IN FOCUS: CULTURED PEARLS FROM VIETNAM

CONTENTS

In this issue: • In Focus: CULTURED PEARLS FROM VIETNAM

Further topics: • Pearls at the IGC in Hanoi in October 2013

• DNA fngerprinting of pearls

• Spondylus pearls

• A Mikimoto “3.5 Momme” necklace

• Exhibition at the Schwerin Museum in 2013

Fig. 2. Map of Vietnam. Source: E. Strack, Pearls, 2006, p. 596. CULTURED PEARLS FROM VIETNAM

A VIETNAMESE LEGEND speaks Over the centuries, Vietnam has the Japanese Pinctada martensii) and of the tears of a princess who had also produced traditional natural Pteria penguin occur along the en- lost a war against her own husband. pearls in bivalve molluscs from the tire coast. They are relatively more Molluscs collected her tears in the abundant in the north where the eastern Sea and transformed them Bay of Halong once delivered natu- into colourful pearls. The legend ral pearls that were equal in impor- might refer to the orange pearls of tance to those from Hepu and Be- the marine gastropod Melo melo, hai in China, two legendary fnding known as baler shell in colloquial places not far from the Vietnamese English and as ‘kulon’ in Vietnamese border. It seems that natural pearls language. Melo melo occurs along were nearly exclusively used with the coasts of Vietnam in the South the local nobility but did not neces- China Sea. Melo pearls are a rarity sarily reach the international pearl and an exclusive luxury item on the market. With the social and polit- international market (Fig. 1). Fig. 1. Melo pearl, diameter ca. 25 mm. ical upheavals of the 20th century, The highest price was fetched at Private ownership. pearl fshing underwent a decline a Christie’s auction in 1999 when that has nearly led to a state of non- 488.000 US dollars were paid in Pinctada genus. Both Pinctada max- existence today. It is still practised, Hong Kong for an egg-shaped Melo ima, Pinctada margaritifera, Pinctada both in China and Vietnam, to a lim- pearl that measured 23x19.35mm. chemnitzii (the local equivalent of ited extent only.

MARGARITOLOGIA 1 THE PEARL NEWSLETTER BY ELISABETH STRACK

a relatively free economy within a country that is still ofcially ruled by the communist party.

PEARL CULTURE IN VIETNAM

I saw the frst Akoya cultured pearls from Vietnam at the Las Vegas show in 2007 where they were ofered by the Estelle Com- pany. The pearls, with a size of up to 7mm, caught attention by their creamish colour (suggesting imme- diately that they had not been sub- jected to bleaching) and by a cer- tain look that indicated high nacre thickness to the trained eye (Fig. 3). A few months later, in October 2007, David Federman wrote in Modern Jeweler that farmers in Viet- nam ‘seem intent on growing pearls that are throwbacks – in terms of Fig. 3. Akoya cultured pearls from Vietnam, shown in Las Vegas in 2007 by the Estelle Company. nacre thickness – to those from the last years of Japan’s golden age in HISTORY AND PRESENT try was divided into a northern and the 1950s and 1960s’. Federman SITUATION a southern zone. The dispatch of was right. While today nacre thick- American military advisors to Sai- ness with Japanese Akoya cultured The Socialistic Republic of Viet- gon in 1962 paved the way for the pearls rarely exceeds 0.5mm, it nam stretches over a total length second Indo-China war that was to may go up to 2mm with Vietnam- of 1600 kilometres along the east- enter history as the unfortunate ese pearls. ern coast of what is geographically Vietnam War. General Giap was named lower India, bordering on one of the masterminds behind The frst Vietnamese Akoya cul- the South China Sea (Fig. 2). Having the Tet ofensive of 1967 that was tured pearls in sizes of 2-6mm been dominated by China since an- to herald the beginning of the end had already been presented at the cient times, Vietnam gained an in- of the Vietnam war. Giap died on great trade fairs in 1999 but they dependent status only around the October 4 in 2013 at the age of 98. had apparently not caught too year 1000 with the Li dynasty, ever much attention. In the same year, since accompanied by constant In this context I would like to a total of about 20 companies had struggles for power. Under Napo- mention that the country ofcially already set up pearl farms along leon III, France established itself as mourned its legendary general and the Vietnamese coast, from near a colonial power. national hero on Sunday, October the Chinese border to Phu Quoc 13, 2013. In the early morning of island in the south. Today, produc- After World War II and the de- this particular Sunday, while we tion concentrates in three prov- parture of the Japanese who had drove to the airport on the way to inces, Quang Ninh, Kien Giang and occupied the French colonial ter- the pearl farm near Nha Thrang Khan Hoa. There seems to be not ritory, the French were unable to (that is described in more detail more than a handful of companies hold on to their position during the below), we could witness prepara- involved, but still several hundred so-called First Indo-China war. It tions for this historical event in the local workers are employed. The lasted from 1946 till 1954 and end- streets of Hanoi. frst attempts to produce cultured ed with the victory of the Viet Minh pearls in Vietnam go back to the under general Vo Nguyen Giap and South Vietnam capitulated when 1960s; they were stopped during the disastrous defeat of the French troops from North Vietnam en- the Vietnam War. during the battle of Dien Bien Phu tered in April 1975. The fnal re- in 1954. unifcation took part in 1976 un- Following the Indo-China confer- der communist leadership. In 1986 ence in Geneva in 1954, the coun- followed reforms that allowed for

