Creating a Cultured Pearl:
From Nature to You.
Based on facts told to Alex Parfitt by
Billy, an experienced Cygnet Bay
seeder.
Billy the seeder.
Pearl and Pinctada Maximus Shell
• A natural pearl is formed when the inside of
an oyster shell is irritated by a foreign object
such as a grain of sand or something similar.
The oyster coats the irritant with a substance
called nacre. Nacre is the shiny coating inside
a pearl shell.
• A Pinctada Maximus shell is the oyster used to
create a cultured pearl.
A Cultured Pearl
• A cultured pearl is formed when an artifical
irritant is inserted into the shell.
• This is a very delicate process, that is both
very labour intensive and very technical.
The First process.
The first process involves collecting the
Pinctada Maximus oysters. Some are collected
from the ocean floor while some are grown in
commercial farms.
The inside of the oyster.
The oysters to be seeded.
The Second Process - 1
• The second process is the most complex and
delicate. It involves opening a number of
Pinctada Maximus shells and finding ones
with a really beautiful lustre. Those oysters
are killed and the tissue that produces nacre is
removed and cut into about thirty pieces.
• It’s then time to operate on other shells so
they can produce pearls. This is what
happens.
The Second Process - 2
• The oyster shells are placed in large water tanks
in the seeding shed and allowed to relax, so they
will open. Once open a wedge is placed in the
shell to keep it from closing. The shells are then
taken to the ‘seeder’ for the delicate procedure
to begin.
• The seeder is a highly skilled person trained to
perform delicate procedures on the pearl shells.
The Second Process - 3
• An incision is made into the gonad and a small
ball of Mississippi River Mussel shell (nucleus)
and a piece of the nacre producing tissue is
inserted.
• The tissue is inserted along with the nucleus
because where the nucleus is inserted there is no
naturally occurring nacre producing tissue.
• The tissue becomes part of the oyster and
produces nacre over the nucleus to produce the
first pearl for that shell.
Pictures of the Second Process
Shells to be seeded with wedges placed.
The holding tanks.
The Third Process -1
• After the seeding process the oyster will be
put in a panel and returned to the ocean floor
face down for 3 weeks.
• The panels are then flipped over by divers
every 3 days for 2-3 weeks to encourage the
growth of a round sack to hopefully produce a
round pearl. If the shells where suspended
vertically at this stage they are likely to
produce ‘tear drop’ pearls.
The Third Process - 2
• Once this process is complete the panels are then
placed 2 - 3 metres below the water surface
suspended on lines. That is where there is a good
supply of food. The oysters filter feed and rely on
the tide to get food.
• Every oyster is pulled up and cleaned once a
month using a high pressure cleaner and a knife to
get all the barnacles and seaweed off, so that the
oyster can feed.
Pictures of the Third Process
The nets (panels) in the
seeding shed.
The pressure cleaner used to clean the oysters.
Outside of the shell after being in the ocean for a month.
The net of shells after pulling it
out of sea.
The Fourth Process -1
• After 2 years the oyster is pulled up and
x-rayed on a boat to determine the size of the
pearl.
• The pearl inside the shell is measured using
the x-ray, and if the pearl is too small it is
returned to the ocean for another 12 months.
The Fourth Process -2
• Large pearls in a shell are taken back to the
seeding shed and kept in tanks until they
open.
• Once again the oysters will not open until they
are relaxed and feel they are safe. This can
take a day or two for most to open, then a
wedge can be inserted. The few that don’t
open are returned to the ocean for the next
harvest.
The Fifth Process -1
• The seeders extract the pearl by cutting the
gonad with a scalpel and then use an
instrument with a small metal loop to remove
the pearl. The seeder does this by squeezing
each side of the pearl to pop it out.
The Fifth Process - 2
• When the pearl is out the seeder compares
the size of the pearl to that of a replacement
nucleus, which is then placed where the pearl
was removed from.
• If a 8 mm pearl was removed its replaced with
a 8 mm nucleus that will hopefully become a
10 mm pearl in 2 years time.
Instrument
used.
Pearl meat.
The Fifth Process - 3
• It is important that the new nucleus is the
same size as the removed pearl because if the
new nucleus is too small the stretched gonad
will collapse and form an irregular shaped
pearl.
• The goal is to produce as many perfect round
pearls as possible.
Pictures of the Fifth Process
A pearl being popped out of the gonad.
Comparing the size of the pearl to that of
the replacement nucleus.
The replacement nucleus being placed in the gonad.
The pearls after they are popped out.
The Fifth Process - 3
• The oysters are then returned to the sea
where they are again suspended vertically
2- 3 metres below the surface and the
monthly cleaning schedule continues, for
another 2 years.
• This completes their second seeding cycle.
The Sixth Process - 1
• Two years later the oysters are again x-rayed
to determine the size of the pearl (as done
previously) and the whole process is repeated.
• The pearl is removed and judging by the
quality of the pearl the seeder decides
whether to reseed the oyster again or kill it.
The Sixth Process - 2
• Those shells that fail to produce quality pearls
are still put to good use. No part of the shell
goes to waste.
• The oyster meat is sold for the Asian food
market.
• The shell is sold to be used for buttons,
ornaments, piano keys and to be ground up
and used in car paint to produce the pearl
finish.
Pictures of the Sixth Process
Left: the pearl meat. Right: the excess muscles.
A shell to be used for making things.
The Final Process
• The oysters are reseeded a maximum of 4
times stretching over an 8 year period.
• Only 2% of shells make it to the fourth and
final seeding.
The seeding stations.
Me with a shell.
Five things to look for in a good pearl:
• Size – the bigger the pearl the more sought
after it is.
• Colour – pearls can come in many different
colours. They can be gold, pink, silver, black,
cream or white.
• Lustre - the shinier and more reflective the
pearl the more expensive.
• Quality – the less blemishes and imperfections
the better.
• Shape – round pearls are the most expensive,
followed by tear drop and then keshi pearls
(keshi pearls are irregular shaped and
sometimes odd looking).
Keshi pearls.
Perfect round pearls.
Cygnet Bay
Cygnet Bay is a family owned pearl farm. It is 200kms
north of Broome on the Cape Leveque Road at the top
of the Dampier Peninsular, in Western Australia.
The Brown family have been operating the farm since
1946, making it the oldest family owned pearl farm in
Australia. They hold the record for producing the
world’s largest cultured pearl, at 22.24 mm it still holds
the title.
The farm produces 80 000 pearls a year. Most of the
pearls are exported overseas while some are sold in
Australia.
Pictures of Cygnet Bay
The sign at the turnoff to Cygnet Bay.
The world’s largest pearl.
Some wholesale pearls for sale.
The End
Brought to you by Alex Parfitt.
A special thanks to the owners of
Cygnet Bay, The Brown Family, and
the seeders who showed us the pearl
producing process.
A huge thanks to Billy who explained
everything and showed us how it is
done.