GIA Alumni Pearl Tour - Paspaley Pearls

[GemGeek]

Here is the last of my three-part trip diary from the GIA Pearl Tour - Paspaley Pearls. I have to post it in sections, so read on...

Having left Christchurch in the cold rain, we were ready to get back to warm weather. Darwin, Australia is definitely a warm place. As part of group 1, we got up early the first day to take the Grumman Mallard seaplane to Paspaley’s sea-based operations. As you can see in the photo from the bus, we had to get going before dawn.


I love seaplanes. The Grumman Mallard was first built in 1946 and ended production in 1951. Paspaley’s Mallards are refitted with modern turboprop engines and are lovingly maintained.


We covered a lot of land on our way to the Paspaley III. The view from the cabin was awesome. Earplugs were a requirement, one of the only drawbacks of the Mallard experience.


The turboprop engines are extremely powerful and unlike jets, it’s reassuring to be able to see them in motion.


For many of the group, this was their first water landing. There’s nothing like the moment when the water rises in waves over the windows.


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[GemGeek]

And here is the beautiful Paspaley III in full harvest operation. Waterproof shoes were a requirement and indeed, we got our feet and ankles wet repeatedly while observing the harvesting operation.

Grafters were removing the first growth pearls and if they were good pearls, and the oyster was in good condition, a second bead was inserted and the oyster was returned for another two years.

Otherwise, the pearl meat was harvested immediately and the shells went on for commercial processing.

Jeremy was in the group where they were harvesting second-growth pearls. He should have some big pearl photos to come.


Richard, our host, opened two oysters and let a couple of us squeeze out the pearl. I felt like a midwife giving birth. It’s amazing how beautiful they are right from the shell. Here is the result.

Roger trimmed the pearl meat and gave us all a bite – fresh oyster sashimi, which was very sweet.

Then we went upstairs to see the morning’s harvest of pearls. Talk about heaven – we could literally play with pearls! This is how they look with zero cleaning or processing. Amazing!


Given a chance to play, one side of the table became impromptu pearl graders. Notice the neat groups of different colors.


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[GemGeek]

The other side of the table experimented, measured, improvised fashion photos and even created art. Richard scrubbed these pearls with salt so we could get a better idea of what the finished product would look like.


That’s a big first-growth pearl!


Mona and Betty Sue improvised a glamour photo op.


And Russell made a fish with a golden eye. Notice the air bubbles trickling upward.


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[GemGeek]

The search for the perfect pearl had several contenders, but this was a favorite.


Next, we take a long boat ride to Kuri Bay, the site of the first land-based pearling operations in the area.


They have rules.


And they have pets, too. This one is a python named Monty.


We are treated to a fabulous lunch. Carl has some major competition as the chef pulled out all the stops for our visit. Here is the table we sat at. Nice view!


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[GemGeek]

Kuri Bay looks like it’s a great place to live and work.


They even have a phone booth.


And you can’t beat the view.


When it was time to go, they fed their pet sharks with kitchen scraps on the way to the seaplane, which came to meet us in Kuri Bay.


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[GemGeek]

The next day we were taken by bus to see Paspaley’s engineering operations back in Darwin.


This place is big.


Here is one of their special working boats being built. Look at those welds! They carry the washing and x-ray equipment.


We are shown the automatic oyster washing machine. You can see the orange basket being drawn across the top. The cover is closed and jets of pressurized water clean the oysters as they pass through the machine.


They use a specially made x-ray setup to check the pearl nacre growth, again, by drawing the baskets across the table.


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[GemGeek]

Well, I was expecting to see my pendant here. I had fun looking for it!!

[pearlshooter]

GemGeek you should now recognize the 24mm front and center of my Avatar pic...........Amazing isn't it!

[GemGeek]

Yes indeed. It was so sweet to have access to such beauty. I can only imagine how much fun your job can be!

[GemGeek]

Giving this thread a bump for my bud Derek.

[DerekJ]

Thanks for the bump Blaire I appreciate it.

Do you know what compound they use to polish the pearls on the buffing wheels and in the tumblers?