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NORTHERN VIETNAM Gemmological Conference in Ha- (Fig. 5). The genus is abundant in noi, I had the opportunity to visit East Asia, it occurs also in China The second cycle of pearl farm- a pearl farm near Bo Ton Island where the shell is reportedly also ing started in the northern Quang in Halong Bay. used for beads in freshwater cul- Ninh province that borders on Chi- tured pearl production. na and the Gulf of Tongking, the The farm belongs today to the capital is Ha Long city. In 1991, Fu- Vietnamese Ha Long Pearl Joint A rather large shop on the pon- jiani Iwaki of the Japanese Ogawa Stock Company who took it over in toon is selling cultured pearls of company opened a pearl farm on 2005 when the Japanese partner, the farm’s own production under Nhieu Tan island in Halong Bay, Taiheiyo Pearl Company, withdrew. the brand name Vinapearl, in ad- east of Haiphong, the big northern There are two more pearl farms dition to Akoya cultured pearls harbour town. The frst pearls were in Halong Bay, one is operated by that may not have been produced harvested after only eight months. Spica Pearls and one by Pearls Vi- locally. The same is defnitely true etnam Limited, who also owns the for those South Sea and Tahitian Halong Bay, declared a Unesco farm near Nha Thrang that is de- cultured pearls that are ofered for world heritage site in 1994, covers scribed in more detail below. The an area of about 1.500 square kilo- visit was part of a pre-conference metres, interspersed with nearly excursion that stood rather under 2000 limestone karsts and mon- touristic aspects. Visitors could olithic islands that rise from the however get a good impression of ocean and are covered with thick the principal steps of pearl produc- tropical vegetation (Fig. 4). Most of tion. There were demonstrations the few hundred people that make of grafting, harvesting and pro- up the Bay’s population are fsher- grammes for monitoring molluscs men and their families who live in both before and after nucleus in- Fig. 5. Shell of a Vietnamese freshwater mussel of house boat communities. There is sertion. The farm has a Vietnam- the Lamprotula genus, used for making beads on the Bo a rich marine life with more than ese manager and employs several Hon pearl farm. Photograph: John Saul. 200 diferent fsh species and grafters. Production concentrates 450 species of molluscs, includ- on Akoya cultured pearls of sev- sale on the farm, complemented ing those of the pearl-producing eral size ranges, the largest size is by a great variety of Chinese fresh- Pinctada family. 6-6.5mm. Mother-of-pearl beads water cultured pearls. Some neck- that are used as nuclei are made laces are wrongly labelled as Akoya In October 2013, while I was from the shells of a local freshwa- pearls.The shop also ofered a va- in Vietnam for the International ter mussel of the Lamprotula genus riety of small gift items made from shell, including fancy cultured blis- ter pearls that were still attached to the shells of Pteria penguin (Fig.6).

CENTRAL VIETNAM

The second farm that I visited is in Khan Hoa province in central Viet- nam, about 60 kilometres north of Nha Thrang, the province’s capital. The area is a touristic centre with long beaches and many tiny islands and coral reefs along the coast. Flight time from Hanoi is about two hours, and the journey by car from the airport to the pearl farm takes about another hour.

The farm, operated by Pearls Vietnam Limited, started in the Fig .4. Bo Hon pearl farm near Bo Hon Island. In the foreground, buoys indicate the position of long lines 1990s (the company ’s name was from where nets and baskets with molluscs are hung into the water. The farm can be seen in the back, established in 1997), it is situat- placed on a pontoon. Photograph: Brendan Laurs. ed in the Van Ninh district of Van

MARGARITOLOGIA 3 THE PEARL NEWSLETTER BY ELISABETH STRACK

Phong Bay. A second farm in the oped. For the frst month, they are the sea and is allowed to survive bay belongs to the Saigon Pearl kept in basins with seawater. naturally. Company that has its own shop in Nha Thrang and uses the brand Random checking under a mi- After about one and a half to two name Estelle for selling pearls from croscope with a magnifcation be- years, when they have attained a Vietnam on the international mar- tween 40x to 180x helps to con- length of approximately 5cm, the ket (see Fig. 3). trol if the larvae feed and stay alive shells are ready for grafting. The (Fig. 9). After three to four weeks, farm has its own grafting room Pearls Vietnam Limited has they develop cilia (in which state a close association, partly fami- they are called veliger larvae) and ly-based, with Oriental Pearl (Bang- begin to swim and attach them- kok) Ltd. and Baggins of Los An- selves to special nets with mesh geles. The latter is now the main sizes of about 0.5mm. About 500 American company that ofers to 1000 shells, after having at- Akoya pearls from Vietnam. Anil tained a size of about 1cm, are Maloo, Baggin’s president, worked kept in one net before they will be himself for some years on the farm brought out to the sea, albeit to in Van Phong Bay that operates protected places only. Fig. 6. A local Pteria penguin shell with a under the supervision of his uncle fancy cultured blister pearl that grew around a snail. Dev Chodhry, who is president of Nets are constantly getting Bo Hon pearl farm. Oriental Pearl (Bangkok) Ltd. The changed, in order to adapt to the farm is a strictly professional one, shells’ growing sizes, although with a long row of tables that pro- efciently organised, concentrating growth speed diminishes after vides room for grafters on either on the production of high-quality the frst month and growth rates side. A total of about 350 to 400 Akoya cultured pearls for the world are irregular. Constant cleaning is molluscs can be operated on in market (Fig. 7). necessary as the nets get quick- one day. The farm has about 20 ly covered with mud, seaweed or trained grafters (but only about 15 There is no shop and there are sponges. The cleaning procedure work regularly) who, having been no tourists. The deputy general di- extends well over the whole period trained by the Japanese manag- rector and the technical manager of pearl cultivation Only the best ers, are highly skillful. Nearly all are from Japan (the frst one comes baby molluscs are selected every of them are young women, recruit- directly from Ise peninsula in Mie two to three months for further ed from villages in the local area prefecture where his parents had care, the rest is thrown back into (Fig. 11). The grafting procedure owned a pearl farm) while the staf, about 200 employees, are Viet- namese. The farm uses only hatch- ery-produced baby molluscs (as most farms do since about 2001) that come from specially selected wild local parent stock of Pinctada chemnitzii. The same species oc- curs along the coast of southern China, it is closely related to Pincta- da martensii that is used for pearl culture in Japan.

