A Beginner’s Guide to Pearl Farming

,

Welcome to the wonderful world of pearls! Have you ever wondered how pearls are made or how to make them yourself? If so, then you are reading the right blog post.

On the second day on our cruise of Ha Long Bay, we were able to visit a floating pearl farm. Here, we learned about farmed, or cultured, pearls.

At this particular pearl farm, the saltwater pearls were manmade. You’re probably wondering, “How on earth do you make saltwater pearls?” Here’s how it’s done in 5 relatively easy steps. 🙂

Step 1: Collect live oysters and find a big body of saltwater (or make your own).

Buoys with oysters attached underwater
Buoys with oysters attached underwater

Step 2: If you are using an ocean or a sea, put a rope in the water down to the bottom and attach nets with the oysters in them. The oysters need to be in the water to stay alive and the nets protect them from being eaten.

Step 3: Take an oyster out of a net and gently pry open the shell. Place a small bead made from another oyster’s shell into the reproductive organ (if you can find it).

Operating on the oyster
Operating on the oyster
The operation table
The operation table

Step 4: Place a piece of another oyster’s mantle (the organ which makes the shell) with the bead.

Pieces of mantle from another oyster
Pieces of mantle from another oyster

Step 5: Close the oyster, put it back in the water, and wait for 2-3 years. Hopefully by then, a pearl will have formed.

Unfortunately, there is only a slim chance the oyster will make a pearl, and even then, the pearl might not be perfect. The pearl could have an oval shape or may not be only one colour. Some oysters also may reject the bead, or become sick and die.

Different types of pearls
Different types of pearls

When we visited the pearl farm, Zoe had the chance to choose an oyster ready to be checked.  We watched in excitement as the oyster was opened, and inside was…. a pearl!  It was very beautiful, but our guide quickly pointed out it was not perfectly round and had a small black spot.  Sadly, Zoe wasn’t able to keep it; wouldn’t that be a cool souvenir?

The pearl in the open oyster
The pearl in the open oyster

Pearls can also be farmed in freshwater with a few differences.

• Mussels are used instead
• Only a piece of mantle needs to be inserted into your mussel’s mantle
• There can be up to 40 pearls made in one mussel at one time
• There is a very small chance the pearl will be round; in fact, most of the world’s round pearls are made in saltwater

Natural pearls are much easier to make because the oyster or mussel does all the work itself, but these types are a lot harder to find. Natural pearls aren’t formed from grains of sand; they are actually usually formed by small worms, parasites, or fish going inside the mollusk. When the mollusk has an irritation, it produces nacre, or mother-of-pearl, to cover the irritation. The nacre is what makes the pearl lustrous and beautiful. The mollusk continues to make more and more nacre, until it forms layers around the irritation.

Pearls
Pearls

After learning about pearl farming, I realize why pearls are so expensive.  They require a lot of money and time, and it’s a very risky business as well.  A farmer could invest a lot, but not make any pearls.

Along with our castle, zoo, cheese-, chocolate- and wine- making factories, we decided it would be fun to try and make our own pearls. We’re going to experiment with saltwater versus freshwater, mussels versus oysters, and farmed versus natural. We’ll let you know if we make any pearls in a few years. 🙂

If you would like to be a pearl farmer too, click here to learn about everything you need to know about the technicalities of making pearls, from expenses to equipment.

If anyone has started their own pearl farm or has any other information about pearls in general, please leave a comment below to further everyone’s learning. 🙂


About the Author


Comments

8 responses to “A Beginner’s Guide to Pearl Farming”

  1. Hi, Mikhaila, this was a very interesting report. I had a general idea how pearls were produced or found, and remember a story about pear fishers that risk their lives by diving and searching for the natural pearls. It’s great to see the step by step photos and also read about the difficulties in producing a pearl after three !!! years, maybe. I’ll be especially appreciative when I wear my Mom’s pearl necklace in the future. Thanks for a great post. Love and hugs to all

    1. Mikhaila Avatar

      Hi Oma,

      I will definitely appreciate pearls more after learning about how much effort it takes to make them! I can’t wait to try farming our own pearls at home. 🙂

  2. Doreen Avatar

    This was very interesting to read Mikhaila, just wondering if fresh water pearls are made the same way….will have to do some more research. They are certainly more abundant and much cheaper to buy. Your time on the cruise sounds amazing with lots of new learning going on. Enjoy. Love to all and travel safely, Teta Doreen xoxo

    1. Mikhaila Avatar

      Hello Teta Doreen,

      Freshwater pearls are farmed the same way, except mussels are used instead of oysters, up to 40 pearls can be formed in one mussel, and there is a very low chance of getting a perfectly round freshwater pearl. About 80% of round pearls are made in saltwater, so they are very rare. Farmed pearls are also much cheaper because it is a lot harder to find natural pearls which are round.

  3. Helen M. Avatar
    Helen M.

    Hi Mikhaila,
    You probably know that pearls are my favourite! I really enjoyed learning more about them from your first hand experience. The time invested in pearl farming is certainly long term and the high cost for scarce, perfectly round pearls makes sense. Because there are variations in colour that pearls come in, did you find out which colour(s) is most desired (and thus most expensive)?

    Lots of love,
    Teta Helen

    1. Mikhaila Avatar

      Hello Teta Helen,

      That’s a great question! Here is a link I found about different factors that influence the price of a pearl:

      http://www.gia.edu/pearl-quality-factor

  4. Hi Mikhaila,
    I love Pearls too! There certainly is a lot of work that goes in to Pearl Farming! I, also, will be more appreciative of my pearls from now on! Great Blog! Love, Baba

    1. Mikhaila Avatar

      Hello Baba,

      It is incredible how much effort it takes to make the pearls! It is no surprise why pearls are so expensive!