Innovation Continues in Chinese Freshwater Pearl Culture

[Valeria101]

Tridacna... aren't many of these cultured as well?

I am not sure what to make of the message that the use of such nuclei make for an environmental threat... there seem to be economic interests of either side rather then purely environmental concerns: potentially price-competing source of larger nucleii... various degrees of ability to monitor facts and implement rules, and the questionable effects of product boycott as a way to save the planet and the environmentalists along with it. I'm getting weary of the stuff... as you might imagine.

It sounds like species decline should go along with scarcity and price rise for its products. So at least developing alternatives makes sense while boycotting output would just put more pressure on the species now and overall. But of course, why ever dedicate precious technological development to those wicket anti-green locals? When a simple import ban can convince them that starving is better than damaging the environment

 

[Valeria101]

I see everything is starting to center on the giant clam. Didn't the fact Biwa fact surprise anyone?!

Hm... mussel species do not make nearly as much 'news' as conservationism does...

The surprising bit about the various changes of mussel species described is that pearl quality is perceived as something independent of the characteristics of the species involved. (otherwise the types would have at least survived side by side).

I am used to overlook this fact of life when it comes to other, mundane agricultural produce that's not primarily valued for looks Would have imagined that diversity would be its own end when look is paramount. But no... Perhaps this bit is straightforward for you guys, but surprising for me.

 

[GemGeek]

Maybe they can switch to mother of pearl nuclei, like Josh....

 

[Caitlin]

The very first thread I read when I came here in 2004 mentioned that it was illegal to use the tridacna gigas for nucleating. I think it is a scandal.

Valeria
Do you ask if tridacna gigas was cultured for food? I think that if it is those shells wold be OK to use. However I would assume they wouldn't wait until the clam was totally huge to harvest it for food.....

The pearl of Allah is a naturally occurring pearl from a tridacna gigas. I believe the general concensus is that the giant clams haven't been and can't be cultivated as hosts for cultured pearls- and they are non-nacreous pearls anyway.

 

[Slraep]

It sounds like species decline should go along with scarcity and price rise for its products.

Hi Ana,

I'm not sure I fully understand the gist of all your post, but if I do understand the above sentence correctly, it would mean that ocelot fur coats and elephant ivory should have stayed available at astronomical prices so that only the very rich can afford to buy them and the people who make this stuff available don't starve.

Perhaps I am reading and misenterpreting what you've written. I'm sorry you are weary of environmental issues. I happen to find them quite serious. The Chinese have recently become increasingly money hungry and scandal ridden because of it. Their environmental awareness does not seem to match their want for the dollar. If I remember correctly, the Chinese business ministry got ticked off at the US when complaints were made about the shody and dangerous products coming out of their factories lately. The ministry said angrily that we were big hypocrites and that there was a simple solution---DON'T buy Chinese products. So I guess boycotting should figure in somewhere. Unfortunately, the Chinese know that North Americans are addicted to buying stuff, even crappy, dangerous and environmentally unacceptable stuff. They are counting on it. Counting the dollar that is.

Slraep

 

[Ashley]

The very first thread I read when I came here in 2004 mentioned that it was illegal to use the tridacna gigas for nucleating. I think it is a scandal.

Valeria
Do you ask if tridacna gigas was cultured for food? I think that if it is those shells wold be OK to use. However I would assume they wouldn't wait until the clam was totally huge to harvest it for food.....

T. Gigas is indeed farmed for it's meat... As far as I understand it, the cultured clams are not really permitted to grow very old as it contaminates the taste of the flesh (think 20 yr old catfish- eewww ). I am also given to understand that an older T. Gigas shell bead would not be useful to farmers for nucleation as the older the animal gets, the more porosity the shell has making them unsuitable to the farmer's needs...

 

[Ashley]

If I remember correctly, the Chinese business minestry got ticked off at the US when complaints were made about the shody and dangerous products coming out of their factories lately. The minestry said angrily that we were big hypocrites and that there was a simple solution---DON'T buy Chinese products. So I guess boycotting should figure in somewhere. Unfortunately, the Chinese know that North Americans are addicted to buying stuff, even crappy, dangerous and environmentally unacceptable stuff. They are counting on it. Counting the dollar that is.