Spawning takes place about ten to twelve times per year and each time about one million spat are produced, this equals 10 to 12 mil- lion per year. Immediately after fer- tilization of the egg cells, the young larvae have a size of about 1.4 mm. After 12 hours, larvae have taken on a D-shape that bears already a resemblance to the future shape of the shell and after 24 hours tiny Fig. 7. View from the farm of Pearls Vietnam Ltd. towards Van Phong Bay bivalve shells have already devel- where long-lines stretch at a distance of about 1.8 km.

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follows the known basic principle. KESHI PEARLS AND SOUTH have withdrawn meanwhile. Pearls In order to prevent the shells from SEA CULTURED PEARLS Vietnam Limited also used to have closing again, a wooden wedge is a pearl farm on Phu Quoc island inserted into those molluscs that Keshi pearls occur as a bye-prod- for Akoya cultured pearls. They are chosen for grafting and that uct of the culturing process, the were similar to those shown in Fig. have been anaesthetised. amount of pearls harvested is be- 17 and 18 that originate from the tween 1-1.5 to 2-3 per cent of the farms of the Spica Pearl Compa- Strips of mantle tissue are cut total production. The pearls do not ny, also in Vietnam.Pearls Vietnam out of the mantle of selected represent a signifcant sales item shells and are consequently cut (Fig. 14). Keshi pearls have also into small squares with a scalpel been harvested as a bye-product (Fig. 12). The squares, dipped into a of South Sea cultured pearls that red disinfectant liquid, are inserted are produced by Pearls Vietnam into the gonad, then follows the in- Ltd. in the Koto area, also in Van sertion of the bead. The farm also Phong Bay, near to the Akoya pearl applies a procedure that in Japa- farm. nese language is termed ‘komo sei- bo’, it means that the mantle tissue The local Pinctada maxima are comes from the same mollusc that about two years old when they are is being used for the grafting pro- used for grafting, growth time for cess. The method is expected to the pearls is also about two years. improve both colour and lustre of Although several harvests have a pearl. taken place and the pearls are ob- viously of superb quality (Fig. 15), The Van Phong farm uses only the farm is apparently not yet suc- high-quality beads that come from cessful, due to high mollusc mor- professional bead-processing com- talities. panies in Japan who import the Fig. 8. Worker at the farm’s hatchery raw mother-of-pearl from the Uni- ted States. This means that beads are more expensive than those THE SOUTH – produced from local fresh-wa- PHU QUOC ISLAND ter shells. Bead sizes go from be- low 2mm to 3.8-4mm, sometimes The south-western province of Kien 5-6mm beads are used. Pearl si- Giang includes Phu Quoc Island zes go from 2-6mm but 7mm and that is situated in the Gulf of Thai- more is possible. Beside of a light land at a distance of about 40 kilo- cream colour, more intensive cre- metres from the Vietnamese coast Fig. 9. Young larvae under the microscope at the farm’s amish and greyish hues are being but only about 12 kilometres from own hatchery station. Magnifcation ca. 100x. produced (Fig 13). The main pearl the coast of Cambodia. The island, Courtesy: Pearls Vietnam Limited. production consists of small sizes 58 kilometres long, has a popula- in the range of 2-3.5mm.Those tion of about 70.000 people. Dur- Limited no longer produces on Phu so-called ‘baby Akoyas‘ help to fll ing the French and American oc- Quoc Island, due to high mortality the gap in the demand for small cupation, it housed the infamous rates that led to losses of more pearls that Japan had not been Coconut Tree Prison, today a tour- than 40 per cent of mollusc pop- able to maintain for many years. ist attraction. ulations. Mollusc mortalities seem to be a constant threat that is men- All molluscs usually remain about In Vietnam, the island is famous acing pearl farms all over Vietnam. one to one and a half year in the for pepper and high-quality fsh The largest farm today is Phu Quoc water; with a growth rate of at least sauce. In late 1996, Fujiani Iwaki Beach Pearl Farm, it belongs to the 1mm per year; this results in a (mentioned above) established a Phu Ouoc Beach Pearl Joint Stock nacre thickness of between 1 and second farm on Phu Quoc Island Company, that is managed by the 2mm. The high growth rate is due that apparently no longer exists Long Beach group, originating to water temperatures and good today. There are still a few pearl from the hotel and resort industry. environmental conditions. Yearly farms of varying sizes on the is- Foreign partners are from Japan, production of the farm amounts to land’s west coast, south of the French Polynesia and Thailand. about 150 kilograms. capital Duong Dong but it seems The government issues licences that most Japanese companies to foreigners only under the con-

