We made contact with a lovely French gal and her family in the small anchorage we were in. She had mentioned that she was going to visit a Black Pearl Farm and was wondering if we might be interested in coming along. Of course we were, but could we bring along two other couples from other boats? Arrangements were made and a driver was organized. Now keep in mind we are on a very small atoll with few cars and not much of anything for that matter. We were all picked up, on shore, with a flatbed truck and the owner/person of interest was the driver and he spoke perfect English. Actually he was from Salt Lake City (on his four times a year trip to the island....to check on things) and a Mormon. The Mormons have a very large presence in the South Pacific and I believe have somewhat of an interest in this particular Black Pearl Farm. Three in the front seat and six on a bench on the flatbed all squeezed in tight and we are off on a dirt road to the pearl farm.

We got a wonderful education about raising black pearls on the atoll called Takaroa. According to our wonderful guide/part owner the number of pearl farms has dwindled over time. Once pearl farming was a thriving business but either the science has gotten better or the economy has decreased because the farms have also decreased. Where there used to be fifty farms in the area we were visiting there are now only four remaining farms. I think the market has been over taxed, over produced and China has become proficient in producing pearls. Enough said. They actually seed the oyster after about a year and a half of growth. They then harvest a pearl after another year and a half and then plant another seed. I thought the oyster was gone after the first pearl harvest but that isn't the case. They use a rather large seed to plant in the oyster, which surprised me as all along I thought it was just a speck of sand. The farm is big business with only 12 employees. There were all different colors of black pearls, some gray, black, reddish, greenish, bluish. We saw beautiful pearls but not of the highest quality......no Tiffany products to be had. I have been wearing my white cultured pearl earrings that I got at Costco before I left as I didn't want to lose my diamonds. I thought my earrings were just the right size but after looking at those beautiful black ones I realize that my pearls were rather small. Another buying opportunity for great treasures!

Our Second Pearl Farm Visit at Fakarava.....another atoll.

When we arrived at Fakarava (after going through the pass which can become very exciting as it is either water in or water out a small opening). Another topic for Ron to share. Some folks call it butt puckering and I think I might agree with that.

Our second much smaller and family run operation was a very different experience. The owner who picked us up in a lovely air conditioned van and drove us about 15 miles around the island to his pearl farm. Very small in comparison to what we had experienced before but just as interesting and as always we learned new things from a slightly different perspective. We learned that the minimum thickness before harvesting the pearl is 0.8 mm that is required by standard. If the oyster produces a good quality pearl the first time then it is reseeded again as the odds of producing another good quality pearl is pretty good. Pearls are very heavily taxed in Tahiti and that has just about destroyed the pearl farming industry here. That was just our impression, of course.

We did get to see Grade A pearls which are very expensive and have very few cosmetic challenge's. In all honesty, I would be hard pressed to tell the real difference although you could see a luster difference and roundness is very important. We both thought that the lesser quality would do just fine and the price difference was huge. After all if you are going to have earrings made, they are far apart so they won't be closely examined. The color will be all that is noticed.

The trip was wonderful and the wallet lighter once again. We are all set and do not intend to go into the pearl business. Off to other exciting things.

The Crew of Always Saturday