Slraep

Yes, unfortunately I agree that we live in a highly consumptive society that leaves us vulnerable to businesses that will try to cut corners any way that they can in order to gain market share here.... Happily I do strongly believe that we are also becoming more responsible consumers as well! All we can do is continue to try and shed some light on unsavory practices and hope that the message gets through...

Speaking of the Chinese Business Ministry getting upset at the US' complaints about shoddy workmanship, harmful ingredients (pet food- that was SO sad and completely unnecessary ) and the recent rise in cutting corners to save costs and retain large shares of their markets...

Didn't they execute the Head of the State Food and Drug Administration for irresponsible oversight and bribery in that scandal? There are punishments that the Chinese government has shown itself willing to enforce in order to maintain good ties with the US, and I think that even though, yes, they will continue to try and cut corners to make a profit (penny saved and all that), it will also continue to become harder and harder for them to slide by the demands of a fair and ethical market. And although the Chinese have 3xs the population as that of the United States, it is also obvious that our business is also vitally important to their economy as well. I don't believe that the Chinese government would be silly enough to dismiss our part in the International markets so lightly.

 

[Slraep]

Hi Ashley,

Do you mean Zheng Xiaoyu? I don't think they have executed him yet. He was the commisioner of China's Food and Drug Administration. Can't say I feel sorry for him as he was resposible for the death of many people. Yup, those bribes really payed off, eh, Mr. Xiaoyu? Enjoying your money now, eh, Mr. Xiaoyu?

http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/05/29/news/beijing.php


I don't think the dude I mentioned is the same guy. I could be wrong. I'll have to try and remember his name. He was correct about one thing though---his analysis of US(and Canadian) consumer habits.

Slraep

 

[Slraep]

If anybody has not yet viewed the very funny and thought provoking short film on China-US relations called Ha Ha Ha America(Sundance Film Festival winner) please do so. The cool soundtrack is now available.

For the first few minutes I couldn't stop laughing, then it got real scary...

http://www.atomfilms.com/film/haha_america.jsp

 

[Perle]

I gotta get the sound hooked up on my computer . . . kinda weird not having a soundtrack!

Perle

 

[Ashley]

Hey Slraep,

Yes I think that's the guy... As a matter of fact, weren't there two officials executed recently?

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/14DAD91C-73EC-4970-9A32-B31EAD02DF99.htm

 

[Slraep]

Hi Ashley,

Yes, you're right, he was executed on July 10th. He's ex-Zheng Xiaoyu
now. Too bad for him, he was a little short on long term thinking. Who's the other dude?


Hi Perle,

You are really missing something by not being able to hear the music. It's an essential part of the film. The music is very upbeat yet slightly creepy at the same time.

 

[Ashley]

Hey VERY CREEPY!! And extremely right, too.

I missed the second one, apparently he was a suicide...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2007/08/14/cnchina114.xml

 

[Slraep]

Hi Ashley,

Yikes, here's another dude that's kicked his own bucket. Perhaps it was "assisted" suicide. If they are still executing by firing squad, I can understand though.

Is it the same guy? Your dude seems to be the owner of the company and mine seems to be co-owner. The names are different too. So what's happening here?
Are they now starting to kill themselves along with trying to kill us, our kids and our pets?!?!? Mighty strange.

One day you're at the factory making Sesame Street toys, the next your hanging yourself. Hey, maybe boycotting flameball pearls will save some ambitious minded T. gigas using pearl farmer his life! We are after all not just pearl lovers but humanitarians as well.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/08/13/china.toymaker.ap/index.html

 

[Mandy]

Thank you Jeremy for providing that very interesting article for us to read. I found it to be a worthwhile read; the Biwa fact also surprised me too!

Too bad about those pretty fireballs though ;( They really are gorgeous, but the means the Chinese are using to an end really is a scandal, as Caitlin put it. I'll be sticking to my usual freshwaters for now it seems.

