Technical questions regarding grafting/implantation

[GemGeek]

"Promote to article" sends the whole thing, which in this case, has a lot of posts and needs editing. I agree that there is great information here and will incorporate it into something else we are working on, or as a stand-alone. By all means, continue the discussion - very interesting.

 

[GemGeek]

"Blog this post" is a great tool to copy just the post into your own blog so you can comment on it and have a discussion within your blog. Caitlin is right that it is a way to save posts you are interested in, but people will go to your blog to see what was said, so it would be great to add an introduction or make a comment at the end. It does not save the whole thread.

You might want to save links of favorite threads in an ongoing "favorite" blog. Set up the blog on your member page and add a link and explanation. Then when you want to add, either edit the original, or add a new comment to your blog with a link to a thread you want to go back to in the future. I hope this makes sense.

 

[GemGeek]

MA Coffee, I still would like to know where you will grow your mollusks. Were you intending to try out a tank, or find a body of water?

 

[CortezPearls]

Great idea to add the "Blog this" option...I like it!

 

[CortezPearls]

Let us touch on xenogeneics for a moment. My octopus pearl is a perfect example.

We all know octopuses do not have shells. We do know they are green blooded creatures (copper based as opposed to iron in mammals), as are all other mollusks.

My specimen had a visible scar from a predator attack. One and a half legs were amputated. Octopus recover upwards of 25% of what they eat in body weight, hence grow fast and eat lots.

The consensus is this. The octopus escaped the attack alive and went on with his routine gathering food. Because the proximity of the pearl from the beak was a mere inch, it stands to reason a small piece of mantle tissue from the octopus's meal ( a clam, mussel, oyster or cockle perhaps) drifted off to become lodged in the wound. The octopus's own blood stream supplied the "graft" and the epithelial cells continued to grow, forming the pearl.

It's really quite simple.

YOU make it sound simple my friend
You could really make a book titled: "All you wanted to know about pearl production but were afraid to be answered in technical lingo".

Kudos!

 

[Lagoon Island Pearls]

YOU make it sound simple my friend
You could really make a book titled: "All you wanted to know about pearl production but were afraid to be answered in technical lingo".

Kudos!

You are too kind, Douglas.

If anything, it ought to be me praising your efforts to bring the dream to fruition, especially while mine is still uphill.

Your contribution, imagery and presentations always inspire me to innovation.

Natural pearls aside... to me, your pearls are the finest on the planet. The fact they are uniquely North American is not a bias, but proof positive that dreams can be achieved.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

 

[Katbran]

Really interesting Dave, thanks very much. I think I'm going to have to read this a few more times !

 

[Lagoon Island Pearls]

This was from another thread. Rather than derail the topic, I'll cross-post here.

Thanks for the reply. I'm hoping to grow a small quantity in a tank. There are plenty of obstacles to overcome before I can get started.

Forget the tanks (at least for the time being). I'm presuming you want to work with Unionide as you've mentioned Eastern Elliptio. Artificial environments are infinitely more complicated than self regulated lakes or rivers. I've done several artificial systems, but for other reasons in my work. Tanks get unruly quickly and there is no turning back as the entire system needs to be sterilized and the bio-waste properly disposed. It's not like tropical fish. You'll need reliable pumps (including redundancies), upwelling systems with UV sterilization, micro-filtration and an independent food source. Mussels don't eat everything in their midst, but only a few seasonally specific cells that can only be reared and monitored under laboratory conditions. Clearly a case of go big or go home, otherwise I'd not even consider it without the aid of highly experienced management biologists and a lot of money to burn.

Even with all that resolved, pearl harvests are measured in kilograms per hectare, not pieces per cubic meter. The chances of a single gem from a small closed system is infinitesimal. It's likely the knowledge gained would have little bearing on a large scale operation.

My mentor, Ed Ricketts said it best. The rule of thumb is observation, speculation then replication. There are no short cuts. Without a solid grasp of the two formers, the latter is only a path to failure.

Please don't get me wrong, I admire your enthusiasm and encourage higher learning, but new industrial pearling is a long row to hoe.

 

[Katbran]

No end to the knowledge that comes out in this forum ... again ... thanks Dave..really interesting.

 

[CortezPearls]

Absolutely EXCELLENT advice from Dave Lagoon Island Pearls
And...hey Dave! I did not know you had Ed Ricketts as your mentor...wow! I would have LOVED just to meet him! He was a friend of one of my teachers and he spoke highly of him, also read books and articles that he published or collaborated on.

 

[CortezPearls]

Just in case some are looking for a "How to" make pearls video.

I made this video especially for the Mabe Pearl educational series here on the forum (if you have not read these, please head over to I. Introduction to Blister and Mabe Pearls - Ultimate Guide - Pearl-Guide.com) but I thought I could just add it here since some people are looking for this kind of information on this very thread.

Hope you like it!