![]() That is how akoya pearls had been for decades. Pesky pale pastel colours were bleached and then usually a delicate pink blush was added. Until quite recently akoya pearls were white and round and that was that. Blue pearls are possible in every pearl type – akoya, South Sea, Tahitian and freshwater. While the donor tissue secretes the pearl it is the host which keeps the donor tissue alive. ![]() And this process looks for the best and healthiest hosts – and thus to optimise the general stock on the farm. The obvious flaw to this is that, of course, the donor tissue inside the oyster which has produced the pearl is not related (except distantly) to this specific oyster, but it is reckoned – practically – that a pearl is 80% donor mantle and 20% host. ![]() The oysters which have produced such pearls are used to provide donor mantle tissue for the next generation. It will be scrutinised for quality and size – colour, lustre, clean surface and is it over 7mm. These shells will be more carefully opened and the pearl inside extracted carefully. Some of the oysters are selected out at this stage as possible donors. The farm I visited produces pearls from 7mm down to a minute 1.5mm in a range of colours from white to gold and shades of blue and violet to purple ![]() The ‘Cement mixer’ after the washing process – only random bits of shell and the tiny 1.5mm akoya pearls remain ![]()
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