Sea of Cortez Pearls IN FLIGHT

Congratulations Sea of Cortez pearl farm... "keep climbing"!
Continue readingCongratulations Sea of Cortez pearl farm... "keep climbing"!
Continue readingMaking this very special piece was a journey.
I chose these micro mabe pearls from the farmers of Sea of Cortez pearls in Guaymas, Mexico one by one.
The Cortez pearl farm is the ONLY saltwater pearl farm in North America...and as you have probably guessed by now...we are in LOVE with their magical colors. Grown in the Pteria sterna oysters in the flourishing and protected waters they are also known as "rainbow lipped oysters"
Micro mabe pearls are appx. 8-9mm in diameter and are hand cut one at a time at the farm on Bacochibampo Bay.
At the center of this 19" long necklace hangs a 2.5" detachable pendant of graduating sizes of mabe pearls with a gigantic gem of 1.5" in length.
We hand set each of these mabe pearls on a sterling silver seat, and each one is bezel set with 14K yellow gold.
The clasp is made of 18K yellow gold and the necklace can be shortened or lengthened as suits your style.
It is a testament to the wide world of pearls to be able to work across a border to create such a stunning piece.
From a sustainable farm in Mexico to the hands of our jeweler here in San Rafael California...this piece took many months to produce.
For more information on Cortez Pearls please see our about the pearls page.
(last photo credit goes to the wonderful Wendy Fairchild)
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Learn more about a fascinating experiment using water to filter light and inspect pearl colors!
conducted by none other than the farmers of Sea of Cortez pearls themselves!
We also loaded up on the infamous “mini mabe” pearls that are hand cut at the Sea of Cortez pearl farm, using their trademark Pteria sterna Rainbow Lipped Oyster.
If you have a design in mind for one or some of these, feel free to email us!
In 1991, long before a single oyster was nucleated here, the farmers of Cortez pearls spent a huge amount of time gathering what was left of the native Pteria sterna “rainbow lipped” oysters and fostering a repopulation following their near extinction.
The earliest chronicles of boat captains and Jesuit priests reported leagues upon leagues of pearl beds in the Sea of Cortez. These accounts were recorded after the arrival of the Spaniards following the conquest of Mexico City in 1523. Over-fishing by the Spaniards and the freshly created nation of Mexico led to dramatic losses.
The creation of the Hoover dam greatly effected the Sea of Cortez and led to near extinction of many species. For thousands of years the Colorado River had supplied fresh water to the Gulf of California. Upon the completion of the dam, that fresh water dried up and changed the salinity balance of the entire gulf, killing some species of fish and robbing all others of oxygen rich waters.
Click here for an article by Douglas McLaurin to read more about these fascinating historical events and learn about the great Japanese Conspiracy in the Sea of Cortez!
Pearls oysters/mollusks are the “canaries” of their environs. They cannot survive in polluted water.
Small scale pearl farms such as the Sea of Cortez pearl farm, Kamoka and the fresh water pearls grown in Lake Kasumi ga Ura Japan are actually GREAT for the environment!
In the case of Sea of Cortez pearls the farmers created a generous no-fishing zone around their farm and all species have flourished there, which in turn has brought greater health to the entire bay… (By giving shelter to fish, the populations have increased, which in turn makes the fishermen happier, which in turn makes a brighter community of people)
As I sit here looking out over Bacochibampo Bay I can easily see how bountiful this place must have been hundreds of years ago. The contrast of the quartz studded desert and the clear blue sea is the making of true paradise. Sonoran hospitality, warm smiles everywhere you look, and a calm easy pace of living has made this one of my new favorite places on earth.
Morning light on the fountain.
Native cacti in bloom.
A beautiful stained glass window depicting Cortez in our hotel.
A spur from a Spanish solider, part of Manuel’s collection.
The oysters used at the Sea of Cortez pearl farm are Pteria sterna .. Otherwise known as the “rainbow lipped shell”
It’s really no wonder!
Daniel Duarte, a very pleasant man, is in charge of web sales and photography and I must say I envy his job!
After harvesting was over we pored over the mabe pearl stock and matched pairs. Then we went for lunch in San Carlos.
We sat next to the harbor and learned that there is much truth in the description of it being a “drinking village with a fishing problem”
It was a fantastic first day and we’re looking forward to day two!
Being at a harvest is “what it’s all about”… The hokey pokey for a pearl dealer!!
With only 9 days between getting home from Tucson and leaving for Asia on a pearl buying trip… I barely had enough time to unpack, get a cold, have a birthday, fill the orders from Tucson, sleep and pack again… but by the grace of pearl fairies everywhere we made the flight! Tokyo is always fun, bright lights, quirky and polite people, and fantastic food. On our second day in Japan, we went to see our dear friends, the farmers at Lake Kasumi ga Ura. We spent the day with them, talking about their latest harvest, drinking tea and of course looking at pearls. Please stay tuned in the coming weeks for the addition of new Japan Kasumi pearls to our website. We had a lovely mini vacation in Japan. We accompanied Fuji to his childhood home in Miyanoshita Japan. We visited the shop where the original Pacific Pearls store was in the 1950’s. We visited the Fujiya hotel where Fuji and his sister Aloha were frequent visitors at the heated pool as children… and we visited Lake Ashi where Fuji’s father Rudolf was an avid swimmer. We spent a wonderful time at a hot springs in Hakone … with a view of Mt. Fuji from the pools! WOW what a magical experience, to sit in a natural hot spring with snow on the ground and Mt. Fuji in the distance. We were very lucky to have this view despite the winter weather.