MARGARITOLOGIA 5 THE PEARL NEWSLETTER BY ELISABETH STRACK

dition that knowledge is passed on namese citizen. With his Hoang Gia of 400-500 kilograms is proba- to the inhabitants of the country. Pearl Company, Tuan had original- bly right but some sources speak Production on Phu Quoc Island ly worked with a group of French of 700-800 or even of 1000 kilo- concentrates on Akoya cultured specialists who left the project. It grams. The bulk of the production pearls, by using the local Pinctada seems that the surroundings of goes via Japan to the international chemnitzii. Pinctada maxima is used the island are especially suitable pearl market, only a very small part to a limited extent for the produc- for the larger Pinctada maxima and is sold in the country. Astonishing- tion of South Sea cultured pearls. Pinctada margaritifera molluscs. ly enough, unlike Akoya cultured The species occurs locally but it seems that parent stock has been imported from Australia, as during the 1990s at least one farm had been owned by the Australian Asia Pacifc Company.

Most farms have large show- rooms that ofer locally produced pearls, albeit to a limited extent only. To a much larger extent, they sell imported Akoya, Tahitian and South Sea cultured pearls and even Mabe pearls (composite cul- tured blister pearls) that are locally worked into jewellery. The majority of pearls sold are cheap Chinese freshwater cultured pearls. There is no government control for the origin and quality of pearls.

In this context it is worth men- tioning the life story of Ho Phi Thug, Vietnamese owner of the Ngoc Hien pearl farm who started as a diver for natural pearls. His career indicates that fshing for natural pearls was still practised at least as recently as twenty-fve years ago when divers apparently, working at depths of up to 60 me- ters, expected about one out of 15.000 shells to yield a pearl. Ho Phi Thug used to sell his pearls to a Japanese cultured pearl company whom he joined in 1990 and which he bought in 1997. Fig. 10. Staf sorting out young molluscs for grafting on the farm’s premises. Fig. 11. A grafter at work Fig. 12. Stripes of carefully cut out mantle tissue, ready to be cut into small squares. CON DAO ISLAND Tuan is apparently planning to pearls from China, those from Con Dao is an isolated island in the extend pearl farming to the neigh- Vietnam are not mixed up with the South China Sea with a dark history bouring coasts of Cambodia. Japanese production and are not as a place for prisoners. It belongs sold as Japanese pearls. They keep to the South Vietnamese province so-to-say their Vietnamese iden- of Ba Rja-Vung Tau. Apparently, THE PEARLS tity. A distinctive characteristic of white, golden and black South Sea all pearls is that they do not, apart cultured pearls are produced for It is difcult to give exact fgures from polishing, get bleached or the last ten years in a farm that is for the country’s total production processed in any way. As was men- owned by Ho Thanh Tuan, a Viet- of cultured pearls. An estimate tioned already at the beginning,

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the high nacre thickness results in were overgrown with an addition- FRESHWATER CULTURED a natural, creamish colour and in a al pearly layer that enhanced the PEARLS special, high-quality lustre. drum pattern. Tuan also made ex- periments with implanting teeth. Shops all over the country, and Vietnam has also seen a few Most farms seem to produce a most often those shops on the experiments for producing fancy certain quantity of so-called Mabe pearl farms, sell huge quantities pearls. Chi Huynh, born in Vietnam pearls (composite cultured blister of cheap Chinese fresh-water cul- and owner of the Galatea Compa- pearls) by using the locally occur- tured pearls, often claiming that

Fig. 14. Collection of several harvests of Akoya Keshi cultured pearls. Courtesy: Oriental Pearl (Bangkok) Ltd.

Fig.13. Vietnamese Akoya pearl production includes sizes of 2-7mm and light cream to intensely Fig. 15. Both white and golden South Sea cultured creamish and greyish hues. Courtesy: Anil Maloo, Baggins, Los Angeles pearls are produced at the farm in Van Phong Bay. Sizes of the pearls shown are about 10-12mm. Courtesy: ny in San Dimas, California, used ing Pteria penguin. The species, Oriental Pearl (Bangkok) Ltd. the black-lipped Pinctada margari- belonging to the same family as tifera in order to grow small quanti- the Pinctada genus, is also used they are of Vietnamese origin. It ties of black cultured pearls in cen- for cultivating Mabe pearls on seems that Vietnam has presently tral Vietnam, by implanting beads the neighbouring Chinese island no regular production of freshwa- of amethyst, citrin or imitation tur- of Hainan and on the Japanese ter cultured pearls but a few pilot quoise. The fnished pearls were Ryukyu Islands. In fact, in Japanese, projects seem to be going on in the later carved with foral patterns the mollusc’s name is ‘mabé’. northern lakes. Natural fresh-wa- that incorporated the colourful ter pearls from the lakes and riv- stone beads (Fig. 19). Galatea has Most Vietnamese pearl farms ers of northern Vietnam have been meanwhile become a brand name sell the empty shells to button known for centuries. Vietnam has for artistic pearl jewellery. While companies or local workshops a similarly large number and iden- the pearls are now being produced that make, in pursuing an old Chi- in French Polynesia, jewellery man- nese tradition, inlays for furniture. ufacturing still takes place in cen- Pearls of reject quality are used for tral Vietnam. powder that is locally worked into medicine and cosmetics. The mol- Ho Thanh Tuan, already men- luscs’ inner soft bodies, of which tioned above with regard to Con only the adductor muscle is edible, Dao Island, invented another type are given to the farm workers. of fancy pearls. He had fully grown pearls engraved with the decora- tive pattern of the bronze drum, a Vietnamese cultural icon. The Fig. 16. A selection of South Sea Keshi cultured pearls pearls got implanted again and from the same farm as the pearls shown in Fig. 15.

