CortezPearls

The family Pteriidae is composed of three or four genera, and pearl oysters belonging to the Pinctada and Pteria genera are -of course- the most important from our point of view.

Taxonomy

An old name for this species is Magnavicula, which means “Large Wing”, with the “new” -Pteria- name originating after the Greek word “Ptero” which translates into “wing”, hence the name of “Winged oysters”.
These species are identified by a more elongate shape than that of Pinctada species, thus their...

Sustaining Life with Pearl Farming

One of the most important aspects of pearl farming is its inherent ability to protect and create more life than the one that was available previously. And what do I mean by this? When you start a pearl farm in a location, you begin with a resource that has already been “pillaged & plundered”, probably for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. As an example, we have the pearl fisheries of the Persian Gulf -whose pearls were adorning the ancient rulers of...

ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL IMPACT OF THE CCCP

There was a positive ecological aspect of this venture: the pearl farm itself acted as a gigantic breeding station for the pearl oysters. When you consider that this farm contained between 8 to 10 million pearl oysters and let us say that at least one-third of these had reached sexual maturity (2.6 to 6.6 million individuals), it is very evident to see the astounding positive impact that this commercial operation would have in restocking the Gulf...

CIBJO Webinar - Diversity & Design

The ‘Jewelry Industry Voices’ online seminar series looks at issues of interest in the jewelry business from the perspective of industry figures.


This event discusses how growing diversity is impacting jewelry design, and the steps the gem and jewelry industry needs to take to become more inclusive.

The list of panelists for this discussion are:

✦ Marvin Linares - Owner, Marvin Douglas Jewelry

✧ Constance Polamalu - Owner, Birthright Foundry

✦...

THE FIRST COMMERCIAL PEARL OYSTER FARM IN THE WORLD

It is at this particular crossroad that we find a Mexican-French Medical Doctor by the name of Gastón Vivès, attempting what very none had tried before: initiate a commercially viable, large-scale pearl oyster farm to produce shell and pearls. The Vivès family owned a pearl fishing armada in La Paz, Baja California Sur, and they were experiencing diminishing profits every year, thus wanting to revert this trend we find Gastón Vivès...

Although it is not about PEARLS (but it may include them), some of you may find it interesting, so here is the information:

The origin of a gemstone, namely the geographic location at which it was extracted from the earth, has for years posed substantial scientific challenges to the gemmologists who are called on to make definitive judgements.

The current focus on supply chain integrity and traceability means that the concept of origin has expanded and is more relevant than ever before...