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Congratulations 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)
Continue reading
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!!
I was honored to be a part of a panel discussion on pearls at this year’s annual Pearl Ruckus, hosted by the generous Pearl Paradise crew. Myself, Jeremy Shepherd of PearlParadise.com , Josh Humbert of Kamokapearls.com , Douglas McLaurin of www.perlas.com.mx/en/ .
Thank you all for your continued support and appreciation of our ever-evolving world of pearls.
With warmest regards,
Sarah Canizzaro and the Kojimapearl team.
I’ve been thoroughly enjoying our garden and especially the extra tourists a bird bath has attracted.
Our studio has also been a buzz of activity.. With several visitors stopping by to pick out their favorites. It’s such a treat to meet people in person after communicating with them online. I love putting faces and styles to names. I love that each lady (and occasionally a gentleman) brings with them a new story of what they do and what drew them to love pearls. I find that it’s often an auntie or mother who passed down the love of pearls and it feels great to keep the tradition alive and honor their memory at the same time.
Whilst enjoying this special place we call home.. I missed the show in Hong Kong last month.. But thankfully there were a lot of photos and videos taken of a very exciting forum of many of my pearl friends talking about sustainable pearl farming.
Here’s a link to Josh Humbert of Kamoka pearls giving his talk. He admitted he was nervous.. Not sure why, his family has been farming pearls on Ahe French Polynesia using only solar and wind power all the using farming techniques that help restore a beneficial balance to this diverse tropical ecosystem.. For decades! http://m.youtube.com/watch?
Douglas McLaurin of the Sea of Cortez pearl farm, probably my favorite blogger about pearls also spoke, please check out what he wrote about his time in Hong Kong. http://www.perlas.com.mx/blog/
My only regret about this forum, besides missing it myself, was that our friends, the farmers of the luscious Japan Kasumi pearls were not a part of the panel. Having persevered great hurdles, and brought the world organically grown fresh water pearls of superb quality, grown with the utmost care.. I hope to convince them to join in for the next forum.. and share with the world their special craft. It would be an especially important addition as most of the fresh water pearls of the world are grown in China and we know precious little about the environmental impact of this HUGE scale farming.
We here at Kojima and Pacific Pearls have long said: “Pearls are the canaries of their environment , without clean water.. There are no pearls”. It is one of our greatest joys to be working with farmers like these who are FINALLY being recognized for their environmental consciousness, and hard work!
PEARLS ARE THE ONLY THING IN THE JEWELRY BUSINESS THAT IS ACTUALLY GOOD FOR THE ENVIRONMENT !
We’re very much looking forward to seeing these two farmers and 30+ pearl enthusiasts as we will gather in Palos Verdes at the ever generous invitation of Jeremy and Hisano Shepherd of Pearl Paradise for the annual Pearl Ruckus. This year’s Ruckus is set to be the biggest yet.. and I can’t wait to meet all the new people and see the treasures they bring to share. We will be bringing new pearls to share with the group who gather from far and wide.
In the mean time.. We’re feverishly trying to upload a bunch of new jewelry pieces we’ve been working on and many new pearly delights. Here are few photos of our latest acquisitions. Enjoy!