MARGARITOLOGIA 7 THE PEARL NEWSLETTER BY ELISABETH STRACK

from the left: Fig. 17 and Fig. 18 show Akoya cultured pearls of exceptional greyish-blue colours and sizes of up to 12mm and beyond. Courtesy: Eliko Pearls, New York. Fig. 19. Black cultured pearl with a bead of imitation turquoise, produced with the black-lipped Pinctada margaritifera in Vietnam. Courtesy: Galatea

tical species of freshwater mus- OUTLOOK Bibliography sels than China. Hyriopsis cumingii, Bosshart, G. et al., 1993, Freshwater pearl cultivation in Vietnam. Journal of Gemmolo- most often used for pearl culture A number of factors speak in fa- gy, 23, 6, 326-332. in China, is one of those species. vour of pearl farming in Vietnam. Water conditions are good and Chodhry, Dev, 2013, Personal Communica- In the early 1990s, a pearl farm there is still nearly no pollution. tion. Oriental Pearls (Bangkokg) Ltd. existed in Hanoi’s West Lake that General costs and labour costs are Federman, D., 2007, Vietnamese Akoya produced about 8000 bead-nucle- still low in comparison with Japan. Farms?, Modern Jeweler, October 2007. ated pearls in 1993. They did not The local staf is keen to learn and make an ofcial appearance on the works in a highly disciplined way. Lhong Thu Huong, 2013, VN Pearls have the western market but were more or Yet, it seems that the promising world as their oyster. Viet Nam News, August less silently exported both to Asian outlook of seven to eight years ago 18, 2013. countries and the Persian Gulf. It cannot be fulflled and that many Strack, E., 2006, Pearls, Rühle-Diebener-Ver- seems that both Cristaria plicata Japanese companies have with- lag, 2006, 707p. and Anodonta yourdyii, a local sub- drawn since. It was an outlook that species of Anodonta woodiana, the saw Vietnam going ahead of Japan Various personal communications. common pond mussel, were used. as a producer of Akoya cultured Photographs Grafters inserted nuclei that were pearls of higher qualities and bet- All photographs, if not otherwise menti- made of the thick shells of a local ter prices. Concerning South Sea oned, are by E.Strack. freshwater mussel of the Lamprot- cultured pearls, it seems that not ula genus. It is endemic in northern one farm, after initial good har- Acknowledgements Vietnam and is also used by some vests, has so far been successful in Acknowledgements go to Anil Maloo and to Dev Chodhry of Oriental Pearls Bangkok) Akoya pearl farms in the country, the long run. Ltd., for making possible the visit to the as was already mentioned above. pearl farm in Van Phong Bay and for gene- The pearl farm ceased to exist in rously providing information. early 1996, when it had to give way to an exclusive sport club.

PEARL TOPICS AT THE INTERNATIONAL GEMMOGICAL CONFERENCE IN HANOI, 12-16 OCTOBER 2013

EIGHT LECTURES WERE devoted beads and cheap labour all add Akamatsu presented ‘technique to pearl topics. to a decline of pearl quality. This intensive pearl culturing’ as a meth- problem is counterbalanced but od that could save the Japanese Shigeru Akamatsu of Mikimoto not solved by ever more sophisti- cultured pearl industry. It would and the Central Gem Laboratory in cated types of ‘processing’, treat- aim at the production of small Tokyo spoke of the Akoya cultured ments that improve the outward amounts of high-quality pearls. It pearl situation in Japan. He sees it, appearance of pearls only. Moreo- seems that the Mikimoto company, similar to the last years, still loaded ver, Akoya mortality rates continue 120 years after its founder harvest- with problems as low quality mol- to be high due to environmental ed the frst cultured blister pearl in luscs, low quality mother-of-pearl problems. 1893, is leading the way again. The

