Conch pearl questions...

[Bogus]

I've been trying to educate myself a bit about conch pearls, and came upon this: http://www.jewelrygenius.com/conchpearls.html

Do people here agree? I was particularly interested in the claim that their color fades, and that there are environmental reasons not to acquire/collect them....that Queen Conches are endangered...

Any comments?

Thanks
Bogus

[jshepherd]

What a strange coincidence...I was just reading up on conch pearls and was on that same page just minutes ago.
Yes, I have also heard that conch pearls can fade if left in direct sunlight. I would not suggest leaving them on your dashboard in a parking lot.

Regarding the environmental concerns, I cannot say I agree with the report. It appears to be a shill report to sell cultured pearl pendants vs. the naturals. Likening the flame pattern of a conch to a chicken gizzard is extreme, and the comparison to cultured pearls is really an apples to oranges comparison.

Conch are not collected for pearls, they are collected for their meat. For those who have visited Southern Florida and the Caribbean, you know that every restaurant serves conch. Natural pearl collectors purchase the rare conch pearls from the fisherman - just like the collection of abalone pearls.

[Kevin Canning]

I have heard about the color fading before, but I have no idea how true it really is, I'm sure somebody else might have a better answer.

As for the environmental concerns, I believe they are very real. The conch lives primarily in the Caribbean and the countries in this area are primarily developing and fisheries management is barely on their radar, not to mention problems with poaching in protected areas.

I've personally seen a tour guide dive down in a protected area of the Belizean barrier reef and pull up a conch to make lunch.

Honestly, I think this is the greatest drawback of natural pearls - the greed and lust for money always wins over the need to properly manage a fishery.

[Kevin Canning]

I cannot say I agree with the report. It appears to be a shill report to sell cultured pearl pendants vs. the naturals.

I have to totally disagree with you Jeremy, the Queen Conch is a protected species in Florida and the meat you see on the menu is actually coming from money hungry caribbean and Central American countries.

[jshepherd]

But harvested for pearls, or harvested for meat? The pearls should not be the ecological concern when they are a biproduct of the fishing industry.

[Kevin Canning]

I can agree with that, with only 1 in every 10,000 conch producing a pearl I don't think anybody is harvesting them for the pearls.

My point is the animal is in very rough shape and stocks are rapidly declining. While the pearl is not a major factor in the decline, it does increase the value of the fishery and thus the pressure placed on it.

The simple fact is that harvesting of natural pearls will always have a negative impact on the environment - a fact that is conveniently left out of all natural pearl discussions.

[jshepherd]

But I do not think the conch pearl is even a minor factor in the decline. In fact, if the popularity of the gem were to grow, advances would be made to culture them, which would be the saving grace of the Queen Conch.
I think that it is very important to note that natural pearls are not commonly "harvested". They are a bi-product of another industry. These industries have been around forever, and curbs on their limits are the only real ways to protect the species. We are not talking shark fins or fur.

[Kevin Canning]

In fact, if the popularity of the gem were to grow, advances would be made to culture them, which would be the saving grace of the Queen Conch.

Well I can agree with that, but many many pearl beds have been brought to the brink by the harvesting of oysters for their shells and pearls, it would be a mistake to think that this can't or won't happen again. Us humans don't have a good track record when it comes creating sustainable fisheries.

[Zeide Erskine]

Hi,

Conch pearls do fade and for that reason have always been considered "evening" jewelry. It takes quite a while for the fading to show, but when it happens it is going downhill relatively fast. It all depends on UV exposure. If you only wear it at night, a conch pearl of good pink color can stay like that for two hundred years before it begins to fade. Actually, while we're at it. Naturally black pearls like Tahitians fade, too. There is an anecdote in the Book of the Pearl about a naturally black pearl that was in a jewelers show window for a few months and lost all its luster and much of its color and had to be peeled to get to the next lustrous layer.

Besides that, I don't think that fishing for conch pearls specifically would make good sense. I read somewhere that there is a small operation in the Bahamas that claims to culture conch pearls. Since conchs are not hemophiliac as abalones and even those are being cultured for both food and pearls at the same time now, why not? That would definitely help the species survive even though not necessarily the individuals in the farm.

Zeide

[newguy]

Can you tell us anything more about the "small operation in the Bahamas that claims to culture conch pearls"? I thought it was impossible to culture conch pearls.

What are the particular qualities of the conch pearl that affect its value? Are they different from other pearls?

Why did conch pearls fall out of favor? They were really popular at the turn of the 20th century, right?

Just to throw in my two cents on the other topic in this thread; I think the unregulated harvesting of conch for meat caused their population collapse not any mass killing in search of conch pearls. Most people can figure out that its not worth killing 10,000 conch for one, most likely poor quality, pearl.

Thanks for any answers to my previous questions.

[Zeide Erskine]

Hi New guy,

While for nacreous natural pearls you have the orient, mirror, water standard, for conch pearls it is flaming, color, symmetry, surface, size in about that order. The highest prices are typically paid for well-flamed salmon colored conch pearls with the designation "salmon" referring not to the outside of the living fish but the inside of a cooked one.
Zeide

[Satine De La Courcel]

Well I can agree with that, but many many pearl beds have been brought to the brink by the harvesting of oysters for their shells and pearls, it would be a mistake to think that this can't or won't happen again. Us humans don't have a good track record when it comes creating sustainable fisheries.

Agreed! we really do not have a good track record in general look at the Dodo and giant tortis(sp??)

[Zeide Erskine]

And North America used to be the El Dorado of freshwater pearls especially in the highly coveted fancy pinks, reds, and blues. It was not all overfishing that happend here although providing the shells for Japanese pearl plated beads has done as much harm to American mussel populations as the button industry. However, the real big mussel killers are the gas stations on lakes and inlets so that people of questionable intelligence can conveniently gas up their jet skis to ride around in circles. Methinks the best way of rehabilitating this country is to a) outlaw airconditioning, b) introduce European gas prices, c) introduce European parking conditions, d) outlaw private motor vehicles in national parks and forests. That way, people would actually be forced to face real life and hopefully see how absolutely silly it is to live in an über-airconditioned home in suburban Phoenix or so from where they use their über-airconditioned SUVs to haul some jet skis to a lake in the mountains so they can ride them around in circles for the weekend.

Zeide

[Caitlin]

Hi Sunshine
Good points. I checked out your web pages. You have some good information.

I am curious about the following statement:

Cultured and natural pearls. Cultured and natural pearls. I am always being asked are our pearls natural or cultivated. Well, I say "they are natural". And then I go on to explain what I mean. All pearls are natural, although some pearls are a helped along by man, and that makes them cultivated. A natural pearl differs from a c...Published: Tuesday 04 April, 2006

How does this statement help you educate people?

[Caitlin]

Hi Zeide
I just read an article that points out that airconditioning for Americans uses a HUGE chunk of the world's energy resources. Far more than gas for cars and vehicles. Well the airconditioning in cars also takes enormous resources. We act like it is a necessity, not a luxury. http://www.alternet.org/story/37882/

I live near Tucson. I have a swamp box. While it does not use elctricity like an air conditioner, it uses up to 100 gallons a day of water! I want one of those machines that takes usable water out of the air.