How to Cultivate Tahitian Pearls

It is said that you would have to open upwards of 20,000 wild oysters to find one pearl, a gem sought after by jewelry-lovers and aficionados alike. However, pearls can also be cultivated, or produced by artificially inducing their growth in oysters. Among the most sought-after pearls are the Tahitian, or black, pearls. Cultivating Tahitian pearls takes a considerable amount of time, care and attention.

Instructions

How to Cultivate Tahitian Pearls

1

During the harvesting process, baby oysters (also known as "spat") are collected on underwater lines and kept there until they have reached maturity, which will take three years or more. They are meticulously cared for, cleaned of algae and parasites on a monthly basis, until they are ready for nucleation, or grafting.

2

During the grafting process, a small sphere of oyster shell (the nucleus) is surgically inseminated into the body of the oyster, along with a small piece of the mantle of another oyster. This causes nacre, a pearly substance, to form in thousands of layers on the nucleus.

3

After several years of growth, a pearl is produced. The pearl is then removed and the oyster is put back in the water.