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company started pearl culturing at astonishment, as the length of the McLaurin, Manuel Nava, Pierre Aino-Shima in Fukuoka prefecture mollusc’s shell is only about 6cm. Hardy and Lore Kiefert) spoke on on Kyushu Island in southern Ja- the current situation of pearl cul- pan. A report on ‘Galatea’ pearls, pre- tivation at Guaymas in Mexico. At sented by Professor Henry Hänni present, about twelve people work The new method pays special at- for the authors Laurent E. Carti- for the Perlas del Mar de Cortez tention to natural resources. Only er, Michael S. Krzemnicki and Company. Wild adult molluscs can- naturally grown Akoya spat from John Rere, described the use of not be used for the cultivation pro- the area is used. All waste material gemstone beads for producing cul- cess as their fshing is still banned, from the pearl farm (mollusc drop- tured pearls that are subsequently therefore wild spat is collected pings and waste from shell clean- artistically carved to display both and reared in the waters of the ing) is disposed of on land in order the colourful gemstone nucleus farm. Only Pteria sterna molluscs to allow for the self-purifcation and the nacreous layers. are used, about 250.000 young ability of the sea. Growth time for molluscs are produced every year. pearls is two years again, resulting Pearls of this type have been The cultivation period lasts from in high nacre thickness and other produced by the American Gala- 18 to 20 months, and an average high quality factors. tea Company of San Dimas, Cali- of 4.000 pearls of saleable quality fornia, since 2007. The owner of are harvested per year, including The farm environment (water the company, Chi Huynh, is born in about 300 keshi pearls. The diam- temperatures, salinity, oxygen de- Vietnam where the frst pearls were eter of the smallest beaded pearls mand and the amount of chloro- produced (see above, p.7) with the is about 8mm and the average size phyll) are monitored by scientists, black-lipped Pinctada margaritif- is 9mm, while it was below 9mm accompanied by constant research era. This has changed meanwhile, in 2004. in order to be able to guard against at present all pearls are produced or take early counter-measures at a farm in the Gambier Islands of A diameter of above 12mm is against diseases and other impon- French Polynesia, using the local rare. 14mm is the maximum size. derables. black-lipped Pinctada margaritifera Only about one per cent of all cumingii. Jewellery workshops have pearls are nearly round and so far, Terrence S. Coldham of the remained in Vietnam. only about nine necklaces were Gemmological Association of Aus- produced from harvests over the tralia spoke of natural pearls within By collecting wild spat and nurs- last 14 years. freshly opened Pinctada maculata ing it until the young molluscs are from what he calls the Tongareva about three years old, the farm All pearls from Pteria sterna Atoll (otherwise known as Penryhn follows the proceedings that are show a strong red fuorescence island) in the Cook Islands. Pincta- common in French Polynesia. For under long wave ultra violet light da maculata is the smallest species the frst operation, a plastic bead (366nm). The authors applied of the Pinctada genus; it is endem- is used. The resulting pearls are diferent methods to study 10 ic on the Cook Islands where it is harvested after about six months. pearls in detail, applying both Ra- locally known as Pipi. Coldham, They are not for sale but the pur- man and UV-Visible-NearIR spec- while staying on the remote atoll, pose behind is to create a larger troscopy and X-radiography and was able to watch the harvesting pearl sack for inserting the gem- examining the pearls with a stand- of about six hundred Pipi shells. stone beads. 10 to 12 months later, ard gemmological microscope. About a dozen contained pearls, the new pearls are being harvest- totalling to about 40 pearls. ed. Retention rate is apparently Steve Kennedy of The Gem & high with these second-generation Pearl Laboratory in London gave a The largest pearl was 6.50mm pearls while the molluscs tend to report on his testings of the Pearl in diameter. Shapes were most- reject gemstone beads when they of Asia, one of the largest and most ly round and light to dark golden are implanted right from the be- famous pearls.The report of which colours dominated. Only about ginning. Nacre thickness falls with- no details are to be published due three pearls were of a dark colour. in the required 0.8mm minimum to the wishes of the present owner One photograph showed a freshly limit set by the Tahitian authorities. of the pearl, included details of the opened shell with three pearls sit- A production of 100.000 pearls is pearl’s history and conjecture on uated inbetween the internal and expected for 2014. its origin. external mantle epithelium that looks transparent. Both the num- Stefanos Karampelas of the A contribution by Kenneth Scar- ber and size of the pearls (the larg- Gübelin Laboratory (co-authors ratt of GIA Thailand dealt with ad- est pearl had about 5mm) evoke are Enrique Arizmendi, Douglas ditional data on natural and cul-

MARGARITOLOGIA 9 THE PEARL NEWSLETTER BY ELISABETH STRACK

tured pearls from Pinctada maxima istry confrmed that the colour and ural and non-beaded salt-water in Australia. A selection of pearls chemistry of the bead-cultured cultured pearls. They can be dif- was studied: natural pearls from pearls are linked with the implant- cult to interpret as their formation wild shell from the 80 mile beach, ed mantle tissue as opposed to the depends on diferent factors. 10 natural pearls from shells from mantle tissue of the host. salt-water cultured pearls without the 80 mile beach that had been a bead from Pinctada maxima and grafted for cultured pearl produc- Sutas Singbamroong (co-au- 10 salt-water natural pearls from tion, natural pearls from grafted thor is Nazar Ahmed) of the Dubai Pinctada radiata were studied by hatchery-produced shells and both Central Laboratory explained how using X-radiography and/or mi- cultured pearls with and without a digital SLR camera can be applied crocomputer tomography. Some a bead, grown both in shells col- to photograph x-ray luminescence of the samples in sizes from 3 to lected from the wild and in hatch- of pearls. Chinese freshwater cul- 8mm, going from near round to ery-produced shells. tured pearls display, caused by the baroque shapes, were cut in half. presence of manganese, a distinct All pearls were photographed greenish-yellow luminescence. Dull Cavities observed in natural while still in their pearl sacks in or- surface areas may show an orange pearls are darker in colour and more der to register their position within luminescence. irregular in shape, and they align to the molluscs. They were then ex- a certain extent with the external amined by using Real-Time micro- The vast majority of beaded shape of the pearls. Cavities visible radiography and X-ray computer- salt-water cultured pearls reveal, in samples of cultured pearls have ized microtomography as well as due to the fresh-water origin of a more distinct outline, are more Laser Ablative Inductively Coupled the mother-of-pearl beads, varia- linear, and may show a tail, they Plasma-Mass Spectrometry. ble luminescence reactions. Visi- are not fowing with the external bility of those reactions depends shape of the pearl. Pearls located in the area of on nacre thickness; a high nacre the mantle closest to the gills and thickness may mask visibility. Nat- Bibliography the widest point of the adduc- urally dark-coloured pearls or dyed IGC 2013 Vietnam, Abstract Proceedings, tor muscle revealed characteristic pearls may inhibit luminescence 33rd International Gemmological Confer- structures of natural pearls. Bead- reactions. ence, October 2013, Hanoi, Vietnam. cultured pearls from the gonad re- vealed clear images of the beads. Abeer Tawfeeq Al-Alawi of the Non-beaded cultured pearls from Gem & Pearl Testing Laboratory the gonad revealed two distinct of Bahrain (co-authors are Ste- growth structures that are now fanos Karampelas and Osama associated with saltwater keshi cul- Taqi) compared the appearance tured pearls. Trace element chem- of ‘cavities’ on x-ray images of nat-

