This family operated pearl farm was a unique opportunity to see the details close-up. Tahitian pearls are very different from the white or creamy pearls from Japan; they tend to black or gray, sometimes with overtones of blue, green, or purple.
When the oysters are hauled out of the water, they must be cleaned off.
Then one oyster is sacrificed to obtain the mantle tissue; one will provide enough tissue for 40 new pearls.
Then the oyster surgeon gets to work, inserting a bit of mantle tissue and a small nylon ball into just the right spot in the oyster.
Those oysters are ready to go back in the water; they string about ten together, a foot apart, and hang the strings in the ocean near the barrier reef, where the water is clear of sediment and the constant currents keep the oysters well fed. After a few years, they’ll be hauled back up, and the pearls can be retrieved.
The pearls are graded …
And sorted …
Then the artisan jewelers take over.
You can see some of them have a turquoise core (instead of the nylon ball) where the pearl layer has been carved through, sowing the turquoise blue underneath.
Kitsambler's Journeys 