article Jewelry | How Cultured Pearls Are Produced Guaymas, Mexico |
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A very popular excursion in the Guaymas area for Rver’s is a visit to the Perlas del Mar de Cortez pearl farm. It is at ITESM better known as Tec de Monterrey. Tec de Monterrey is an educational institution located inside a beautiful and tranquil bay, known as Bacochibampo Bay, Sea of Cortez. It is the first pearl farm in the region that shows the possibility of continued commercial success and has stirred a lot of excitement.
How do you make a pearl? Mexican pearls are born out of two native pearl oysters, the “Panamic Black-Lipped Pearl Oyster and the “Rainbow-Lipped Pearl Oyster”. Pick a recipient oyster around 2 years old that is larger and older than the donor oyster. Select a donor oyster for its pearl characteristics, such as color and luster that they might impart to the cultured pearl. Now the delicate work begins. Like a surgeon performing delicate surgery a pearl technician begins the grafting process. The technician will use an assortment of surgical tools. He takes tissue from the donor pearl oyster, cuts it into small pieces and grafts it into several dozen recipient oysters. Once the implants are done the oysters are suspended at a depth of 6 to 7 feet from the water surface in pocket like nets or rope chaplets. It will take about two years before the oysters are harvested. Will all of the implants produce pearls? Only about 20% will produce saleable cultured pearls. There are various estimates that put the yearly production of cultured pearls from this factory at around 10,000. Now you can understand why Mexican pearls are the rarest in the world and some of the most expensive. |