Scientists Debunk Myth that Pearls come from "Grains of Sand"

[Lagoon Island Pearls]

Here's a parasitic example in the form of two blisters from today's collection.

 

[Caitlin]

Thanks, Dave! I am learning from you. Thank you.

 

[Lagoon Island Pearls]

I am learning from you.

Thank you. I'm no scientist, but cautious of being naively misleading.

Which is a far cry from the myths created so many years ago.

 

[CortezPearls]

Thank you. I'm no scientist, but cautious of being naively misleading.
Which is a far cry from the myths created so many years ago.

Common sense and the ability to observe Nature without prejudice is a Science. You are as much a scientist as I am...and really: I am just a Pearl Farmer.

 

[Ramona]

Dave: Thanks for the paper link. Very informative. I should have been more clear. I did not think that you can do it without mantle cells. I was more thinking about how to make them produce nacre a bit faster. I agree with you that the factors at the level of the secretion apparatus are too complex to dissect. One would have to identify the master regulator of the entire program at the top to artificially induce the program. That could probably be done through evolutionary comparison of gene expression. Downstream would be more divergent. However, at the level of a transcription factor it should be conserved. I am sure there are labs doing it in one way or another. However, the genetics of molluscs seem to be quite complex. Therefore, if I had to manipulate nacre secretion, I would simply try to enhance the natural process and present mantle cells with a trigger. Yet, I know close to nothing about pearl farming, so my ideas should be taken with - ahem - a grain of sand.

 

[CortezPearls]

Checa alludes to the same thing. I've observed "spherules" in similar folds of the periostracum, but then again I am not convinced these give rise to pearls as a single factor in every instance. It seems more likely, perforations made in the mantle by these serve as a point of entry for parasites.

Amen! And we should all be informed that this issue of "what causes a natural pearl to form" is far from being new...I am still looking for my old papers about a French Naturalist that explained natural pearl occurrence back in the 1800's...which I then have to translate (thank Google for its Translate feature!). But I hope to have a bit time to talk about this in the Blog in the upcoming months. Right now my hands are full (of pearls)

 

[Lagoon Island Pearls]

Common sense and the ability to observe Nature without prejudice is a Science. You are as much a scientist as I am...and really: I am just a Pearl Farmer.

Thank you kindly Doug. And yes, ecologist might be a word for the fun part. Labourer... the not so fun part.

It's an Ed Ricketts thing. He was no scientist either.

 

[ennui]

This thread has been educational from a scientific standpoint, but it ruins the romance of pearls. I think anyone who is in the business of selling pearls should probably avoid discussions of parasites and drill worms. If people want to criticize Mr. Mikimoto for perpetuating the myth, I propose he simply had a good understanding of marketing. People don't open their wallets for parasites and worms unless they're at the doctor's office. The fairy tale of overcoming adversity, i.e., turning a rough grain of sand into something beautiful, is infinitely preferable.

I don't know who said it first, but I've heard Alice Cooper say "Never let the facts get in the way of a good story," and in this instance, I think I agree.

 

[SteveM]

If people want to criticize Mr. Mikimoto for perpetuating the myth, I propose he simply had a good understanding of marketing.

No one can possibly argue with that!

 

[Lagoon Island Pearls]

If people want to criticize Mr. Mikimoto for perpetuating the myth, I propose he simply had a good understanding of marketing.

I suppose dying cheap freshwater pearls and selling them as rare tahitians is a clever marketing strategy too, but without ethics or honesty, marketing under any other guise is merely a scam.

I seriously doubt Mikimoto was a forthright marketer, insomuch he was monopolistic and manipulative.

 

[Caitlin]

He certainly obscured the true history of how cultured pearls were developed. He refused credit to the originator of the method, and bought his patents from two men who learned directly from Saville-Kent, then stole the method by getting patents on it, in Japan, thus preventing Saville-Kent's own lab and true students from profiting in any way.

There is nothing romantic about Mikimodo except in his marketing to the public. He was actually a kind of dictator who protected his purloined secrets from any perceived encroachment He was more of a Jay Gould than a romantic of any type.

 

[SteveM]

I seriously doubt Mikimoto was a forthright marketer, insomuch he was monopolistic and manipulative.

Yes not all soft and fuzzy. I'm thinking of Steinway as a parallel and contemporary case (albeit natural dynamic systems have yet to demonstrate a tendency to spontaneously create a piano).

 

[SteveM]

He was more of a Jay Gould than a romantic of any type.

And I enjoyed playing the beautiful gilded and hand-painted Steinway Model B grand produced for the Gould family in 1901 (commemorative serial #100,000), in a Tokyo restaurant about 10 years ago.

Six degrees?

 

[Lagoon Island Pearls]

This thread has been educational from a scientific standpoint, but it ruins the romance of pearls. I think anyone who is in the business of selling pearls should probably avoid discussions of parasites and drill worms.