DNA FINGERPRINTING OF PEARLS FOR ORIGIN DETERMINATION

THE PUBLICATION of October 2013 DNA from a pearl. It was used to pearls and to provide transparency in PLOS ONE presented for the frst identify the source oyster species as to the origin of pearls. time truly new research results on for the three major pearl-produc- pearls. One might even speak of ing oyster species Pinctada marga- (Explanatory note: The word ‘oyster’ is used in exciting news. It is the result of the ritifera, P. maxima and P. radiata. this short review with regard to the authors’ cooperation between the SSEF in use of the word within the original text). Basel (and its former director Hen- 18 pearls of unknown origin ry A. Hänni), the Swiss Federal In- were examined. A micro-drilling stitute of Technology in Zürich and technique was developed to obtain Bibliography institutes at the Universities of Ba- small amount of DNA while main- Joana B. Meyer, Laurent E Cartier, Eric A. sel and Lausanne. taining the commercial value of Pinto-Figueroa, Michael S. Krzemnicki, Hen- ry A. Hänni, Brucecc A. McDonald, 2013, the pearls. The DNA fngerprinting DNA Fingerprinting of Pearls to Determine The authors report on the frst method could be used in the future Their Origins, PLOS ONE, Vol. 8, Issue 10, successful extraction of oyster to document the source of historic October 2013, e75606. Online available.

10 No.1 / 2014

SPONDYLUS PEARLS

WHEN, IN PREPARATION of my in the past. Spondylus americanus, iterranean Sea and along the At- pearl book in the late 1990s, I was the so-called American spiny oys- lantic coast of northwestern Africa, writing on pearls from ‘other ma- ter, has a pinkish-white shell and was reported as having produced rine bivalve molluscs’ (meaning occurs on the Atlantic coast from white, light green and pinkish other genera than Pinctada and the south-eastern United States pearls. While pearls from Spondy- Pteria), it was rather for the sake of down to Brazil. Spondylus princeps lus have so far only been reported completeness and for referring to occurs on the American Pacifc on and were difcult to trace and all those species that do occasion- coast as far down as Panama and to actually see, a few pearls were ally produce pearls. also in the Gulf of California. presented in Tucson 2013. The

These pearls are extremely rare but until not more than fve years ago they represented rarities in the sense of oddities or curiosi- ties, objects that one would have expected to fnd in the Wunder- kammer collections of Renaissance potentates and their followers. The pearls were not seen as rarities in the sense of costly jewellery ob- jects. In fact, they were hardly ever to be seen at all.

Interestingly enough, the natural pearl boom that started about ten years ago on an international level (and on a small international level only) brought about a new focus. It seems that all of a sudden the pearl market does not only notice those ‘other’ pearls but assigns a high monetary value to them, treating Fig. 1. A ‘spiny oyster’ of the Spondylus genus. them as equals to traditional natu- Fig. 2. Red Shell’ spiny oysters and Indian jewellery ofered for sale in Tucson. Courtesy: Red Shell Company. ral pearls and largely ignoring their Fig. 3 and 4 show ‘red shell’ jewellery, made from the shells of Spondylus princeps Courtesy: Red Shell Company. often obvious lack of beauty. The shells of Spondylus princeps pearls had allegedly been bought Pearls from the genus Spondylus may show diferent colours. Those directly from the fshermen in Baja L., 1758, belonging to the Spondyl- with white shells live in a depth of California in Mexico. idae family, can be seen as a good 18-30 metres and those with a red example. The rather domed shells shell live in deeper waters of about Fig. 5 shows six pearls of round of the bivalves show large spines 30-50 metres. Fig. 2 shows a se- to of-round and egg-like shapes, on their outside which account for lection of ‘spiny oysters’ that are the names ‘thorny oyster’ or ‘spiny usually ofered for sale in Tucson. oyster’ in colloquial language. The Following an Indian tradition, the spines attract algae and spong- red shells are still today worked es that provide an almost perfect into jewellery, both into individual camoufage for the shells. The cabochons and necklaces that are more than 25 species in the fam- quite popular in the United States ily are difcult to distinguish from (Fig. 3 and Fig. 4). each other, and most reach a length of more than 10cm. In Costa Rica, Spondylus calci- fer, living in shalllow waters, has White and pale pink pearls have become known for occasionally Fig. 5. six pearls from Spondylus princeps, been reported from both Spondylus also producing pearls. Spondylus Baja California. Length of largest pearl ca. 14mm. americanus and Spondylus princeps gaederopus, occurring in the Med- Courtesy: E. Rodriguez.

