Pearl Diver in Japan

Pearl hunting or pearl diving refers to a now largely obsolete method of retrieving pearls from oysters and, on rare occasions, other nacre-producing creatures, such as abalone.

Before the beginning of the 20th century, the only means of obtaining pearls was by searching through oysters manually gathered and opened at random on the ocean floor or on lake or river bottoms. Free-divers were often forced to descend to depths of over 100 feet on a single breath, exposing them to the dangers of hostile creatures, waves, and drowning, often as a result of deep water blackout on resurfacing. Often, because of these dangers, divers were slaves or of low social status (which is also true of many fisherfolk around the world). Because of the difficulty of diving and the unpredictable nature of natural pearl growth in oysters, pearls of the time were extremely rare and of varying quality.

Whilst many pearls in Asia could be found on shoals at a depth of 5-7 feet (1.5-2 meters) from the surface, more often than not divers had to go 40 feet (12 meters) or even up to 125 feet (40 meters) deep to find the oysters, which was extremely hazardous for the divers. In the 19th century, divers in Asia had only very basic forms of technology to aid their survival at such depths. For example, in some areas, they greased their bodies to conserve heat, put greased cotton in their ears, wore a tortoise-shell clip to close their nostrils, and had a wide mouthed basket or net to hold the oysters.

However, the late Ming Dynasty Chinese book Tiangong Kaiwu, published in the year 1637, showed a new method for pearl divers. Its author Song Yingxing wrote of the methods of pearl diving in Guangdong. Song wrote that these divers were able to stay underwater for prolonged periods of time since a secure rope was tied around their waists connected to the ship as they breathed through a long curving pipe that led up above the surface of the water. This long breathing tube was strengthened by rings of tin and fastened to a watertight leather face mask. A drawn illustration of this was provided in his book.

For thousands of years, most seawater pearls were retrieved by divers working in the Indian Ocean, in areas like the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea, and in the Gulf of Mannar (between Sri Lanka and India). Pearl divers near the Philippines were also successful at harvesting large pearls, especially in the Sulu Archipelago. In fact, pearls from the Sulu Archipelago were considered the "finest of the world" which were found in "high bred" shells in deep, clear, and rapid tidal waters. At times, the largest pearls belonged by law to the sultan, and selling them could result in the death penalty for the seller. However many made it out of the archipelago in stealth ending up in the possession of the wealthiest families in Europe.

In a similar manner as in Asia, Native Americans harvested freshwater pearls from lakes and rivers like the Ohio, Tennessee, and Mississippi, while others successfully retrieved marine pearls from the Caribbean and waters along the coasts of Central and South America.

In the time of colonial slavery in northern South America (off the northern coasts of modern Colombia and Venezuela), a unique occupation amongst slaves was that of a pearl diver. A diver's career was often short-lived because the waters being harvested were known to be shark-infested, resulting in frequent attacks on divers. However, a slave who discovered an extra-large pearl could sometimes purchase his freedom. Common knowledge at the time was that sexual activity increased buoyancy, so slave divers were prohibited from any contact with women. Slave owners kept slave quarters male-only, and because of this homosexuality was relatively high amongst slave pearl divers.

The series of coded tugs on the breast rope and air pipe are as follows:

From the diver to the tender:

From the tender to the diver:

 The present

Today, pearl diving has largely been supplanted by cultured pearl farms, which use a process developed by Japanese entrepreneur Kokichi Mikimoto. Particles implanted in the oyster encourage the formation of pearls, and allow for more predictable production. Today's cultured pearl industry produces millions of high quality pearls every year.

A cultured pearl is a pearl created by a pearl farmer under controlled conditions.

Development of a pearl

A pearl is formed when some sort of small object, typically a parasite or piece of organic matter, becomes embedded in the tissue of an oyster or mollusk. In response, the mantle tissue of the mollusk secretes nacre. Chemically speaking, this is calcium carbonate and a fibrous protein called conchiolin. As the nacre builds up in layers, it surrounds the irritant and eventually forms a pearl. It is a myth that a grain of sand can cause a pearl to form as nacre will not adhere to inorganic substances.

Natural pearls are those pearls which are formed in nature, more or less by chance. Cultured pearls, by contrast, are those in which humans take a helping hand. By actually inserting a foreign object into the tissue of an oyster or mollusk, pearl farmers can induce the creation of a pearl. The same natural process of pearl creation takes place.

 The pearl industry

Modern-day cultured pearls are primarily the result of discoveries made in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by the Japanese researchers Mise and Nishikawa. Although some cultures had long been able to artificially stimulate mollusks into producing a type of pearl, the pearls produced in this way were only blister and mabe, rather than actual round pearls. What Mise and Nishikawa discovered was a specific technique for inducing the creation of a round pearl within the gonad of an oyster. This technique was patented by Kokichi Mikimoto shortly thereafter, and the first harvest of rounds was produced in 1916.

This discovery revolutionized the pearl industry, because it allowed pearl farmers to reliably cultivate large numbers of high-quality pearls. In contrast to natural pearls -- which have widely varying shapes, sizes, and qualities, and which are difficult to find -- cultured pearls could be "designed" from the start to be round and primarily flawless. The oysters could be monitored for up to two years until each pearl is fully formed, thus better ensuring their health and survival. And the pearls could be grown by the tens of thousands, thereby bringing their cost down to a point where pearls became accessible to large numbers of people around the world.

In short, the development of cultured pearls took much of the chance, risk, and guesswork out of the pearl industry, allowing it to become stable and predictable, and fostering its rapid growth over the past 100 years. Led by pearl pioneer John Latendresse, the United States began culturing freshwater pearls in the mid 1960's.

Prior to the 1930s, exporting pearls was the main economic activity of Kuwait. When the Japanese invented cultured pearls, the Kuwaiti pearl market declined. It would not be until World War II that oil became the major export for Kuwait.

Cultured pearls can often be distinguished from natural pearls through the use of x-rays, which reveals the inner nucleus of the pearl.

Today more than 99% of all pearls sold worldwide are cultured pearls.

http://akoyapearlfarm.com/

                                                               Oysters' Harvest

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Pearl diving in the Ohio and Tennessee Rivers still exists today. These pearls are called natural pearls, because they are created by mother nature alone, and are not cultivated by humans. Their shapes are uniquely baroque. Less than 1% are found in the classic round shape. They are very rare and considered collectors items.