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| Pearls From Burma (Myanmar) |
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Many people only associate Japan, China, and Tahiti with pearl culturing.
There are in fact many other countries also culturing
pearls, of which Burma (Myanmar) is one. Presently,
all pearl farming in Burma (Myanmar) occurs in the
Mergui archipelago which consists of more than
800 individual islands. Mergui, which is the
Mergui archipelago's main sea port is believed to
be home to around 70,000 people, all of whom
believe the pearl to be a symbol of grace,
glory and pride. Mergui was for centuries
a thriving port that has been Siamese (Thai),
Burmese (Myanmar), and more latterly
British ruled, which is how it remaineduntil
Burma (Myanmar) won independence in 1948.
Pearling for natural pearls is said to have been
undertaken in Myanmar by British colonists as far
back as the 1890's, and by around 1910 it is said that
over 100 ships from almost 70 countries were in Myanmar diving for pearls, with much of the diving labor being provided by the local Moken people (sea gypsies), who are quite possibly the oldest inhabitants in the entire region. At this time pearl divers collected pearls via free diving, and all Mergui pearls were recovered from wild oysters.
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the Japanese arrived, founded a joint-venture with a local Myanmar company and introduced pearl culturing / farming, |
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| although until around 2000 wild oysters were also being fished / collected. From almost the moment that the first pearls were harvested in 1957 they were considered the world's finest, and were highly sought-after, just as they still are today. The other major development in 1957 was the introduction of diving suits which allowed pearl divers to go deeper, and for longer than had previously been possible using free diving methods. Additionally, the introduction of diving suits saw a dramatic rise in the number of months each year that pearls could be harvested, from just three months of every year, to nine months of every year. The main farm site for the aforementioned Japanese-Burmese joint-venture was, and still is, on Sir Malcolm J Island, and is said to be the oldest South Sea pearl farm in the world still in operation today, albeit minus the original Japanese pearl technicians who were unceremoniously deported after the Myanmar pearl industry was nationalized in 1963. |
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| each year that pearls could be harvested, from just three months of every year, to nine months of every year. The main farm site for the aforementioned Japanese-Burmese joint-venture was, and still is, on Sir Malcolm J Island, and is said to be the oldest South Sea pearl farm in the world still in operation today, albeit minus the original Japanese pearl technicians who were unceremoniously deported after the Myanmar pearl industry was nationalized in 1963.
The process of Pearl farming / culturing is necessary because while pearls do occur naturally they do so extremely rarely (perhaps one in every ten thousand pearls), and a low naturally available south sea pearl supply coupled with ever-increasing demand dictated that pearl culturing was necessary.
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The pearl culturing process comprises five key steps :
1. Beeding – This is where pearl farmers select the very best pearls, those expected to produce a good pearl harvest.
2. Nucleating – This is the delicate process of introducing an irritant (most frequently referred to as a nucleus), into the oyster. This process triggers the oyster into producing nacre, the substance from which pearls are made.
3. Feeding / Growing – Oysters are kept in sheltered bays in the sea in optimum growing conditions and moved deeper / shallower each and every day, depending upon their needs.
4. Oyster Care – Pearls are periodically removed from the sea for cleaning, health checks and treatments so as to ensure they live – Pearls have a very high mortality rate with perhaps as little of half of all pearls farmed surviving any given year.
5. Harvesting – Pearls are opened and checked for gem quality pearls, which make up as little as 5% of any pearl harvest. Often at this stage, if still alive, the oyster will be nucleated with a new, often larger nucleus so the process starts over. |
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Burmese pearl culturing (which concentrates solely on saltwater pearls), uses the two varieties of the Pinctada Maxima oyster, Silver Lipped, and Gold Lipped. The Pinctada Maxima oyster is the largest of all pearl producing oysters and can weigh up to 5 kg, and have a diameter of up to 35 cm. The Pinctada Maxima oyster produces what are commonly referred to as South Sea pearls. South Sea pearls are the rarest, largest, and most valuable of all cultured pearl types.
When purchasing your Myanmar South Sea pearls, pay particular attention to the five key quality factors:
| 1. Luster |
– This is the term used to describe the beautiful, intense, deep shine exhibited by pearls which is caused by a combination of the light reflecting off the surface of the pearl, and light refracting off the internal layers of nacre, sometimes referred to as Mother-Of-Pearl.
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| 2. Surface |
– The surface quality of pearls can vary widely and markings / blemishes have a substantial impact upon a pearl's overall value.
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| 3. Shape |
– As a general rule of thumb, the more round a pearl is, the more valuable it is. However, it is also important to consider that certain shapes, when set correctly, can appear round.
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| 4. Color |
– Pearls from Myanmar can be silver-white to deep gold, and other colors too, including champagne, cream, pink, blue, green and yellow, but are most commonly golden. The golden South Sea pearl is considered to be the most beautiful, and is therefore the most valuable.
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| 5. Size |
– The most commonly found size of Myanmar South Sea Pearls is 12 mm – 13 mm, with dramatic price increases occurring for pearls over 16 mm in diameter.
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We do hope you found our blog post interesting, and would be very interested to hear your feedback / comments on the same.
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