Please don't get me wrong ennui, as I'm not directing my comments at you personally, but only to example the perpetuity of such myths.

This is the natural pearl section of a pearl forum. Although I have interest in pearl culture and sales, the mostpart of my expertise is the ecology of natural pearls.

It's not just anywhere I'm able to freely discuss the nuiances of this field with other learned individuals, but this forum has provided a friendly and informative medium on the topic.

This whole idea that all pearls must round, lusterous and perfect to be romantic or valuable only creates barriers to marketing novel and unique things. In recent times, we have seen new things souffle, circle pearls etc, and overall, people are becoming more aware of them. For everyone involved, this a good trend and we should be mindful to not fall back upon the old school rules.

I refuse to let pearl culture overshadow my passion for naturals.

 

[SteveM]

This whole idea that all pearls must round, lusterous and perfect to be romantic or valuable only creates barriers to marketing novel and unique things.

I'm just finishing the classic Pearls and Men by Louis Kornitzer, the last great international pearl trader from the pre-cultured era. Perfection was so highly valued and the market so limited to the social elite that anything other than a round, button or drop pearl was practically valueless, or immediately sent to the 'pearl doctor' to see if its shape could be improved.

We must thank the increasing ubiquitousness of perfection as represented by cultured pearls for a widening of the naturals market to baroques, and especially non-nacreous types (pearl counterfeiters are still able to fool the labs, but only with nacreous shells).

 

[Lagoon Island Pearls]

We must thank the increasing ubiquitousness of perfection as represented by cultured pearls for a widening of the naturals market to baroques, and especially non-nacreous types (pearl counterfeiters are still able to fool the labs, but only with nacreous shells).

Of course. I'd be the first to admit I'm a pushover for an 8 way roller.

It's an apple and oranges thing, when it comes to value, I suppose. The wonder of natural creation is every bit, if not more romantic than a commercial product.

But that's just me.

 

[SteveM]

Can't resist repeating Kornitzer from his best and most entertaining book The Pearl Trader (1937):

I cannot see how mankind would be the gainer if fine pearls were as plentiful as blackberries and as cheap; but all the same, the day may dawn when man learns to provoke the pearl-oyster in such a manner that an artificial nucleus will become superfluous. By that time, no doubt, the oysters may be so well behaved that they will turn out nothing but the most perfect gems.

When that day comes, there will be no difference between the cultured pearl and the natural that is not to the advantage of the former. Shall I then?if I still exist?have become reconciled to the new order? I doubt it. There would undoubtedly occur in me one of those protracted and consuming inward struggles wherein reason armed with logic, the spirit of progress, and modernity, stand ranged against tradition, loyalty and romance.

In the end, no doubt, romance would win the day. For the last time I should gather around me my precious natural beauties that no one would buy. From their midst I would select a few of the fairest and dissolve them in vinegar. With all the recklessness of Egypt?s queen I would then swallow the no longer costly brew in one long delirious gulp, but not without first pouring a generous and despairing libation to Venus Margaretifera. And then? Then the moment would have arrived for me to erase the word "pearl" from all the books on my shelves and die.

Kornitzer, despite all his romance and deep respect for tradition, did seem to underestimate the universal and enduring validity of authenticity.

 

[Lagoon Island Pearls]

Kornitzer, despite all his romance and deep respect for tradition, did seem to underestimate the universal and enduring validity of authenticity.

Indeed.

It's interesting though, how he envisioned the onset of the freshwater pearl industry and the effect it's had on both marine culture and natural pearl markets.

He's also right about the romance at the end of the day, though it often tends to be confused with affluence.

The natural pearl market got it's just desserts by the over-exploitation many of the world's wild stocks. That bad rap from so many decades ago, still has a lingering effect on today's natural pearl industry. By and large, natural pearl collecting is not sustainable, but that doesn't mean all natural pearl collecting is.

I quess my point being, the so-called "romantic" bar has been set so high, the wonder of natural pearls have been overshadowed by how they are expected to appear. This might sound funny, even contradictory from someone developing pearl culture techniques, but I pride myself on the fact my naturals are produced in a sustainable manner with proper regulatory oversight.

 

[CortezPearls]

"...and the Truth Shall Set You Free". To me this is what it is all about. Mikimoto may have been a great businessman...but perpetuating or starting a myth that does the opposite of the truth is what some people call a "Lie". Lies chain you to ignorance. And this is true in politics, religion and even marketing.
Let us all break these chains of ignorance once and for all...

 

[bluidragon]

Each new person should read this thread

Each new person should read this thread

Yes. Douglas deserves to go viral with this video- at least within the pearl world!!

The video that shows how Oysters dispatch sand out of their shells is fascinating to watch as well as how thoroughly the mollusks rid the sand quickly. If new to Pearl Guide this in a must for all to observe. I realize this thread is from 2011, yet it proves how Mother Nature is efficient.