Hi everyone, I am just getting caught up on my Orchid e-mail (up to
May 6th!) and found somebody mentioning black pearls coming from
Mexico. I found this intriguing since I never knew that saltwater
pearls were produced in Mexico. I ran a google search and found this
interesting link:
Here is an excerpt from the site: "Unlike other oyster-pearl farmers
who exclusively use the genus Pinctada, Perlas del Mar (de Cortez)
farms the winged oyster of the Pteria genus. Specifically, they use
the Pteria sterna, the rainbow-lipped oyster whose suggestive
nickname spells out its pearls’ biggest selling point: their
opalescent color scheme, which features unusual base colors like
amber, gray and purple and stunning overtones of green, blue, violet
and purple. "The rainbow-lipped oyster produces such wonderful shades
of color,’ said Antoinette Matlins, author of The Pearl Book, a pearl
buying guide. ‘The operation is still small, but as a designer, if
you hit them right after their harvest…’ "
According to the website, the Pteria genus oyster produces great
color but most tend to be baroque shape with only a few being round.
I wonder if there is a market segment of jewelry buyers who would
especially enjoy owning a pearl from Mexico? (People of Mexican
heritage?)
The website also has an interesting section on the history of
Mexican pearls.
Anyways, just found this interesting.
Dan T.