 

[perlas]

I thought the nucleus in the fireballs was really big for ordinary shells to provide but I wasn't sure they used tridacnas.

Aren't tridacna nucleus supposed to be hard to drill? I thought it makes drilling extremely difficult and the pearls tend to crack that's why only the american freshwater mussels are used, eventhough it's more expensive.

Anyway, I'll have to pass on the fireballs for the tridacnas. There's really not much of them around anymore.

Regarding the schlegeli pearls, I was actually expecting this to make a comeback. I'm not even surprised about the hybrid. There was a sudden influx of beautiful, and even exotic colored pearls these past few months that weren't available in the market a year ago. I thought another pearl specie could be responsible than the usual cumingii.

 

[Pearlgully]

Jeremy,

That was a very informative and interesting article. I enjoyed reading
it. If it is not violating an agreement, could you please tell us why
this article, as it appears on the forum, could not appear in G&G.

Also, are "Fireball" and "Ikecho" (the pearl, not the mussel) names for the same kind of pearl?

Thanks,
Gail

 

[jshepherd]

From what I understand, the density of the Tridacna shell does make it inadequate as pearl nuclei. It can still be used, but fewer pearls will survive the drilling process.

Yes, "fireball" and "ikecho" are the same kind of pearl as described in the advertisements you see. They are calling the bead-nuked the "new" ikecho. But ikecho is really just Japanese for Biwa pearly mussel. No correlation in the new name, however, unless they are referring to the use of the Biwa for bead nucleation.

There are several reasons why the article format was different than the article in G&G. The first was, of course, the style. G&G has a very specific style of writing as I am sure you know if you read the journal.

Also, there is the issue of the editors. Having people edit your article when they do not understand the subject can be very aggravating. The people at G&G and the people at GIA (for the most part) are stone people, not pearl people. But the job of the editor is to edit, so edit they do. Arguments and negotiations come later, and the final product is a compromise.

CIBJO played a part in the article. This was one of the biggest battles; trying to convince the editors that CIBJO was not entirely correct, even though they had just recently accepted all CIBJO guidelines as a rule.

Let me describe this situation to you!

There were a few key points the article needed to address: the fact that the Chinese are using the Biwa mussel, and the way "fireballs" are produced. We did not discuss the nucleus other than the fact that it is saltwater (the comment about reading between the lines in an earlier post) because there have not been any definitive tests to prove it is actually Tridacna (although Henri Hanni has already discovered its use in shell pearls and by process of elimination there really is nothing left).

According to CIBJO we could not say "Biwa" for pearls grown in China, and Hyriopsis schlegeli was only in Japan. Our research proved otherwise, but saying so went against CIBJO. Talk about pulling your hair out.

Then take the fireballs. The process of CBSB requires a combination of tissue nucleation, bead nucleation. This produced a combination of tissue-nucleated freshwater, coin-nucleated freshwater, a keshi pearl, and a bead-nucleated freshwater.

With CIBJO's new rules, however, words that we could not use included; tissue nucleated, bead nucleated, and keshi pearl (because freshwater can't produce keshi!).

Try to explain the previous paragraph without using those words!

To make a long story short, by the end of the process I could not wait to rewrite without any strings. That is what I did here!

 

[Raisondetre]

Definitely much better than what you described. Editting totally butchers the original meaning sometime. What do they mean Biwa's only in Japan? Geez. It's the same mussel!

Anyways, would you be able to harvest the Akoyas this year at all, or is it all damaged by the flood? So sorry to hear that. I feel bad for the poor shells especially since there was a flood up where I live a couple months ago. It was just disastrous.

 

[jshepherd]

All the implanted shell from 2007 are pretty much shot. So, no, nothing really to harvest in 2008. Possibly some late 2008, but not certainly. We will see.
It is sad, especially for the small farmers. Most of the farms are small, family-run operations and do not process pearls, only sell the raw material. This will be quite devastating to them as well as the fish farmers.

I have been meaning to sit down and create a short video of the way life really is out there on the farms. Maybe this would be a good time ... I believe I have the footage.