MARGARITOLOGIA 11 THE PEARL NEWSLETTER BY ELISABETH STRACK

with one pear shape, the length of tre. It resembles a Tridacna pearl, which is 14mm. Two pearls have showing a weak, difcult to recog- of-white colours, mottled with nize fame structure. light brown while four pearls have a dull greyish-green colour with The pearls were not examined in brownish and greenish circles. Lus- detail so far and they most prob- tre is dull, with the exception of the ably do not have outer nacreous smaller of-white pearl that has a layers (layers of aragonite platelets porcelain-like lustre. in a brick-type arrangement) that make up the structure of pearls Fig. 6 shows a nearly perfectly from the Pinctada genus. round, white pearl, ca. 12mm, with Fig. 6. Pearl from Spondylus princeps, Baja California. a dull to faintly porcelain-like lus- All photographs are by E. Strack Diameter ca. 12mm. Courtesy: E. Rodriguez

A MIKIMOTO ‘3.5 MOMME’ GRADUATE

ONLY ABOUT 100 PEARL FARMS ered normal until into the 1970s, it in Japan had survived World War has since gone down tremendous- II and in the early 1950s Mikimo- ly. In the 1950s, necklaces were to was the only large producer. almost all still graded, in a way im- His emphasis was on pearl qual- itating natural pearl necklaces. The ity and the women who worked pearls’ diameters ranged from 3 to in the sorting rooms did not select 5mm, the centre pearl was 7mm. Fig. 2. The Mikimoto logo from the original box. more than six necklaces per day. The trade called these necklaces In those years, nacre thickness was ‘3.5 momme graduates’ as they issued a number of rules that pro- about 1mm; it equalled the stand- usually had a weight of 3.5 momme. hibited the sale of pearls within the ard of before World War II. 1 Momme equals 3.75 grams. In country and allowed only sales to While a nacre thickness of be- 1946, the High Commander of the the Central Ofce of the American tween 0.6mm and 1mm was consid- Allied Forces in Japan had initially supplies. All pearls were sent to the United States or they were sold within Japan to the families of the American military forces. Nearly all sales continued to go to the United States, after exports were allowed again in 1948. It was later thought that the roots for the popularity of Japanese cultured pearls in Ameri- ca go back to this time. Fig. 1 shows an early Mikimoto necklace. It is still in the possession of an American lady whose fancé and later husband had bought it in 1955 while he stayed with the mil- itary in Japan. The necklace is still kept in its original box.

Bibliography Strack, E., 2006, Pearls, Rühle-Diebener-Ver- lag, 2006, 707p.

Acknowledgements Fig.1. An early ‘3.5 momme graduate‘ necklace, bought in 1955 in Japan. Courtesy: Marian Havlik. Acknowledgements go to Marian Havlik

12 No.1 / 2014

SCHIMMERN AUS DER TIEFE: MUSCHELN – PERLEN – NAUTILUS EXHIBITION AT THE STAATLICHES MUSEUM SCHWERIN IN MECKLENBURG, GERMANY, JUNE 14 – SEPTEMBER 15, 2013

SHELLS AND PEARLS WERE an painted portraits of the duchess- ings. It was a pleasant surprise to integral part of early princely col- es and princesses of (mainly) the see in this context a painting by lections that included both objects Mecklenburg dynasty as the origi- Sigmar Polke of 1988 that shows of natural origin and man-made nal jewellery is no longer available. a Nautilus goblet in transparent artefacts. Infuenced by the great yellow acrylic paint in front of a red discoveries of the 15th to 17th A range of portraits from the and white background. The paint- centuries, those collections en- 16th to 19th centuries conveyed er claims that he was inspired by a deavoured to explain the world. to the viewer an impression of photograph in an art book. Moreover they served to enhance both the beauty and importance of their owners’ prestige and position pearls as objects of high value and In the context of 20th century in the world. symbols of power. Luckily enough, art, the exhibition paid homage to drawings of pearl jewellery, done the photographer Alfred Ehrhardt The exhibition of last summer in the middle of the 19th century, by showing his series of black-and at Schwerin, capital of the Grand have survived, as have black-and- white photographs of shells that Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin till white photographs made in 1907 he made in the 1940s. They go far 1918, allowed the State Museum to and 1925/1935. Small pieces of beyond the reproduction of natu- focus on objects that were collect- sentimental jewellery from the late ral objects and provide an aesthet- ed by the princely family. Several 18th and the 19th century, later ic pleasure to the viewer. A possi- topics were addressed, beginning acquisitions of the museum from ble infuence by the 19th century with the use of shell in both rep- private individuals, were shown to scholar Ernst Haeckel’s Kunstfor- resentational and liturgical objects. demonstrate the purely decorative men der Natur was traced. The fanciful use of mother-of-pearl use of small pearls. was for example demonstrated by Exhibition catalogue by Michael a selection of colourful fans from Further aspects included the use Imhof-Verlag. 2013, 367 pages, the 18th and 19th century. of shells in the goldsmith’s art, for with numerous high-quality photo- example by working Nautilus and graphs. D-36100 Petersberg. A large part of the exhibition was Turban shells into fanciful goblets. dedicated to pearls. However, the Moreover, shells became much presentation of princely pearl jew- sought-after objects for being rep- ellery was by necessity confned to resented in above all still life paint-

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MARGARITOLOGIA 13