some of the abalone blister pearls that have been weathered from exposure to sun and/or rain. I have used, variously, an old style, non-throw-away scalpel, gravers, particularly flat gravers and a coulple of shaped, tool-steel, chipping tools for this purpose. The tools that NZNP showed are, I think, about ideal for this purpose. Tools with a very acute edge can be difficult to use without damaging the pearls because of their tendancy to dig in and thus penetrate and scratch the layer beneath the one being removed. Her pictured tools have a rather blunt edge, though hopefully well sharpened, that are less likely to dig in.
If any of the P.G.ers express an interest, I will see if I can contact Charles and ask if he might have some of the videos available.
finally 
